In Deuteronomy 1, the Israelites are standing on the doorstep of entering into the Promised Land. Moses is explaining the Law that God had given to him and to Israel. He explains in verse 8, that God said, “See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.”
That all sounds good until things become a little scary. The Israelites are frightened by the wilderness (Dt. 1:19), so Moses gives them a “pep talk.” He says in verse 21: “See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
It didn’t work. After the spies return from seeing the good land, they say in essence: “Nope. There’s no way. Those people are giants” (see v. 28). Moses said in verses 29-33, “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.”
Fear often causes us to forget. Faith enables us to forge onward! But faith is not always the complete absence of fear. Sometimes faith is having enough courage even when it is fearful. In Israel’s case, God had made a promise. He was going to give the land to His people.
Let’s skip forward just a little bit now to Deuteronomy 9. Moses says there in verses 1-3: “Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3 Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.”
Moses (or, God) assures Israel that they are not going to overtake the inhabitants of the land because of their own righteousness nor will they do it based upon their own power.
And then in Deuteronomy 31:7-8, the text says, “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
The Lord went before Israel. The Lord went with Israel. The Lord did not leave nor forsake Israel. What about us? Has the Lord made a different but yet similar promise to His people, spiritual Israel today?
Of course, Jesus promised to be with the apostles as they went into all the world preaching the Gospel (Mt. 28:18-20). He said that He would be with the twelve apostles specifically, but since His mission continues as long as this world stands, His promise stands as well. Though He is not with us in a miraculous way today, He is with us in a providential way, and that doesn’t mean anything less. Perhaps it is even more astonishing to consider. God can and will work behind the scenes. Sometimes it may be completely hidden from our sight. Sometimes it may be so thinly veiled that we have no doubt of His working.
In Philippians 4:13 Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The word “all” does not mean all in a comprehensive way. It does not mean that we have the capability of doing whatever we want to do. It does mean that Christ will provide the strength we need to do everything He wants us to do.
We don’t have to fear the work of our Lord. He will go before us!
Daren Schroeder
