(Taken down by a hearer)
The next thing we have mentioned in connection with the wilderness is this: there were great forces and great powers ranged against the soul coming out of the house of bondage. Pharaoh and all his hosts pursued them even after they had let them go, and after they had come out through the blood of the paschal lamb with their loins girded, and their shoes upon their feet, and their staff in their hand. When they passed out of the land of bondage, Pharaoh still pursued them, and sought to overthrow them, as we mentioned, at the Red Sea.
Now while the soul is in the wilderness, as we find brought before us here, there are still great kings ranged against him, and very often at the end of the journey. Sihon, and Og, King of Bashan, were near the borders of the promised land. There they were, despite all the children of Israel had enjoyed during the wilderness journey. Despite the manna, despite the waters from the rock (“and that Rock was Christ”) and despite their being led by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night when they learned this:
“I will instruct thee, and thee teach
The way that thou shalt go;
And with Mine eye upon thee set
I will direction show.” (Metrical Psalm 32: 8).
when they were coming near the end of their journey they were confronted with “great kings” and “famous kings”. These kings were great in power, and famous because of the victories they obtained over others. Now as Israel came near the end of their journey they were faced with these great and these famous kings.
We can well understand this. Surely, if Satan is troubled greatly at the soul coming out of the kingdom of darkness and starting on the wilderness journey, do you think that he will not make as it were, a last effort, a final effort, before the soul gets into Immanuel’s land? Is he not going to gather all his forces and all his powers in one last attempt to cause the soul to fall?
You see that in the case of Moses himself. He came through the wilderness. He was thirty-eight years on the way through the wilderness, and the people provoked him, so that he smote the rock twice. The Lord did not tell him to smite the rock, and Moses, who had been so careful before, when he was now provoked by the people, smote the rock and said, “Hear now ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 30: 10). Because he and Aaron did not sanctify God before the people, they were not allowed to enter into the promised land. They were not allowed to enter in because “the Lord our God is holy still”, and see, my dear friend, how the very grace that Moses was strongest in — the grace of meekness — was the grace that he failed in when left to himself. He was left to himself just as it were on the borders of the promised land, and what a solemn lesson! When Satan sees the soul ripening for everlasting glory, drawing near that place where it is to enter into the haven of rest, we can very well expect that all his malignity and all the powers of the kingdom of darkness will be ranged against that soul.
In connection with Sihon, King of the Amorites, we read in the Book of Numbers that all Israel wanted to do was to pass along the king’s highway and not to disturb him. That was all they wanted to do on their way to the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now this man, you see, would not have this. He was not going to have them taking the king’s highway although it was the right way. He was going to resist them, and he was going to resist them with all the power that he possessed, although they were not expressly keen on that occasion to meet with him.
There is just one thing I might mention in connection with this. It is not the duty of God’s people to be stirring up the carnal mind in others. We very often bring persecution on ourselves by our own lack of care. If we are to suffer for Christ’s sake, then we must suffer as if we were suffering from Sihon, King of the Amorites. Israel just wanted to keep to the king’s highway. They told him that they would leave his fields and his vineyards.
Now you see there may be occasions, although of course this is not one in the case of Israel, when God’s people bring persecution upon themselves by their own carelessness, by their own lack of a proper spirit, by their own lack of discernment, and understanding of the situation in which they find themselves. On the other hand when, on walking on the king’s highway, they incur the wrath of their enemies, it is unreasonable wrath; as Paul says when he prayed to be delivered from “unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3: 2). There is that kind of unreasoning in Satan, and unreasoning in the world, that although people are just walking along the king’s highway, walking along the “way of holiness” wherein “wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err” (Isaiah 35: 8), the world rises up in persecution against them. It is unreasonable and unreasoning persecution. There was no reason why Sihon, King of the Amorites should interfere with a people who were passing peaceably through his land, but you see, he secretly hated them, and he thought that he was more powerful than they were. He thought that he could destroy them. He thought that they could never reach the promised land if he dealt with them. But, as we know, through the mercy of God his power was overthrown, and he was defeated, and thoroughly defeated.
In connection with Og, King of Bashan, Israel had to meet him and to fight their way through his land. This illustrates the principle that I have endeavoured to mention. The Lord’s people are the sons of peace. They are not called upon to fight on every occasion. They are to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, but there are occasions when, as in the case of Sihon, King of the Amorites, when they are not called upon to battle unless disturbed by him.
But in the case of Og, King of Bashan, they were called upon to battle with him, and because they were called upon to battle with him, they were given a promise. They were given a promise by God, and you see when duty will call us to spiritual warfare, the promise of God will be with us, and the promise of God will sustain us. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.” (Isaiah 41:10). When we are truly engaged in spiritual warfare, when we are face to face with Og King of Bashan, and we must deal with him by warring against him and against his people, then we can expect to have the promise of God with us. Here Israel, coming near the end of their journey, met and defeated these great and famous kings who had conquered and brought others down on many occasions. How did they overcome? “For His mercy endureth for ever.”
“For neither got their sword the land,
Nor did their arm them save;
But Thy right hand, arm, countenance;
For Thou them favour gave.” (Metrical Psalm 44:3).
This was the cause of their victories at the end of their journey, “For His mercy endureth for ever.” So it will be with all the people of God. They will be “more than conquerors through Him that loved” them, and Who manifested His love to them in bringing them out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, manifested His love in guiding them through the wilderness, and manifests His love in bringing them safely into the haven of rest; although the end of their journey is very often the time when the powers of darkness range against them. The more spiritually minded a sinner is, the more engaged in this spiritual warfare he is. The more he is showing signs of departing to the Father’s House “to be with Christ which is far better”, the more these powers are ranged against him. Surely this is a very serious thing, my dear friend, and a very solemn thing. Although we would have the hope of going to Heaven, and going through the wilderness of this world and coming to the end of it, we need great care at the end of our journey, if we are to take the Word of God as our guide.
Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, King of Bashan, were out for the overthrow of Israel. Also as I mentioned, the rebellion of the people and the evil spirit of the people provoked “Moses, the man of God”, and the very grace in which he excelled these thirty-eight years, failed. What an extraordinary thing that is. Yet it is true. Meekness was the grace in which he excelled. All God’s people excel in different ways. Some are strong in faith, some are strong in hope, some are strong in love, some are strong in patience, and so on. “Moses, the man of God”, was a faithful servant to the Divine Redeemer and he was, of course, one who was strong in faith and so on, but he is characterised in particular by the spirit of meekness. This was the grace in which he excelled, and he had every expectation according to the Word of God which said :
“The meek and lowly He will guide
In judgment just alway:
To meek and poor afflicted ones
He’ll clearly teach His way.”
(Metrical Psalm 24 (sec. ver.) : 9).
That is what he prayed for. “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” (Exodus 33 : 15). Yet after thirty-eight years in the wilderness when he was tried and caught off his guard, he failed in the very grace in which he excelled, and he suffered.
The same thing is true with regard to Peter. Peter’s faithfulness, courage, attachment to Christ, fearlessness as a friend to the Divine Redeemer, were such, that even in the garden of Gethsemane, he drew his sword, quite prepared to die by the side of Christ; but when Satan got the opportunity, he overthrew him in the very grace in which he excelled. A maiden girl overthrew him and brought him to deny his Master. What a tremendous lesson is there for every one of us as we go through the wilderness of time, and as we meet with trials and temptations. We may succeed in one, two, three, or four trials, and we may fail if we are not “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (1 Peter 1 : 5), and if we are like Moses, kept in an outstanding way through the thirty-eight years of our journey in the wilderness, then we can be sure of this: when we come near the end of the journey there will be some determined attack made by some Sihon or Og, by the kingdom of darkness, for our overthrow, to bring a spot on our profession.
Now these are solemn realities, solemn and powerful realities, and they are in the Word of God for our learning. These are solemn, powerful realities that are searching in the extreme. I hear people talking about searching sermons. Well, one thing I will say is this. The sermon, my dear friend, which will search you is a sermon that brings a feeling of awe and solemnity into your soul with regard to spiritual teaching. What is going to search you and me is this: that the Truth brings out what spiritual experience really means, and whether we have it, or whether we do not have it. That is what searches the souls of God’s people and that is what they want.
Despite the manna, despite the water from the rock, despite the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, despite what they heard about Pharaoh and his hosts being drowned in the Red Sea, Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, King of Bashan, did not change one whit. It does not matter, my dear friend, what favours you may have got from the Lord, and it does not matter what favours you may get in trials and temptations. It does not matter to Satan. He does not care. He is not the least bit interested, but what he is interested in is the downfall of the people of God. All his endeavours are because of the belligerence of his nature against the people of God. Once they are out of the kingdom of grace into the kingdom of glory, he is finished with them, and they are finished with him to all eternity. He knows that his time is short, and his malignity will be evidenced and made known. He knows that his time is short when he sees a soul ripening for the glories of Immanuel’s land.
How precious then this is: “For His mercy endureth for ever.” “His mercy endureth for ever” coming out of the land of Egypt, coming through the Red Sea, through the wilderness, giving the manna and the water. Even now, faced with these famous kings, “His mercy endureth for ever.” Israel would carry on into Immanuels’ land, carry on led by “the Captain of their salvation” Who was made “perfect through sufferings”, and Who is to bring many sons to glory. This is what you and I need. This is the Captain you and I need. “To him that overcometh” He says, “will I grant to sit with Me in My throne.” (Revelation 3:21).
No wonder, my dear friends, this is the refrain: “For His mercy endureth for ever.” The “great kings” and the “famous kings” fled before the Israel of God, although that people were not used to warfare. They had been travelling through the wilderness — they were not used to warfare — but the Lord gave them skill to fight. He taught their hands to war, and He brake the bow of the mighty in pieces, and that because of this: “His mercy endureth for ever.” What a God, what a Saviour to possess! “In the world ye shall have tribulation,” He says, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). May He bless His Word.