3 Warnings to God's People
3 Warnings to God’s People
Deuteronomy 2:2-6 -(vs. 2) “And the Lord spoke to me, saying:
(vs. 3) ‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.
(vs. 4) And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully.
(vs.5) Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
(vs.6 )You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.
In vs. 4, God commands the Israelites to pass through the Edomite territory carefully. The people there would be fearful of them and the Israelites needed to act accordingly by not causing a fight or being influenced by them.
In a believers’ life, our walk should be along the border of the world, not through it. While the world may not be fearful of us, we should still tread carefully to avoid conflict or influence against God’s will.
In vs. 5, God commands the Israelites not to even meddle with the Edomites, even though they may have been strong enough to. The land was promised to the Edomites by God and He was not planning on giving it to Israel.
In a believers’ life, our identity must be with God’s holiness and righteousness, not meddling with the world. The world may have some things that we feel that we can conquer, but that is not what God intends for us. We must wait for God’s will knowing that He will give us the very best.
In vs. 6, God commands the Israelites to treat the Edomites with respect, not as a marauding nation taking things freely.
In a believer’s life, we should not be receiving anything freely from the world, and therefore shouldn’t be indebted to the world. God wants us to work to be able to feed ourselves with His provision. We must rely on God, not the world.