March 05, 2019: SOAP #3379:  Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 12

Scripture:  Deuteronomy (NIV) 2:26 From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying, 27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left….  30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done. 31 The LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”

Observation:  Here we see the LORD making this king’s spirit “stubborn and his heart obstinate.”  Although others (vs 29) had let Israel pass through their land, King Sihon refused.  God had a purpose.  God used Israel to bring judgment to King Sihon.  God gave that land to Israel as a possession.  And I believe God used it to give Israel war-experience (vs 33) before entering the promised land.

Application:  God still deals with nations, especially those who have a history of God’s involvement in the founding of their nation—the USA being a prime example.  Why members of our congress, who have wasted countless millions of dollars on numberless projects, refuses to give President Trump a much smaller amount to build a wall along our southern border seems to me to be the hand of God giving them “stubborn and obstinate” hearts.  But God has a purpose!

God is bringing judgment on the USA for the sin of abortion.  His judgment is to bring one illegal immigrant into our nation for each child we have aborted.  It is for our nation to confess our sin, accept God’s judgment, and work to win the people coming into our land into the Kingdom of God!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, give wisdom to our leaders.  Anoint your church to reap the harvest of souls you are bringing into our nation. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!