Numbers 21:33,34
Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out with all his people, for battle at Edrei. But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”
The Exodus and the wanderings of an entire nation was not common. This was several million people on the move. It may seem formidable from a distance. Yet probably more than half were children or elderly.
Another deficit for the people is that they were a slave nation. They have been subserviant to the Egyptians for over four hundreds years. There wasn’t a pattern of strength in how they were raised. There were many generations of children who grew up seeing their parents being harshly treated.
The king of Bashan may have thought that this would be an easy battle. His scouts gave him the reports. He may have showed off his military with intimidating manuvers. Israel must have seemed as defenseless as a group of children before an army.
There is a divine factor. God is with them. He is something that Og couldn’t prepare for. It wouldn’t be long before Og and his splendid military would be decimated. He would end up part of the lore of Israel.
We are often like Israel; feeling defenseless and possibly unaware of the dangers that are close by. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Because we are God’s children, the devil would love to torment us. There are also people that we will meet that don’t like us. We may be in circumstances at school or work that seem unfair. Some of this is the stuff of life, while others happen to us because we are believers.
We have a divine factor working on our account. This doesn’t mean God wants to crush our coworkder or fellow student. He loves them, also. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We may be frustrated or confused. Yet God can work it out. We are to yield to Him and trust Him. Behaving biblically (be kind, and understanding) helps. When we are defensive, we damage the situation.
God wants to bring honor to those who trust Him. Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”. As we walk with Him, trust Him and behave biblically, He causes people to respect us. We aren’t to show off and attract attention. He brings it. We can’t worry about the squabbles that bother us. We still have to live through it. We are to trust that He will work it out for the best.
Lord, thank You that You are our defense. Help us not to get upset by life’s drama. Help us not to complicate it by our actions. But to behave well and trust You for the outcome.