“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deut. 7:6)
The Lord called His Chosen People to be separated from sin. This would be a challenge as they entered the Promised Land for they would come up against pagan peoples and their false gods. On the one hand the various pagan ways and idols would be a temptation because they were less demanding than the Lord’s commands and promoted sexual indulgence. God’s people would be tempted to compromise with evil and worship false gods which promised a life of comfort and ease but would only bring them grief. On the other hand they would also be tempted to fear the pagan peoples who would proclaim the superior power of their gods over Yahweh.
In both cases the Lord reminded them to recall who He is: He is God. He is love. He shows His loving-kindness by pouring out His blessings on undeserving people. As they recalled this, their faith would be strengthened; their trust in Him would increase. They could then more easily see in the midst of the battle that Yahweh is indeed the Supreme God, the one who has actually revealed Himself and shown His lovingkindness, revelation which displayed the capricious unpredictability and emptiness of the pagan gods.
Here we find an important lesson for our own spiritual warfare. Daily we are faced with temptation to sin, fear, doubt and compromise. In order to resist we must remember who the Lord is as well as what He has done for us and for His people. That is why we must daily be in the Word of God as this is the greatest weapon He has given us in our battle. As we read it and meditate on it the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, will show us His love and power so that our faith will be increased and we can more readily resist the attacks of Satan.