God's Sovereignty Over the Nations

God has been involved in the migration of peoples from the beginning. Even though they made no claim of allegiance to the God of Israel, behind the displacement of the Horites by the descendants of Esau, the Emites by the Moabites, the Zamzummites by the Bene Ammon, and the Avvites by the Philistines, Moses recognizes the hidden hand of God. Yahweh, the God of Israel, exercises sovereignty over all nations in all times. Like pieces on a chessboard, he moves them around; he removes some and replaces them with others, and he determines their places.

--Daniel I. Block, Deuteronomy (NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 86.