Deuteronomy 9:29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Appealing to the Ownership of God
The older you get the thinner the margin is between you and the dangers in this world. When you were a kid, you had parents, grandparents, cousins, and neighbors who were over you. Now that you are an adult you are, in some measure, responsible for your life and the world around you.
Israel was about to head into a new land, the land of Canaan, and the theme of chapters 8-9 is “Don’t forget; remember God.” More specifically, they were to remember and not forget that they were not good or faithful, but that God is good and faithful. In verses 4-6 Moses repeats this idea 3 times. He says, “Look, God is not giving you this land because you are good. He is giving you this land because Canaan is wicked. He is giving you this land because He is good.” God is not just great; God is good. What comfort would His greatness and power be if we did not know that He is also good?
As they came into Canaan, the question was, “Who can stand before these giants who defend walled cities?” The reply in verse 3 is, “The LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face.” In other words, God did not bless Israel because of their power, their virtue, or their goodness. God blessed them because of His.
There is a power that comes from appealing to the ownership of God. Many times I have said to the Lord, “Lord, this is not my ministry. The people we are serving here are not my people. It’s not my money. Ultimately, this is not my worry or problem. I’m asking You to help.” We’re talking about appealing to the ownership of God, realizing that God is the Owner. This realization provides two things for us: mercy and modesty.
Mercy is when we are going up against giants and walls, and modesty comes once those have crumbled before us because of the grace of God.
The ownership of God is greater than your prosperity. In chapter 8 Moses tells Israel, “You are going to have a marvelous land, great prosperity, and security you’ve not had before, but don’t forget God.” God is greater than the prosperity He gives.
The ownership of God is greater than your challenges. Moses reminds Israel over and again, “You are coming against cities that are greater and mightier than you, but no one can stand before God. You are not going up against the giants; you are going up following God Jehovah.”
God’s ownership is greater than your virtues and faults. Again, Israel was not coming into this land because they were good. In fact, they were not. Moses reminded Israel how they provoked God to wrath in the wilderness, in Horeb, and in Kadesh Barnea.
Today, whatever your giants or walls, there is both mercy and modesty that come from appealing to the ownership of God.