Notice in Deuteronomy 7:16-26 the words shall and will. Now see what they are coupled to.
In the English Standard Version shall appears 12 times: eleven times affixed to Israel and five times coupled with not; and then only once was it attached to the nations Israel was to destroy.
Will, on the other hand, is used just five times, but is not connected with people; rather, will is always coupled with God. The people shall, that is, they are expected to do; however, God will do, meaning His action is more than an expectation, it is a fact.
Expectation carries with it a choice; fact is beyond choice. Expectations can be unfulfilled, but facts are established.
For us, the great majority of this life is based in expectation and subject to choice. Outside of death’s certainty, any personal fact in our life is based in history because it was formed by our choice.
Our intentions may be good, but they don’t become fact until choice is made.
But not so with God: He is Fact.
His “intentions” never fail. His “choices” are always right. He always does what He says He will do. Thus, when Moses penned that “God will…” in the above Scripture it meant that an established fact, though yet to be lived, was established.
That is why Israel was to remember the fact of their past deliverance in preparation for their present battle. Just as the deliverance fact was established historically for them, so too, will the actions of God be fact in the future.
Today know that God will defeat your enemies just as He delivered you from Egypt. God will send hornets (tools for your victory). He will clear away the foes that are before you. God will give them to you, and God will give you their kings (their strength). But you must commit to the shall; it must be an expectation filled by the right choices.
