“‘The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed’” (Deuteronomy 7:22-23).
The biggest problem the Israelites had with the Promised Land was the giants living within it. In their minds, it was going to be a simple walk from Egypt to Canaan, where they would stroll in to find everything they needed awaiting them. Any inhabitants in the land would fall down at their feet, ready to serve them. They wouldn’t ever have to lift a finger, because God Himself had promised this land to them.
God had also promised, however, that there would be enemies within the land. And furthermore, He had instructed Israel to defeat these enemies, completely wiping them off the earth. Israel wasn’t going to just get their land at the drop of a hat; they had to work for it, fight for it. On their own, this would have been an impossible task. Their enemies were literally giants, and they had the advantage of fighting in their own land. But God has promised to be with Israel when they went out against their enemies. He would fight for them, if they would only step out and do what He instructed.
Given Israel’s reaction, one would think God had given them no warning of the battles they would have to fight. But never once had He told them taking the Promised Land would be easy. In fact, He told them that it would be difficult, that it would be years before the land was entirely their own. But that was His point. The extended conquest was actually for Israel’s benefit. In this way, they could settle into land that had been prepared by others instead of conquering nations one moment and trying to grow food the next. God had everything planned out, even to the enemies who seemed impossible to vanquish.
Nobody likes to face giants, even metaphorical ones. But God has a reason for every hardship we encounter. He promises us good things, but He also warns us that there will be troubles. Nothing is ever easy with Him. But fortunately, nothing is ever impossible with Him. There will never be a giant He can’t defeat. Each one is strategically placed in our lives to bring about good, if we face it when God commands. We don’t like them. We’d love to just delve into the blessings He promises without ever having to go through trials. But God always keeps His promises. He will give good to those who follow Him. It may be a while in coming. It may not even be on this earth. But He always keeps His word. He always defeats the giants.
Comments