Deuteronomy 2:37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us
Few things in the world are more frustrating to me than a key that does not work, especially if I have been driving all day, get a hotel room, haul all my luggage to the fourth floor, and then the key does not work. Or maybe you come out of Walmart and there is a sea of cars that are all gray, black, or white. You go to your gray car and the key does not work. In both cases, you figure out you have the right key, but the wrong room or the wrong car.
In Deuteronomy 2 Israel was traveling down a long corridor with the key God had given them. They were tempted to try doors as they walk down this hall. Deuteronomy 2 is a travelogue. It is the story of Israel’s trek toward the land God had given them. Now, there was a land God had promised them and He said, “Go up and possess the land,” but there were also properties about which God said, “No, your key does not work here. You don’t belong.”
For example, verse 5 says, “Meddle not with them (children of Esau); for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.” God says this twice more in verses 9 and 19 about two other states, the Moabites and Ammonites. God said, “This is not yours. I have given it to someone else.”
Verses 36 and 37 are a summary of the whole of the chapter. Verse 36 says, “There was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us.” He is talking about the cities God had given to Israel. The words “too strong” literally mean “too high.” There wasn’t a city for which God would not provide. Have you ever been in a fancy motel and the fifteenth floor is restricted? You don’t have a key because it is exclusive and too high. There was no city in the inheritance God had provided for Israel that was too high. No giant or city wall would be too tall to stand before Israel as to the inheritance God had given.
There was a precedent. There are at least three verses in this chapter that talk about different groups of giants. For example, God basically said about the Ammonites, whose land they were not to take, “The Ammonites dispossessed the giants who were strong and mighty, and if I would give the Ammonites this land and they would dispossess the giants, then you do not need to fear the giants tall or the city wall that is ahead of you.”
The bottom line is that God is the owner and you and I are merely stewards. I believe one of the themes of in the Old Testament is the ownership of God. God says, “My land, my people, my law.” We are not owners. We are just stewards of our lives, our time, and the things we consider our property. Verse 25 talks about the nations that are under the whole heaven. There is but one heaven and one God and every nation, every person, and every possession is under that one heaven and one God.
So, steward your key. In other words, you don’t own anything; you steward everything. The owner is God, so whatever God puts in your hands, steward that key. Take what God gives, no less and no more. Israel was tempted to do both. They were tempted to ignore the land God had promised them and said, “We can’t go there. There are giants and cities that are heavily fortified.” In our lives, sometimes we don’t want the possession God has given us. We think, “This is too big for me. I don’t want this.” Either we don’t take what God has given or we want what does not belong to us. We say, “Why couldn’t I have that position, that family, that power, that responsibility, that money?” Take what God gives. What Israel possessed belonged to God, it did not belong to them. They were just stewards.
There are a couple of things to think about. First, don’t force a door. Use your key for what God has for you. Timing is a big part of this. The right thing at the wrong time is not the right thing. For instance, in chapter 1 Israel refused to go up into the land because of the spies’ report. Then, when God chastised them, they changed their minds and said, “We will go up.” But the Lord told Moses in verse 42, “Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.” In other words, timing is important. Faith is not just a matter if God can or will, but the timing as well. It can be difficult for us to rest that with God.
Regarding obedience, doing the right thing at the wrong time is not obedience. Obedience is immediate. Moses goes on to say, “Ye would not hear, but rebelled… and went presumptuously.” They presumed to take what God withheld at that time. There was a time when they could have had the land and refused. God judged them. Then they wanted to take when God said to wait, and that was presumption. So, don’t force a door, thinking, “I want this position and responsibility. I deserve it.” No, don’t force a door.
Second, don’t fear a room. Maybe there is a room and you think, “I don’t want to go in that room. I don’t know what is in there. It scares me.” There are times in your life when you have things sitting in your lap that are a conspiracy of elements that have happened in life. You didn’t ask for them or plan them. You didn’t rule over them, but all of a sudden, they come together and spell responsibility. Maybe you have parents who need care or a mission that is beyond you, but time and happenstance come together to create something that is no less than responsibility. Don’t force a door, but don’t fear the room.
Third, listen and follow. Both possessing the land and abstaining from the land of Esau and the others were acts of obedience. God is the owner of life; I am the steward, so just listen and follow. You may not know what is a hundred miles down the road or one year down your life, so just do what you know to be God’s ethic, what is morally right. Know what you ought do right now with the things God has placed in your hand, money, time, ability, and gifts. Give those to God and He will give you what you need. Take what God gives, no more, no less. Don’t force a door. Don’t fear a room. Listen and follow God and you will be exactly where you ought to be when you ought to be there.