By Jenny Lopez Lowe
“From the desert of Cademot I sent messengers to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace:
“Let us go through your country; we will stay on the main road, without deviating to the right or to the left. We will pay you all the food and all the water that we consume. Just let us pass, as allowed by the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar. We need to cross the Jordan to enter the land that the Lord our God gives us. “
“But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through there, because the Lord our God had obfuscated his spirit and hardened his heart, to make him our subject, as he is to this day. Then the Lord told me: “Right now I am going to give you Sihon and his country. Throw yourself to conquer it, and take possession of its territory. “” When Sihon, accompanied by all his army, went out to fight us in Yahaza, the Lord our God gave him to us and we defeated him, along with his sons and all his army. On that occasion we conquered all its cities and destroyed them completely;
38 years into their journey to their promised land, the people of Israel received an “Enough is Enough” message from God. Their 9 day travel had turned into almost four decades of wondering around the same mountain. In chapter 2 of Deuteronomy, God also gives specific instructions about how they were to advance; what they were to experience next, and new route to take.
The Israelites were to head north through a series of inhabited regions. God was so specific in His instructions that He reveals who they will encounter and also tell them how to interact with them, since He himself had given those inhabitants the land as an inheritance. In verses 4-5, God describes his favor over the Edomites, descendants of Esau. In the verse 9, He tells them how to interact with the Moabites, descendants of Lot, and in verse 18, he tells them the same about the Ammonites, who are also descendants of Lot.
On verse 24, Moses receives different instructions. God reveals to him that land of Heshbon, will be theirs. God tells Moses that this land He will give to the Israelites. Even so, Moses as a wise leader and visionary, approaches these people wisely, he chooses send a messenger of peace, who presents the king of the land a peace proposal as he did with the Edomites, the Moabites and the Ammonites.
“From the desert of Cademot I sent messengers to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace:
“Let us go through your country; we will stay on the main road, without deviating to the right or to the left. We will pay you all the food and all the water that we consume. Just let us pass, as allowed by the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar. We need to cross the Jordan to enter the land that the Lord our God gives us. “- Deuteronomy 2: 26-29
Even with such an offer of gain, the response of the Sihon, king of the region, was negative.
Beloved friend, for the people of Israel this conflict provoked their first of many conquests, it was the first victory in their transition from their desert season to their season of abundance. I ask you today, how do you deal with conflict? Even when you know that God has given you instructions to keep going, how do you react to the obstacles you encounter along the way? Do you surrender to discouragement? Sadness? Fear? Do you find conflict a valid reason to give up? Or, do you understand that conflict is a precursor to your conquest?
Verses 30 and 31 are key:
“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through his territory; for Jehovah your God had hardened his spirit, and his heart was stubborn to deliver him into your hand, as until this day. And Jehovah said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before you; begin to take possession of it so that you inherit it. “Deuteronomy 2: 30-31
When conflict reveals its presence, might be in the form of difficult people, or obstacles in your projects, oppressions, delays or even your own weaknesses. Don’t give up, strengthen yourself in the Lord, it is a sign that conflict is about to be delivered into your hand in the form of victory and resources. It is a sign of the beginnings of your conquest.
LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for showing me that you are my guide, my strategist. I raise my eyes to you, and I promise to see conflict as a sign of conquest. I get rid of the options I used to adopt, discouragement, frustration, sadness, and anger. I am more than conquering in you Jesus, amen.
FaithTime 