ICS Daily Devotions
God Will Fight With Us
Deut 30:2, 6-8 And you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,…And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today.
In this passage, God said that if the Israelites walked in obedience, He would come against those who hate and persecute them, based on the Mosaic covenant. God is our vindicator against our enemies, because He is the covenant partner of the Jews as well as the Christians in the New Testament. It is within the covenant agreement that covenant partners will always fight the battle with their partners, so how much more will He deal with our enemies in this new and wonderful covenant that we have in Christ?
The Israelites were operating in two covenants concurrently—the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. The circumcision of their foreskin shows that they are God’s chosen people and the Messiah will come through them. It was under the Abrahamic covenant because it shows forth that they are a group of people separated unto God. However, it was also said that the day would come when the circumcision will be done in their hearts, and the day has indeed arrived for us!
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Matt 22:37-38 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment
Jesus gave us the same command that we should love God with all our heart, our soul and our mind. We are able to make up our mind to walk in God’s way, to love Him from the depth of our hearts, and our emotions will come in line with our love for Him.
God will fight the battle with us as our covenant partner when we abide in Him, walk in His ways and will for our lives. We can call on our covenant partner through prayers and expect God to turn the situation around for us.
Sermon Series: Choices
