Thursday 13 September 2007
- Bible Book:
- Deuteronomy
"If you say to yourself, 'These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?' do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid". (v.17-19)
Background
The Deuteronomic preacher takes his hearers back in imaginationto the eve of their entry into the Promised Land, after theirescape from slavery in Egypt and their years of wandering in thedesert. He instructs his people in the duties to which they arecalled. They are to destroy their idolatrous neighbours, to have nodealings of any kind such as commerce and matrimony, and they areto destroy their shrines and their contents. This commandment isfraught with moral difficulties for us today.
But it is through idolatry that Israel could destroy itself andthereby bring God's plan for the Israelites to nought. TheIsraelites, on entering the land of Canaan, the promised land, areto clear it of idolatrous articles. The people will recognisethemselves as small and insignificant before the vast populationand may be afraid but they are not to be so.
The preacher promises that God will do for them in Canaan what hedid for them in Egypt, and more if necessary. We too need to standstrong in faith before the might of the present secular age.
To Ponder
Remember what God has done for you in the pastand let it inform and strengthen you for today.
What do think some contemporary 'idols' might be?What must you stand up for or against today?