Deuteronomy 2:16 – 23 “Now when all the fighting men among the people had died, the LORD said to me, “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar. But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”
(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place, just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor (a part of Egypt) and settled in their place.)
Remember the horror stories the ten spies brought back about the giants in the Promised Land? Those were the stories that cost the Israelites 38 more years of wandering until all the fighting men of that generation had died. Why did God insist on waiting until all of the fighting men had died? Any one of those men, had he been courageous, had the potential to rally the people and to confront the ten spies and call them out for their cowardice. But the fighting men stayed in their tents, refusing to take any risks. As long as one of those faithless men remained, he still had the potential to discourage the younger generations.
God had already told the Israelites that He has chosen them for a special purpose, to demonstrate His Glory and His Holiness to the nations. But look at the information in this passage. God is now warning the Israelites to leave the Ammonites alone because He has given that land to the Ammonites as a possession. We also find that originally the land of the Ammonites also contained giants, Rephaim, or Zamzummites. “But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place, just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)”
Wait a minute! These verses mean that God was not only guiding and protecting the Israelites, who were presumably worshiping Him, but also helping the Ammonites, who were descendants of Lot as well as helping the descendants of Esau? That’s correct. While the Israelites were quaking in their tents in fear of giants in Canaan, God was already destroying similar giants and enabling the Ammonites and Esau’s descendants to drive them out and conquer the lands God had allotted to them.
God chose Israel because He wanted to demonstrate to the world what could happen if a people were completely dedicated to Him. But God did not hate the Ammonites or Esau’s descendants. God had promised Abraham in Genesis 15:4 that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and that promise extended to Esau’s descendants. Even though Lot was only Abraham’s nephew and a greedy one at that, God was still blessing Lot’s descendants because of Abraham.
APPLICATION: Did the Israelites realize that God had already destroyed giants for other tribes? Who knows? They had been out in the desert, so perhaps they didn’t have that information. But there is no record of hesitation on the part of the Ammonites or the descendants of Esau. When these groups saw an opportunity to defeat the giants, they took it.
Sometimes we want to believe that God is particularly favoring one nation over others. But John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son…” Truly, God was not only guiding the Israelites but also guiding other nations as well, even though those nations did not truly know Him.
If we honor God in our lives, God will help us. But there will still be giants. There will always be giants. And we must always realize that God’s love for the world is a global one. God will guide any nation as much as they will allow Him to do so. At the same time, nations that shun the One True Living God and insist on idolatry will eventually fall, consumed by their own wickedness. May we follow hard after God all the days of our lives and may we intercede for all the nations of the world. For it is God’s will that
”…the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
PRAYER: Father God, thank You that You have good plans for the whole world! Lord, let the knowledge of Your Glory fill the world, so that people in every nation will praise Your Holy Name. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment