Deuteronomy 7 - 9

Destroy Them All
Today's portion has a rather ominous message when considered by today's standards.  In  7:2 the Bible states the following: "When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy." Within the context of when and why this was said, there is, to me, no conflict with this statement.

There are three steps in this process:
1. Deliver
2. Conquer
3. Destroy

The Lord promises those preparing to cross over to the Promise Land that he will deliver the inhabitants of the land to them (7:1) and enumerates the seven nations presently occupying the land.  The land is the promise, the occupiers are what needs to be overcome.  The Lord has promised that they will be delivered (or handed) to them, i.e. God sets the stage.  Then the people must act on the promise. They must conquer the occupiers. Once conquered the people must not allow them any opportunity to return - they must be destroyed without mercy.

The Lord adds some things that the Israelites are to consider: No mercy, no treaties (vs 2); no intermarriage (vs 3); break down their altars (vs 5); do not worship their gods (vs16); do not fear them (vs 18). These are the areas of temptation where the Israelites might succumb to their own way of thinking and not obey the Lord's commandments.

The same is true in a Christian's life. The Lord has delivered to us His promises and blessings, but we must be willing to conquer the influences of the Devil to obtain these promises. We must be willing to completely destroy sin in our lives.  How do we obtain the power to overcome?  We don't within ourselves, our own ability!!! We have to die daily. We have to take up "our cross" and allow His Spirit to dwell in us.  We must rest in His promises and rely on His strength to overcome.  Paul wrote that in his weakness he was strong (in the Lord) but in his strength, he was weak (2 Corinthians 12:9).

In our reading today in 8:11, the Lord warns, "But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands." When things are going well, we must guard against a lax attitude towards the things of God.  This is the condition that Satan is looking for and finds easiest to exploit.  So as we accept, conquer, and destroy we must also thank God and be vigilant.

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.