Some assembly required
Deuteronomy Chapters 2 and 3 Click here to read
Many of the stories of the conquest of the land sound similar and start to blur together as we read them, but there are two aspects in today’s reading that I would like to point out.
First, there is some land that is off limits.
In Chapter 2, God told Moses not to take the land of Seir or the land of Moab, for those were lands God had promised to the descendants of others (Esau and Lot, respectively).
We often hear it said that it’s important to “pick your battles.” In this case, we’re reminded that God, not us, chooses the battles.
But why are there battles at all?
Couldn’t God simply wipe out the previous inhabitants of the land with a plague or a flood?
The Bible doesn’t say directly, but notice the pattern we see repeated, as in 2:24-25, “I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.”
The verb tenses seem a little off to our reading. God said he has given it into the hands of Israel, as though it’s already been accomplished, then immediately says to start the process of taking the land.
There’s a little guesswork here, but it looks as though once God has spoken that a thing will be done, he considers that it has been done.
We would likely say the land belonged to Israel once the battle was won. From God’s viewpoint, though, it belongs to his people as soon as he says it does.
We see words used the same way in the New Testament. In Romans 8:2, we read that “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
It is stated as already accomplished, though we know that we are still subject to both sin and death…but since God has spoken, the outcome is assured.
I’ve sometimes thought that God gives gifts from IKEA—we often have to do some assembly.
I don’t know why God does it this way. I like to think that God enjoys working alongside of us to complete the gift, and wants us to enjoy working alongside him, too.