Let God Fight For You

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 3:18-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 3:18-20 (NIV)
¹⁸  I commanded you at that time: “The LORD your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of your brother Israelites.
¹⁹  However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you,
²⁰  until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the LORD your God is giving them, across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

On verses 18-20:  Here Moses commands the fighting Israelite men to fight for one another and to make sure each Israelite tribe gets its land before any Israelite fighting man could go back and enjoy his own land.  Moses was challenging every Israelite fighting man to put the team’s interests ahead of his own individual interests.  Great teams achieve great things when each member puts the interests of the team ahead of their own.

Deuteronomy 3:21-22 (NIV)
²¹  At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going.
²²  Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”

On verses 21-22:  Joshua, who is slated to succeed Moses as Israel’s top leader, looks ahead to the massive task of conquering the entire Promised Land.  Moses encourages Joshua, telling him that just as Joshua saw with his own eyes God fighting for Israel when Moses was leading them, so God would continue to fight for Israel when Joshua was leading them.

What can we learn from this?  When you’re facing a problem far bigger than you can solve by yourself, there is a promise from God’s Word that you can hang on to:  God will fight for you.  It’s a promise that God would give to the Israelites repeatedly as they left Egypt and headed for the Promised Land.

Exodus 14:14 (NIV) 
¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

Deuteronomy 1:30 (NIV) 
³⁰ The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 

Deuteronomy 20:4 (NIV) 
⁴ For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” 

What does it mean for God to fight for you? It means that God will work out all the things that you cannot control.  He will work it out for your good and for His glory.  

So when you’re facing a problem far greater than your ability to solve it, let God fight for you.

The reason why some people don’t experience God fighting for them is because they get in God’s way and try to take God’s place.  They do so by worrying, by being manipulative, by not trusting God, or by not waiting for Him to work things out.  Instead they go ahead of God and try to work things out themselves, making things worse in the process.  Don’t handcuff God and keep Him from fighting for you.  Trust Him.  Once you’ve given your best and done everything you reasonably can in your power, leave the rest to God.  Let Him fight for you.  Let Him show you that if you just trust in Him, He will do far more and far better than you could do fighting by yourself.

Deuteronomy 3:23-29 (NIV)
²³  At that time I pleaded with the LORD:
²⁴  “O Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?
²⁵  Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan–that fine hill country and Lebanon.”
²⁶  But because of you the LORD was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.
²⁷  Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan.
²⁸  But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”
²⁹  So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

On verses 23-29:  Moses pleaded with God to let him cross the Jordan River and see the promised land that God was leading the Israelites to.  However, God would not grant his request.  God would only let him see it from afar.  Why wouldn’t God grant Moses his request?  After all that Moses had done for Israel, was God being cruel?  We’ll take up this question in Deuteronomy 34.

Lord God, with those issues that are beyond my ability to solve, thank You that You are here to fight for me.  Just as You fought for my salvation on the cross, thank You that You continue to fight for me to this day.  Because You are the champion in my corner, my defender, my shield, and my army, I will not be afraid.  The Lord God will fight for me.  In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.