Introduction - Reviewing the transitional verses (vv. 16-18)

None of the tests that Israel went through on your map were wasted. It is true that they had by this time had seven failures, but even those failures made them stronger. And they had had far more successes than failures. The book of Numbers shows that since the last major failure, they had passed 24 tests of faith with flying colors. Praise God! God doesn't send us into battle without preparing us for battle.

Review of the tests Israel faced from spot #1 on the map and forward

But here's the thing - Satan has had centuries of experience in tempting God's people. He is clever, and he knows how to blindside us in areas that we are weak and unprepared in. And there was one enemy that they had not yet learned how to adequately fight. It was sexual temptation. And in a few weeks they would let down their guard in that area at spot #25. Men have to constantly be on guard with their eye-gate and their hearts, and learn how to handle Satan's temptations to sexual sin.

In any case, this map highlights the various ways that God had taught them to walk by faith and to war by faith and (most importantly) to never assume that they could succeed on their own. The moment we start coasting in our spiritual walk, we can become vulnerable to Satan's temptations. He knows how to blindside us.

And by the way, Paul does exactly what I am doing in this introduction in 1 Corinthians 10. He rehearses the various ways that Israel had been blindsided in spots #1 through #25, and then says, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." In other words, Paul says that the temptations that Israel faced successfully or unsuccessfully are temptations that we continue to face - and that we need to learn from them. But for the most part, Israel was growing strong in facing temptation.

In today's passage, Israel had just crossed the Wadi Arnon (in other words, the dried out valley portion of that river), moving from spot #20 to spot #21 on your map. That was a major victory of faith. At spot #20 they had Moab on their left, Ammon on their right, and the nation of Heshbon on the other side of the Wadi Arnon. They had only two ways to go - retreat or move forward. And they did move forward into the land of the giants by faith.

So before Moses looks at the first set of giants they would take on in verses 26-37, he gives Israel a handful of additional lessons that will stand them in good stead as they take on the challenges of the next six and a half years of warfare. And since I gave such short shrift to verses 16-18 last time (there just wasn't enough time), and since these are transitional verses that relate to both sections, let me make a couple more applications from those verses.

A new generation, a new opportunity (v. 16)

Verse 16 says, "So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people." This generation could have gotten discouraged over the faithlessness of their parents. It could have been easy to think that the disappointments of the last forty years would chain their own lives to mediocrity as well. But God's point is that with a new generation comes new opportunities. The past does not need to dictate our future.

And in a similar way, the church of my generation has messed up. My own generation has for the most part been an utter failure in America. We have allowed the giants of the land to make us settle for far less than God's plan for America. Many of the Christians of my generation lowered God's standards for the nation, for the church, for the family, and even for their individual lives. For example, last week I talked with a friend from back east whose wife was counseled by her pastor to get a divorce. And the reasons given were not Biblical. He just believed that it is everyone's right to be fulfilled and to be happy in marriage, and if you aren't fulfilled in your marriage, you should seek to get out of it. So he counseled my friend's wife to get a divorce. Very sad. And I don't need to document the myriad ways that Christians of my generation have ignored the Bible in business, economics, politics, science, counseling, and so many other areas. Obviously there have been Joshua's and Calebs of my generation who have had fabulous ministries that have been faithful. But most have been following the herd instead of standing strong on the Word.

My point is that with each generation there is new opportunity. That's the hope of verses 16-18. And study after study has shown that there is a growing revival that is happening among the younger generation - especially the young men of the GenZers and Millennials. Let me give you some of the evidence that I have found that there seems to be a growing movement of men willing to take on the giants of our nation.

A recent Barna Group study has shown that personal commitment to Christ is up 12 points since 2021, with there being a 22% increase among young men. That's a stunning increase in a four year period! And you might be skeptical and say, "Yeah, right! What kind of personal commitment are they talking about?" But the Barna study seems to show that the commitment of these young men has nothing to do with crowds getting excited by fog machines, loud music, and emotional hype. No. It appears to be way deeper. It shows that these young men want to have a consistent biblical worldview. True, they are still a minority, and their worldview is still pretty immature, but these young men report that they are trying to apply the Bible to even political and economic choices. They may be doing it imperfectly, but the desire seems to be there. And that is encouraging to me.

And it's not just Barna research showing this. The Pew poll of 2024 says that there is a tripling of church attendance among young men. A tripling! But a lot of them are having a hard time finding worthwhile churches. The latest State of the Bible 2025 report indicates a marked uptick of what they call “Scripture engagement” among Gen Z and Millennials, and by that they mean an increased confidence in applying the Bible to “all aspects of life." And the Pew Research study showed the same thing. It showed a growing confidence among the younger men in applying the Bible to personal finance, parenting, political, and social issues. Now, I am always skeptical when I look at those kind of research reports, so I did a couple of AI deep-searches, and it kept showing similar results.¹

Anyway, I share that with you just to give a bit of encouragement that the Lord may indeed be preparing us for something significant in the next generation. At least I hope so. Whether this continues or not, verses 16-18 remind us that with a new generation, there are at least new opportunities for faith to flourish. Let's capitalize on that.

Waiting for God's green light (vv. 17-18)

The second thing I want to highlight from the last two verses that we looked at in the previous section is that the second generation patiently waited for God's green light. They had finally learned not to jump ahead of God's providence. Verses 17-18 say,

17 that the LORD spoke to me, saying: 18 “This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab.

But they couldn't have stepped on the gas pedal once the light turned green if they hadn't been taking advantage of God's training during the past forty years. The younger generation had been learning. And the point is that God's promises do not die with one generation's failures. He raises up new people, new leaders, and new opportunities. And what is true of generations is also true of us as individuals. Our past does not have to dictate our future if we will once again walk by faith and not by sight.

In any case, to their east was the country of Ammon. And that's where our story picks up in today's passage, in verse 19.

Not exceeding our boundaries (v. 19)

Verse 19 says,

"And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession."

God was once again setting boundaries to test their obedience. We can't pretend to be faithful to God's plans for taking on giants if we are compromising in the smaller areas of obedience. This is what often happens with Christians - they take on the big things with zeal and ignore God's Word on the smaller things.

They only came near the Ammonites (v. 19a)

Anyway, I want you to note on verse 19 that they only came near the Ammonites: "And when you come near the people of Ammon..." I already commented on the applications to border control last time, so won't say more on that today. But this verse illustrates that God's "nos" are just as important as His "yeses." We must not exceed the boundaries God has given to us. They didn't invade what God had not called them to invade, and they didn't use secular power to try to take dominion. They trusted God, and they trusted God's timing, and God's methods. They did things His way to the T. And in this I think they stand as a wonderful example to us.

I watched the video some of you commented on of CNN interviewing Doug Wilson, Toby Sumpter, and Jared Longshore. It was clear that Pamela Brown was trying very hard to embarrass them with tough questions, and I loved the way that they unapologetically affirmed what they believed the Bible says. She couldn't embarrass them.

The narrator of the video said, "Christ Church senior pastor Doug Wilson makes no apologies for his beliefs on God and country." And then it quotes Wilson as saying,

“I’d like to see the town be a Christian town. I’d like to see the state be a Christian state. I’d like to see the nation be a Christian nation. I’d like to see the world be a Christian world.”

And to them it was stunning that any Christian would admit to that. They are used to Christians so nuancing what the Bible says that they end up explaining away the Bible's bold claims. They are used to Christians rolling over when an embarrassing statement is made on (say) role relationships. And this made a huge story for them when these pastors would not roll over and play dead.

Anyway, the narration continues: "And now Wilson’s controversial views as a Christian nationalist are gaining sway in the nation’s center of power with the recent opening of his new church and high-profile parishioners like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth."

Pamela Brown asked, "Is planting a church in DC part of your mission to try to turn this into a Christian nation?"

Doug says, "Yes. So, every society is theocratic. The only question is: whose Theo? [Theo means god. So he meant, "whose god?" He continued:] In a secular democracy, it would be Demos, the people. In a Christian republic, it would be Christ."

Brown then jumps in and says, "What would you say to someone watching this and saying, 'Look, I’m a Muslim. Who are you to say your worldview is better than mine? That your God is better than mine?'"

She fails to see how odd it is to be concerned about Christianity desiring everything to be in submission to Jesus, but not being as concerned about Islam's similar claims for their god, and secularization's similar attempts to put everything under the god of secular statism. Anyway, she continues:

"But you said earlier that you want this to be a Christian world."

Wilson says, "Yes."

And you should have seen the look on her face. It was priceless. Doug and other leaders further clarified that in the New Testament, the conquest is via the Gospel, not the coercion of the secular state - which is the way other cultural views have sought to gain traction. LGBTQ seeks to force their views on society via the state. Anyway, the narration was mostly correct when it sought to summarize his views this way:

“…his ultimate aspiration is to achieve a Christian theocracy worldwide, facilitating the second coming of Christ, a goal he believes is approximately 250 years away. [Well, she was confused on his eschatology, but anyway, she correctly quotes him as saying] ‘Yes, by peaceful means, through sharing the gospel,’ he described how this would transpire. ‘We're just a small effort here. The world has 8 billion individuals, so there's much work ahead. I believe we're tending to our little corner of the vineyard’”.

In other words, Wilson correctly believes that we cannot hope to achieve Christ's goals in human history by cutting corners and using secular force to achieve it or by apologizing for anything God says in the Bible. Whatever you think about Doug Wilson, I admire his bold embracing of what he believes the Bible calls for, and his unwillingness to use the world's methods as shortcuts.

They were not to harass them or meddle with them (v. 19b)

The next phrase in verse 19 says, "do not harass them or meddle with them..." I applied that last week to civics. We saw that civics has a very limited function.

They were to respect their borders (v. 19c)

The last part of verse 19 calls them to respect Ammon's borders: "for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession." Empire building is not a Biblical ideal for any nation, and we do not expect America to force Christianity on the world. That's the world's way of imposing unity. Instead, Christ draws hearts to gladly submit to His throne, and the leaven of His kingdom is gradually leavening the loaf. Now, the humanists only understand statist power imposing viewpoints, so they have a hard time believing that the Gospel can peacefully advance. But it has over the last 2000 years.

Encouragements to faith; recognizing God's work with others (vv. 20-23)

But in verses 20-23 God gives a number of encouragements to faith by reminding Israel of the way God has worked with others in the past. Biblical history is not given to just satisfy curiosity. It is given to illustrate faith and unbelief, God's judgments and blessings, the deceitfulness and harmfulness of independent thinking, and that God is the Lord of history. God doesn't just intervene in history. He predestines and rules over all of history. That is an absolutely fundamental presupposition of true historiography.

Ammon used to have giant Zamzummim just like the giant Anakim of Canaan

Anyway, verse 20 says, "That was also regarded as a land of giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim." God knows when and how to overthrow the giants of any land. And one of the big giants of our land is humanism, where man is the measure of all things, including dignity, ethics, human welfare, and rational inquiry. And though humanists claim to not be religious, humanism is a religion just as surely as Islam, Hinduism, and other traditional religions are. You tell them that, and they will get outraged. But I was humored that federal courts have explicitly treated Secular Humanism as being a religion. For example, in the 1961 United States Supreme Court case Torcaso v. Watkins, Justice Hugo Black made this comment in a footnote, "Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others." In other words, it is saying that Humanism is a religion without a transcendant God. And I believe it is because man and the state have taken the place of God. Let me quote that comment in that Supreme Court case again. "Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others."

But before I deal with taking on the metaphorical giants in our land (such as Humanism), let me remind you that Canaan was filled with real giants, not just metaphorical giants. Nor was the presence of giants an occasional anomaly. There were entire tribes of giants in those days. There were the Nephilim, the Emim, the Rephaim, the Zamzummim, the Avites, and the Amorites (who were called the Anakim giants). Each of those tribes appear to have had a pervasive degree of giantism in their gene pool that was able to be passed on from one generation to another. But since I dealt with gianitism in depth last time, I won't say more about it right now.

God enabled Ammon to disposses them just like He enabled Edom to dispossess them (vv. 21-22)

Verses 21-22 affirm that God enabled Ammon to dispossess those giants, and He did so just like He enabled Edom to do so. Note the words, “just as.” He describes the former inhabitants of Ammon as,

a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day.

Last week we saw that the Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau, dispossessed the Horites by faith in God just as Israel was about to do. And this passage says that Ammon dispossessed the Zamzummim just as the Edomites had done so. And we saw last week that both Edom and Ammon had previously been a people of faith. Faith is not intimidated by the giants in the land.

And both of those groups should be an encouragement to us that believers can dispossess the giants of humanism in our land by faith as well. It may take a while, just like it took Israel six and a half years to do so, but God's people are patient to wait for God's timing. Just because our Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage some years ago does not mean that our nation is destined to have that legal abomination forever. Obviously, God could let our nation continue in its downward drift into immorality and eventual oblivion, but if the next generation will take up the mantle of faith and start to consistently use the sword of the Spirit (the Bible), even that humanistic giant can come tumbling down. But we must use God’s tools, not man’s.

God enabled the Caphtorim to displace the Avim (v. 23)

And verse 23 goes on to point out that prior to the Zamzummim, there were previous displacements that happened in God's providence. It says, "And the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place." Commentators point out that the Avim were yet another tribe of giants that had been dispossessed by the ancestors of the Philistines, or the Caphtorites. In other words, none of these overthrows of nations were by accident. They were all a part of God's plan.

And the lesson that we can learn from this is that history is not random. God is always active among all nations, shaping their destinies. And Moses' parenthetical insertion of these previous dispossessions was to give faith to Israel that what God was about to do to Canaan was just a repeat of what God had been doing from time immemorial. Psalm 22:28 affirms, "the kingdom is the LORD’S, and He rules over the nations." And several Scriptures affirm the same thing. God rules over the nations and judges any nation that becomes increasingly evil. We can never assume that America (or any other nation) will continue to prosper without His permission. And this gives urgency to those of us who are seeking to promote the Kingship of Jesus lest we see a similar dispossession of our nation happening in our own day. And God can judge an evil nation with another evil nation. But judgments always occur. Indeed, a nation being given up to a debased mind is one kind of judgment according to Romans 1:28. That means that America is currently under judgment. We aren't waiting for judgment; we are currently under judgment. We haven't been overthrown yet, but we are under judgment. And like happened in Nineveh, any judgment or threat of judgment can lead to repentance and reformation. And I pray that it will.

The beginnings of conquest (v. 24)

Moving on: Having given this parenthetical history of the past, Moses then returns to His travel narrative again, giving Israel permission to begin their conquest.

Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle.

After forty years of waiting, God gives the green light to move foward, to fight, and to possess what God had promised to them. Faith is not passive. It requires action consistent with God's plans. Don't think that you have true faith if you are not putting into practice the things that you claim to believe.

And what are God's plans for the church today? God has given the green light via the Great Commission to use the Gospel to penetrate every area of life. And the Gospel does indeed relate to every area of life - contrary to Pietism. However long it takes to accomplish, Jesus Christ (who is the greater Joshua) will not rest until every square inch of planet earth is Christianized. He's got all the time in the world to be able to accomplish that; we don't.

The God-given dread that aided their conquest (v. 25)

But verse 25 reminds them again that we can only do this as God prepares the soil. It says,

This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.

That's awesome. God puts the enemy at a disadvantage by making them fearful. You could see fear in the interview that CNN gave. They were fearful that Christians are getting involved in politics. Which is puzzling to us Christians- why in the world would anyone be fearful of us? Apparently everyone else can get involved in politics, but when Christians do so, that seems strange and fearful. And she seemed nervous that Christians are planting churches even in the heart of Satan's territory - Washington, DC. Why would they fear? After all, the humanists are in power. The humanists are the giants, right? The humanists control almost every facet of American society. But I believe they fear us

1. when we cannot be intimidated,
2. when our faith is based on the Bible rather than on sight,
3. when we refuse to use the battle tactics of the humanists,
4. and when we believe that if God is for us, who can be against us.

The point is, God prepares hearts, circumstances, and He even prepares the opposition. Verse 30 will tell us that God hardened the heart of king Og to ensure that he would oppose Israel. Does that seem strange? Og's very opposition was part of God's preparation. When God allows Satan to oppose us, it is not necessarily a bad thing. No, it’s not comfortable to be under attack, but such demonic opposition keeps us humble, dependent on God, and trusting in grace rather than in the flesh. And God can make the enemies tremble and be unable to give an apologetic defense against the weapons of the Holy Spirit. Paul describes our spiritual weapons in 2 Corinthians 10, saying,

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Our weapons are not physical swords, but the sword of the Spirit, which is the Bible. And the Bible has answers to every problem that humanism has created.

I really encourage you to study presuppositional apologetics. Cornelius Van Til, Gordon H. Clark, Greg Bahnsen, and other presuppositionalists have demonstrated that the source of truth for humanism is inadequate. They have what Galatians 4:9 calls "weak and pathetic presuppositions." That’s exactly what the Greek means - ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα - "weak and pathetic presuppositions." And they are weak and pathetic because they cannot stand up to scrutiny. In contrast, we presuppose the truth of the infallible Word of God. And since God created all things, and knows all things, we can trust what He says about all things. In contrast, if your presuppositions are sourced in man, who did not create all things and does not know all things, then why should we trust man's dogmatic statements about all things - dogmatic statements which (by the way) keep changing as man changes. And humanism is a constantly changing standard. What was once an abomination to even humanists is now a mandated virtue in America. Check it out. The gross things that the LGBTQ crowd are doing today used to be an abomination to Secular Humanism, and it is now a virtue that they want to impose upon all to accept. There is no such thing as a solid moral foundation for anyone who rejects God's Word.

Likewise, they can't really justify humans having any value. They want man to have value, but when push comes to shove, they can't prove that man has value. The Big Bang theory gives no value to anything. The best that humanists can do is posit the survival of the fittest. But the question I have is, “Why should we survive if life is meaningless?” In contrast, the Bible affirms that humans are made in God's image, that they have inherent worth and dignity, and that they cannot escape from the knowledge of God's law since God keeps pressing into their hearts. That makes them vulnerable to a good apologetic method. If you watch an experienced presuppositionalist arguing with an unbeliever, you eventually see that the enemies of Christ are no match for our Biblical worldview. And I would highly recommend that you start downloading the free resources of Dr. Greg Bahnsen from the Bahnsen Institute - https://www.bahnseninstitute.com/ And don't just download them; read them. Bahnsen was a great apologist.

Now, it is true that the giants in Heshbon had statist power and physical power. But the demons that drove them were still fearful because they knew that they were no match for God. All the evil causes that are deeply entrenched in America could not make headway without being backed up with the power of statism. Downsize the state, and suddenly these giants will start falling. But even now, they are no match for an uncompromising Christianity. After all, God has given the church the power to cast out demons, pray for healing, give confident counsel based on absolute truth. We are able to bring hope and wholeness to messed up lives in ways that humanism has never been able to do. The Gospel brings reconciliation in ways that humanism is powerless to do. And I think that many of the GenZers and Millennials have seen the ugly underbelly of modern America, and they want something different. They are bailing out of Satan's kingdom and into Christ's kingdom. Praise God.

The bottom line is that the giants in our land are no match for God. And God can prepare the soil by taking away the confidence of the opposing giants of today. The Bible (when properly used) completely dismantles philosophies or ideas that oppose God. And rather than simply modifying people's behaviors (which is the best that humanism can accomplish), biblical truth actually transforms us from the inside out. As Romans 2:12 says, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." When we use the world's tools, we can only expect the world's results. But when we use God's tools, we have what it takes to make the demons tremble.

So brothers and sisters. Don't let yourselves be discouraged by the compromises and failures of my generation. Pick up the weapons of God and begin doing battle with confident faith against the giants that still lie within the land of your own heart, within your marriage, within the church, and within the world. And may God give the next generation what it takes to possess the land. Amen.

"Scriptural principles on work, stewardship, charity, and economic justice increasingly feature in discussions about personal finance, entrepreneurship, and public policy. Christian thought leadership highlights how biblical ethics shape decisions about wealth creation, business conduct, and economic policy, with recent essays explicitly examining how young business leaders apply scripture to their careers."

"Desire for Authenticity and Transformation [is apparent]: Young Christians are not seeking religion merely as tradition—they’re pursuing authentic encounters, transformation, and active faith. This is reflected in the compelling increase in personal, rather than nominal, religious identification."

Overall, the convergence of statistical upticks, campus revivals, personal commitments, and shifting patterns of worship highlight a genuine spiritual revival or awakening—particularly amongst Gen Z and Millennial Americans. These signs represent a dramatic and somewhat unexpected break from the narrative of religious decline, with the potential to reshape the future landscape of American faith.