The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 3 August 2021 – TOPIC: ENEMIES THAT CONTEND WITH INHERITANCE

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TOPIC: ENEMIES THAT CONTEND WITH INHERITANCE*READ: DEUTERONOMY 20:10-18 (NKJV)10. ” When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.11. “And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people [who are] found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.12. “Now if [the city] will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.13. “And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.14. “But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the LORD your God gives you.15. “Thus you shall do to all the cities [which are] very far from you, which [are] not of the cities of these nations.16. “But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you [as] an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive,17. “but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you,18. “lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.*THE MESSAGE:*In the battle for freedom, supremacy and dominion by the Israelites, there were instructions from the priests, military officers and God Himself. We meditated on the instruction of the military officers yesterday. In today’s Scripture, God gave out His instructions for dealing with enemy cities. In God’s instructions, an important principle was introduced into the war laws of Israel regarding the cities they besieged (verses 10-12), and the people they fought against (verses 16-18). In particular were the cities they must utterly destroy. One may ask how a merciful and just God could order the destruction of entire cities. He did this for 3 reasons: (i) God has given the enemy lands to the Israelites as an inheritance (ii) The abominations of those cities are sufficiently indicated in Leviticus 18:24-28 and Leviticus 20:23 (ii) To protect His people from idol worship which was certain to bring ruin to Israel.While God wants us to extend the peace of Christ to our enemies and take the Gospel to sinners for repentance. He is also instructing us to avoid completely any person that strongly opposes the good news or things that can easily take us away or contend with our inheritance. Hebrews 12:1 says”…let us lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnare us….” Let us completely flee and destroy every sin that can deprive us of the heavenly kingdom that God has prepared for us.*PRAYER:* Father Lord, let everything that can take me away from Your presence be destroyed in and around me in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!