“You must drive out all the inhabitants of the land. Destroy all their stone and metal idols and all their places of worship. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those that are left will be as troublesome as splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will fight against you. If you do not drive them out, I will destroy you, as I planned to destroy them.”
Numbers 33:52, 55-56 GNT
The Lord could not have been more clear of how he wanted the Israelites to go into the promised land he may not have given the WHY behind the WHY, but man he could not
have been more clear. I wonder where in my life I’m trying to figure out the WHY rather
than just simply following in obedience and where I have had to deal with consequences because of that. Interesting hmmmmmm.
This is conviction for me this morning. I need to sit with this a little bit more today.
Maybe the Israelites thought they could manage a little compromise here and there—coexist with what God told them to remove. It's these very things that ended up becoming the very source of their downfall. Again I can't help but wonder, "What am I trying to 'manage' when God has already told me to remove it? Where have I settled for partial obedience, thinking it’s good enough, only to later deal with BIGGER consequences?"
The key is trusting that God isn’t withholding anything from us, but instead is protecting and preparing us for what’s ahead.
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