Numbers 21:31-35: a reflection

31Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32Moses sent to spy out Jazer. They took its villages, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33They turned and went up by the way of Bashan. Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34The LORD said to Moses, “Don’t fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 35So they struck him, with his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors; and they possessed his land.

As Israel faces Og, a formidable king who comes out against them, God tells Moses not to fear, for he has already given the enemy into their hand. Don't fear him, the LORD said to Moses of Og, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. Og was a formidable foe, coming out with all his people to battle; by every appearance, a fearsome enemy. But God's word to Moses was, do not fear him; and the ground of that fearlessness was not Israel's strength, but God's word: I have already delivered him into your hand. The victory was given before the battle; God had gone before. This shows facing a formidable foe without fear, because God has gone before and given the victory. Do not fear the formidable foe; God has gone before you. God's word, I have delivered him into your hand, is the ground of fearlessness. The victory can be God's gift before the battle is fought. Face what is against you trusting that God has gone before.

Notice the ground of the fearlessness God calls for. Og was a formidable king, coming out with all his people to make war; by the look of things, a fearsome enemy who might well strike terror. Yet God tells Moses, do not fear him. And the reason God gives is not that Og is weaker than he appears, or that Israel is strong enough; the reason is God's own action: I have delivered him into your hand. God had already, in his purpose, given the victory; he had gone before. So the fearlessness God calls for rests not on Israel's assessment of their own strength against the enemy, but on God's word that he has already given the victory. This holds an encouragement for facing what is against us. We face things that appear formidable, fearsome, stronger than us; and by the look of them, we might well be afraid. But when we belong to God and go where he leads, we can face even the formidable without fear, not because we are strong enough in ourselves, but because God has gone before us. We do not face our battles alone or in our own strength; God goes before, and in him the victory is already given. We do well to face what is against us not in fear, but trusting that God has gone before us and gives the victory. Face the formidable foe without fear, for God has gone before you. Your fearlessness rests on God's action, not your own strength. God goes before you; the victory is his to give. Do not be terrified by what appears formidable; God has already gone ahead.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can face even the formidable without fear, because God has gone before us and gives the victory, as God told Moses not to fear Og, whom he had already delivered into their hand. We can be terrified by what appears formidable and stronger than us; but God's word to Moses was, do not fear, for I have delivered him into your hand. The victory was God's gift. When you face what appears formidable and fearsome, do not be terrified; trust that God has gone before you and gives the victory, and face it without fear. Face what is against you, however formidable it appears, not in fear but trusting that God has gone before you and gives the victory, as when Israel faced Og, a formidable king who came out against them, God told Moses not to fear him, for he had already delivered him into their hand with all his people and his land; for Og was a formidable foe coming out with all his people to battle, by every appearance a fearsome enemy, but God's word to Moses was do not fear him, and the ground of that fearlessness was not Israel's strength but God's word that he had already delivered him into their hand, the victory given before the battle and God gone before, so that the fearlessness God calls for rests not on our assessment of our own strength against the enemy but on God's word that he has already given the victory, which holds an encouragement for facing what is against us, since we face things that appear formidable and stronger than us and by the look of them might well be afraid, but when we belong to God and go where he leads we can face even the formidable without fear, not because we are strong enough in ourselves but because God has gone before us, so that we do not face our battles alone or in our own strength but God goes before and in him the victory is already given, and we do well to face what is against us not in fear but trusting that God has gone before us and gives the victory.

Lord, as Israel faces Og, a formidable king who comes out against them, you tell Moses not to fear, for you have already given the enemy into their hand. Don't fear him, you said to Moses of Og, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. Og was a formidable foe, coming out with all his people to battle; by every appearance, a fearsome enemy. But your word to Moses was, do not fear him; and the ground of that fearlessness was not Israel's strength, but your word: I have already delivered him into your hand. The victory was given before the battle; you had gone before. Show me the ground of the fearlessness you call for. Og was a formidable king, coming out with all his people to make war; by the look of things, a fearsome enemy who might well strike terror. Yet you tell Moses, do not fear him. And the reason you give is not that Og is weaker than he appears, or that Israel is strong enough; the reason is your own action: I have delivered him into your hand. You had already, in your purpose, given the victory; you had gone before. So the fearlessness you call for rests not on Israel's assessment of their own strength, but on your word that you have already given the victory. This holds an encouragement for me in facing what is against me. I face things that appear formidable, fearsome, stronger than me; and by the look of them, I might well be afraid. But when I belong to you and go where you lead, I can face even the formidable without fear, not because I am strong enough in myself, but because you have gone before me. Take that to my heart. When I face what appears formidable and fearsome, keep me from being terrified; help me trust that you have gone before me and give the victory, Lord, and face it without fear, not in my own strength but in yours who go before me.