Entering the Promised Land
The time finally came for the second generation to cross the Jordan river and take over the land of Canaan, which God had promised to His people, a land flowing with milk and honey. God was very specific in His instructions about what to do once they entered the land. (Numbers 33:51,52) These instructions were for their good, and they have applications for us today, as well.
They were to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. These were pagan peoples who had rejected God, and they practiced religions that were opposed to God's ways and laws. Therefore, if they left any of the people or their religious symbols, it would be a temptation for God's people to sin against God. They had to get rid of all of it. These instructions were for their good, so they could walk with God and have a good life in their new land.
When we come to know Christ and become children of God, we are commanded by God not to compromise by following any of the practices of the unbelievers around us, and we are not to bring their religious symbols into our homes and lives, because they will lead us to drift from God and sin. It is really just as simple as God's instructions to Israel. All of the things of this world must go. (I John 2:15-17) God is to be our whole life, not just a part of our life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 36 and Deuteronomy 1-2.
They were to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. These were pagan peoples who had rejected God, and they practiced religions that were opposed to God's ways and laws. Therefore, if they left any of the people or their religious symbols, it would be a temptation for God's people to sin against God. They had to get rid of all of it. These instructions were for their good, so they could walk with God and have a good life in their new land.
When we come to know Christ and become children of God, we are commanded by God not to compromise by following any of the practices of the unbelievers around us, and we are not to bring their religious symbols into our homes and lives, because they will lead us to drift from God and sin. It is really just as simple as God's instructions to Israel. All of the things of this world must go. (I John 2:15-17) God is to be our whole life, not just a part of our life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 36 and Deuteronomy 1-2.