Do Not Be Afraid

Do not be afraid.  This is a repeated message to God’s people throughout Scripture.  In our reading this morning, God tells the Israelites to not be afraid of the nations that are in the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:18).  There would be earthly reasons to be afraid.  Specifically, in the verse prior, God says “If you say to yourself, “These nations are greater than I; how can I drive them out?” (v.17).  There would be times when Israel would go into the Promised Land, Canaan, that God was giving them, that the nations that were already there would be large in number and established people.  They would be more numerous and powerful than Israel (v.1).  This would be intimidating, yet God had instructed Israel to completely destroy them, showing no mercy to them (v.2).  God just didn’t command Israel not to be afraid, but God also provided reasoning.  First, God instructs them to remember what the Lord did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt (v.18).  Not only were the ones that were present for that deliverance to recall what the Lord had done to their memory, but they were to instruct their children and grand-children in what the Lord had done in Egypt.  Secondly, God says, “Don’t be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you” (v.21).  The second reason has two points:  God is a great and awesome God, there is none like Him; and God is present among them.  We can draw strength from this as well.