Murmur Not!

 18 “At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: ‘Although the Lord your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them."
(Deuteronomy 3:18)

A huge battle has ensued as Israel prepares to enter the land promised to Abraham many years before.  Two Amorite kings of huge fame were killed - Og and Sihon.  King Og was known as the last survivor of the race of "giants" in the region.  Scripture records the size of his bed (made of iron rails) as 13 feet long and 6 feet wide.  Talk about "king size"!  The most interesting thing is that God was making the giants of their fears a thing of the past for them!

That is how God works - he takes the giants of our past, present and future, making much show in their destruction.  It is completely like God to put down what we elevate to such a position of control in our lives - simply because he wants nothing else to be in control of our lives!  The ordering and arranging of our lives is his business - and it goes so much better when he is allowed to do his part!

God gave Israel favor, wisdom, his presence and his sufficiency.  Four things that made every step that ensued purposeful.  God's favor indicates that we will enjoy his blessings.  His wisdom means that we will never be without the needed insight into our battles.  The presence of God with us brings us into unknown territory with assurance and boldness.  His sufficiency creates a wall of defense that we rely upon in the face of the enemy's attacks.

They had spent 40 years in the wilderness - yet in that barren place, they lacked nothing!  How much more now as they are about to enter into the promises of God!  All the murmurings of our wilderness experience do not dissuade God from providing for our needs in that place of barrenness.  We may not have prime rib and roasted potatoes, but our needs are met!

We need to recognize the richness of all that we have in God's favor, wisdom, presence and sufficiency.  They are treasures beyond what we could ever imagine.  We may murmur in our dissatisfaction at the provision, but the wilderness experience will never get shorter with more murmuring!

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