DCLM Daily Manna Thursday 16 February 2023
TOPIC: Neglected Promises
Text: Deuteronomy 2:26-37 (KJV)
26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
31 And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
33 And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:
35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:
37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.
KEY VERSE
“And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.”
(Deuteronomy 2:31).
DCLM Daily Manna Thursday 16 February 2023 MESSAGE
In the text, Moses recounted how God gave Israel the land of Heshbon. Israel had no intention to possess Heshbon but to pass through, requesting to buy their meat and water. But Sihon, the king of Heshbon refused and God decided to add his land for a possession for Israel. The Lord commanded Moses to begin to possess and inherit the land even before the battle.
The promises of God to His children are true. Balaam in his right sense affirmed that “God is not a man, that he should lie… hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). It is, however, sad that many Christians to whom these promises are given have neglected them; they take them as ordinary words of men. Many believers trivialise the promises attached to the instructions without considering their source. The ultimate consequence of such flippancy is forfeiture of the fulfilment of the promises.
The promises of God need to be believed and claimed. In our text, the children of Israel had to fight to possess the land of Heshbon though God had already decreed the land for them. The death of Christ at Calvary comes with complete package of promises including answered prayers, healing and sustained health, provision, protection, promotion, peace, prosperity and many more. But the believer must know how to possess them.
To claim and obtain the promises of God, you must study the Word and pray them into your circumstances and life. George Muller, an English Evangelist, would search the Scriptures for the promise of God for his need and pray keeping his finger on the particular verse and asking God to fulfil His Word. He always got answers to his requests. The Lord Himself has given the promises and is ready to fulfil them.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God’s promises are often redeemable on request.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 1-2
