Somebody Else’s Angel

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⁵ Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 9:5-15

God keeps His promises even to people already dead. People who would not know whether he kept those promises or not (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6; Job 14:20, 21). Yet our text says He completed His self-assigned duty even though it meant moving a group of stiff-necked, hardhearted, group of ungrateful former maltreated slaves.

O yes! He kept the promise He made to Abraham, Abraham’s son, Isaac, and Isaac’s son, Jacob. Three generations dead more than 300 years earlier. So at the end of his ministry, when Moses recounted all their evil deeds, the Israelites were quiet. God could have used their misbehaviour as an excuse to not keep His promise to give Canaan to Abraham’s descendants, but He didn’t. Ensure you keep your good promises no matter the passing of time. And that would be reasonable!

Abraham respected and obeyed God. He and God became close friends (Genesis 18:19; Isaiah 41:8; Hebrews 11:8-10). So God was with him through thick and thin. His son, Isaac, honoured the God of Abraham, his father. You would see him interceding for his own wife in Genesis 25:21. He built an altar to God (Genesis 26:25), who also appeared to him (Genesis 26:2, 24). His sons, Esau and Jacob, were raised to respect and worship God. In Genesis 28, 31, 33, we read about how God appeared to Jacob, and angels appeared to him when he fled from home and on the way back from his uncle, Laban. We even read about that fantastic wrestling match that resulted in the change of his name (verse 32:28) from Jacob (that supplants, undermines; the heel)[1] to Israel (the prince that prevails with God)[2]. My point here is that these three honoured and worshipped God. Therefore, God could work with them and bless their descendants. 

On the other hand, their descendants did not seem to see a need for their own personal relationship with the God of their ancestors! From the get-go, even while they were still in Egypt, they refused to be helped. They betrayed Moses, who had to flee fast to the land of Midian (Exodus 2:11-15). Despite the 10 miracles/plagues God did in Egypt, along with the booty the Israelites got from their neighbours without a fight (verses 11:1-3), they still grumbled again a few weeks after leaving Egypt (Exodus 14:11; Deuteronomy 9:7). Several times, their sharp mouths opened in protest, sounding off and complaint. The book of Deuteronomy begins with Moses mentioning only the significant incidents.

Considering their behaviour on the way, God could have carried out his threat – of wiping them out entirely and starting afresh to raise His people out of Moses’ own descendants. But He didn’t because Moses pleaded while engaged in a personal 40-day fast (Deuteronomy 9:18, 25) for the people. He bore with them because of His love and promise to their forbears.

In spite of your bad habits, your good fortune may result from the life and worship of your forebears who have pleaded on your behalf. Nicole C. Mullen’s beautiful and instructive song, “Granny’s Angel”, suggests that God doesn’t have any grandchildren. “Cause you can’t keep livin’ on granny’s Angel”, she sings, “Cos it’s time to get one o’ your own!”[3] Get to know and love Jesus for yourself. The time to stop depending on other people’s relationship with God IS NOW! Make that decision to know God for yourself now and bless your posterity!

Enjoy a quote from the song…

But granny cried, “Lord Jesus, help my baby boy
‘Cause he ain’t doin’ the things that he’s supposed to, ” yeah, yeah
Then she cried, “Lord Jesus, it would bring me joy
To see him live to be someone who loves you”

‘Cause you can’t keep livin’ on granny’s Angel
See it’s about time you get one of your own
I’m telling you can’t keep livin’ on granny’s Angel
‘Cause whatcha gonna do when granny’s gone[4]

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[1] Topical Bible: Jacob (biblehub.com)

[2] Topical Bible: Israel (biblehub.com)

[3] Nicole C. Mullen – Granny’s Angel Lyrics | AZLyrics.com; Nicole C. Mullen Granny’s Angel Lyrics – Bing video

[4] Nicole C. Mullen – Granny’s Angel Lyrics | AZLyrics.com