Photo by Daniel Reeves on Unsplash

Deuteronomy 3:1-2 Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 2 And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

In America today we are no longer troubled by sin. With the advent of television and the increasing popularity of Hollywood, morality has relaxed to the point where the word “Sin” is but a public joke. Sin, however is not a joke. God tells us that sin kills. I’ve often quoted:

Romans 6:23 … the wages of sin is death

Sin may seem a blessing or a trifle for a time, then it brings death.

• Queen Jezebel mocked God and embraced sin. She thought herself invincible. Thrown from a window and trampled by horses, she was eaten by dogs (2 Kings 9:30-37). Sin is no trifle.
• King Saul thought sin to be a trifle. Defying God he ended up falling on his sword to avoid capture at Mount Gilboa (1 Chronicles 10). “So Saul died for his sin against the Lord, because he did not keep the Word of the Lord”.
• Israel thought sin to be a small thing. “The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people … so that many people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6).

Dear ones, sin is not a trifle. It is a trap! It is death!

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

New York thinks sin to be a small thing. On the 46^th Anniversary of Roe vs Wade New York State signed into law what is called The Reproductive Health Act. The law preserves abortions up to the time of birth, and removes abortion from the state’s criminal code. The Governor who signed the bill into law stated:

“Today we are taking a giant step forward in the hard-fought battle to ensure a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her own personal health, including the ability to access an abortion. With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body.”

Many people say “What’s wrong with this?” The reality is that baby in the mother’s womb is a living being.

Deuteronomy 27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

We have brought a curse on our nation by this taking of innocent lives. I recently saw a very interesting cartoon on Facebook that had a man shaking his fist at God. The man said “IF You are a loving and merciful God, WHY didn’t You send someone to cure cancer, or true leaders to govern us? What’s Your problem God?” Then in the next panel God simply says, “I did!!! You ABORTED them”.

Sin Is A Liar And A Thief

Sin robs us of the fear of God. It robs us of good things.

Jeremiah 5:23-25 (KJV) But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. 24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, … 25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

Sin is a robber, and a liar. It destroys a nation. A nation that embraces sin will be abandoned by God and consumed of itself.

1 Samuel 2:30 (KJV) … the LORD God of Israel saith … them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

God expects us to love Him and to obey Him. Sin is to go against what God has clearly stated.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 15:10-14 (KJV) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

What is Sin? When we sin we stand against that which God has commanded (Deuteronomy 11:26-28; 1 Samuel 15:22-23).

Sin, in short, is to live in opposition to God. It is to make your desires and wants greater than God’s desires and wants. God told His nation Israel:

Deuteronomy 28:1-8 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Sin Destroys A People

Sin destroyed Heshbon. As Israel moved ever toward the Jordan to prepare to enter the Promised Land this nation had to pass through two enemy territories. In Chapter 2 they had to pass through Heshbon (modern Hisban) which is about 20 miles of the Jordan where it enters the Dead Sea and 50 miles east of Jerusalem. When Israel moved to come through the land owned by Heshbon we read:

Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

When Sihon wouldn’t allow Israel to pass Moses believed this was the Lord hardening his heart. God did the same thing to Pharaoh in Egypt 40 years before:

Exodus 7:3-4 {God said} And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

God loves all, and calls all to repentance. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). But Pharaoh as well as Sihon hardened their hearts towards God. When you harden your hearts long enough after a while God will stop trying to convince you. He will withdraw His convicting Spirit (Romans 9:14-21). Pharaoh because of the hardening of his heart through sin foolishly led his armies into the Red Sea where all died under the waves. In Deuteronomy 2 Sihon hardened his heart by sin until eventually God withdrew and hardened his heart.

Deuteronomy 2:31-32 (KJV)31 And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

A hard hearted Sihon led a hard hearted and godless army against God’s people. What happened? The Bible states:

Deuteronomy 2:33-35 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: 35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

Did you read and process this? God ….

utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain

Who was destroyed? Everyone. Men. Women. Children. There were none to remain. Why? Because sin had so hardened this people that the only solution was annihilation.

Sin Even Destroys The Strong

Let’s return to our text for tonight. Having destroyed the Kingdom of Heshbon Israel now moves toward Bashan. God once more tells Moses and Israel:

Deuteronomy 3:2 And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

God destroyed Heshbon because they had no fear of God. Just as they did in Heshbon, Israel destroyed every single person. Is that shocking to you? It is to me.

Deuteronomy 3:6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

Yet God has the right to destroy that which He created. Many cities in America today are told that they are invincible and impregnable. Many people think that sin will not harm them. Something interesting is said about Bashan. We read:

Deuteronomy 3:5 All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.

They thought themselves impregnable. Beloved, nothing can stand against God, nor against a people who follow God. Bashan even had a powerful, charismatic leader. The man was a giant among men. We are told:

Deuteronomy 3:11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

We don’t know exactly how heavy Og was, but his bed was 13.5 feet long and about 5.5 feet wide and made of iron! Yet even as powerful as he was, he was no match for the power of God. The Bible says:

Jeremiah 17:5-8 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

No matter how powerful a leader nor how prosperous a nation, if it ceases to fear God and despise sin it is ripe for destruction.

Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Bashan’s sinfulness caught up with it. So will America’s catch up with it. Beloved, let us live for God. Let us love Him with all our hearts. Let us heed His Word, and do as He says. Sin is a liar, a trap, and a destructive and deadly force. Turn from sin!

Sin Can Destroy The Best Believer

One of the greatest and most faithful of God’s servants was Moses. After defeating the Kingdom of Bashan Moses goes to the Lord, praying:

Deuteronomy 3:24-25 … O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? 25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

Does our God forgive sin? Yes, He does. He loves Moses very much. But sin is no trifle. When Israel encamped at Meribah they found no water there. The people murmured against God and against Moses and Aaron, saying:

Numbers 20:4-6 (KJV) And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.

The Lord gave Moses very clear directions. He told that precious man:

Numbers 20:8 (KJV) Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

Moses was to speak to the rock. This Rock symbolized the Risen Christ (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 “That Rock was Christ”).

But as Moses came before that Rock with his brother Aaron the many years of abuse he suffered at the hands of the people began to boil up. Looking at the people Moses’ let his temper get the best of him:

Numbers 20:10-11 … Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

Instead of speaking to the Rock Moses struck the Rock twice! That Rock was Christ. It was symbolic of the Jesus Who would die on Calvary for us. Moses crucified to himself the Son of God afresh (Hebrews 6:6). Yet God is faithful. God allowed the water of blessing to come out of the Rock. But God told Moses and Aaron:

Numbers 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

God forgives sin, but sin has consequences. Adam ate the forbidden fruit and lost Paradise. Israel murmured against God and lost the Promised Land. Moses disobeyed God and must suffer the consequences. God told Moses:

Deuteronomy 3:26-27 … the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. 27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

Beloved, though God forgives sin, and loves His child saved by faith, the consequence of sin is often inescapable. Dr. J. Vernon McGee said in his Through The Bible broadcast:

“Though we repent of our sin, we will have to take the consequences of it in this life whether we like it or not.”

Sin is no trifle. It is a horrible thing that must be repented of. Moses was certainly still loved. You are loved, even when you sin. When you sin – and I too sin – confess that sin as quickly as you realize it. Bring it before the Cross of Calvary. The Scripture says:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Do not let sin rule you. Let God rule you. Love Him, and obey Him. May God touch your hearts with His Word.