You Are God’s Treasured Possession

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 7:1-11.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (NIV)
¹  When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations–the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you–
²  and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.

On verses 1-2:  As a young Christian, I was really impacted by the “can do” attitude that the Bible would teach followers of Jesus to have.  Whenever I would read the Bible in high school, the lesson that would impact me over and over is that no matter how tough the odds and how difficult the challenge, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).   That is no accident, and not simply a function of my own bias or background, for that is truly what the Bible teaches.

We see Moses inculcating that “can do” attitude in the Israelites here.  The Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites were all larger and stronger than the Israelites (v1).  Yet God chose the Israelites and would enable the Israelites to overpower these larger and stronger nations.

Are you facing a problem that appears larger and stronger than you?  Remember that nothing is too difficult for God.  The same God who helped the Israelites overcome seven nations that were larger and stronger than them (v1) is with you.  What’s most important is not the size of your problem but the size of your God, who is with you and who loves you.

You might be the ultimate underdog, facing seemingly insurmountable odds, but with God, all things are possible and if you trust in Him and live to honour Him, you will gain a significant victory of some sort for sure. 

Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (NIV)
³  Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
⁴  for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.

On verses 3-4:  Why does Moses prohibit the Israelites from marrying those who do not worship the Lord?  It’s not to spoil the Israelites’ fun or kill the Israelites’ happiness.  It’s because God knows that practically speaking those who do not worship the Lord will turn God’s people away to serve other gods (v4).  The same holds true today.  Unwise relationship choices is by far the biggest killer of Christians I have seen in my lifetime.  A Christian cannot yoke themselves to a non-Christian without severely compromising their faith and bringing unnecessary trouble to their relationships.

Deuteronomy 7:5 (NIV) 
⁵ This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 

On verse 5:  If there is an idol in your life that causes you to compromise your faith and devotion to Christ, God’s Word is clear: don’t try to serve God and that idol at the same time.  Don’t try to cut a deal with that idol.  It won’t work.  Idolatry will only lead to anxiety, frustration, and self-deception.  Instead, get rid of the idol.  Like Josiah in 2 Kings 23, we are to take no prisoners when it comes to idols in our lives.

How do you know if there’s an idol in your life?

Deuteronomy 7:6-11 (NIV) 
⁶  For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
⁷  The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
⁸  But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
⁹  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
¹⁰  But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
¹¹  Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

On verses 6-11:  Just as the LORD chose the Israelites to be his people, his “treasured possession” (v6), so God has chosen you.  You are His treasured possession, along with all those who have placed their trust in Jesus.  The reason God chose you was not because you were so much better or stronger than anyone else (v7).  On the contrary, as 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  In other words, it was because of God’s love, greater plan and promises that God chose you, like He chose the people of Israel (v8).  Since we are chosen by God and called His treasured possession, may we respond to God with love and not hate.  When we do so, we and the generations coming after us will be blessed.

Thank You Lord that out of all the people in the world and in history You chose us to be Your people, Your treasured possession, a people set apart for You.  Thank You for always being faithful to Your promises and committed to Your people even when our own faithfulness and commitment are flawed.  How amazing is Your faithfulness, Your affection and Your love for us.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!