I was in Deuteronomy 2 this morning and I began to notice a pattern. Three times in this chapter God tells Israel not to harass or provoke to war the groups of people they encounter on their journey. First it’s the descendants of Esau, then the Moabites, then the Ammonites. The repetition told me there was something here for me to dwell on. I think there is significance in the fact that God didn’t just not tell them to attack on their way through, but specifically told them not to. It wasn’t their mission. God tells them that he will not give even enough of this land for them to set their foot on. This was not their battle.
How often do we provoke the Ammonites on our way through the desert? We're mad at God for making us wait on something. We are mad at ourselves for the mistake we made that caused the wandering to be necessary. Or we're just grumpy for a reason we can't even identify. And here come the Ammonites (insert your favorite scapegoat here) and we just start wailing on them. It feels good for a moment doesn’t it? We even convince ourselves that we are acting out of righteous indignation and not anger, frustration and spite. The sad thing is how often the Ammonites I attack are my family, friends or church.
Anyone else have this issue?
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