- Make Enemies Turn Back
Exodua 23:27, 28 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
God promises His Fear. Fear will go before Moses. Fear of God is usually a description of belief in God. A God-fearing person is one who believes in God. The fear of God will precede Moses and the people in the Land will flee before the invading people of God. This kind of fear of God makes people turn away from God instead of toward Him. They choose avoidance instead of approach. God is coming with His people to judge them, but He could come to bless them if they would turn toward God instead of away from Him. But since they reject true fear and knowledge and trust in God He will destroy them.
The people who live in the Land don’t belong there. They have usurped the land that the Lord promised to His people who fear (believe) God. Under the power and influence of Satan they resist, reject, and rebel against God. Their pagan worship and idolatry oppose the true God, and they must be judged. God will use His people to judge them and their demon gods.
The enemies of God have taken control of the world and the hearts and souls of the people living on earth. But the Lord promises to drive out the enemies of our hearts who are trying to ruin our souls. The Lord marches into the souls of men and drives out the enemies living there. This happened to us spiritually when Jesus invades the Land (our souls), drives out the demons, heals diseases, raises the dead, stills the storms, etc. This happens to us spiritually when we are baptized, receive absolution, take Communion, and hear the Gospel. When Jesus comes in the enemies turn their backs and flee. This happens every time we repent and believe the Gospel. We don’t see it, so God shows us in the Scriptures and reveals to us what is really going on in the invisible world. He wants us to believe the “hornets” He sends to chase away the enemies (Sin, Death, Devil) and drive them out. These demon enemies don’t belong in the kingdom God gave to us. The Kingdom rules the heart, not the enemy. Believe the promise of God to drive them out. “Resist the devil, and He will flee from you.”