Read Judges 1-2:5.
Controlling the land and taking possession of it are two
different issues. Joshua led the nation
into the land, exercised great power over it, and set the boundaries for the
tribes. But the land was far from being fully occupied by Israel .
One by one the tribes set out to take the land that God had
given to them. Yet, a half-dozen
times we are told that a particular tribe "did not drive out" the
inhabitants. Instead, they worked out a
covenant of coexistence. Most often that
meant that those who lived in the land submitted to forced
labor.
While on one hand that may sound like a wise, even merciful,
thing to do, it was a direct violation of what God ordered. The command was clear. Israel was not to make any
agreements with the surrounding peoples.
The reason was not to display military might and power over others. From the beginning of the conquest, the LORD
warned them against spiritual compromise.
The Canaanites had rejected the God of Heaven to worship their multiple
man-made idols. In Genesis 15:16, God
told Abraham that his descendants would return and take the land at that time
because of the completed sin of the Amorites.
There can be no compromise or coexistence with sin and false
worship. God is a jealous God and will
not share the honor due Him with anyone or anything.
The good news is that the nation of Israel repented in tears for their
disobedience. Then, they worshipped the
LORD. (2:4-5)
The Apostle Paul wrote that believers in Jesus are the
temple of the Holy Spirit. In stating
his case, he quoted Leviticus 26:12 and continued-"God said, I will make
my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Therefore go out
from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no
unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you and you
shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."
We must be diligent and vigilant about the spiritual areas
of compromise and attempts at coexistence with sin in our lives.
Yes! Not many people understand how important this is! Spiritual compromise is what wiped Israel off the map! It wasn't a matter of not worshiping God because they did worship Him. The problem was that they mixed their worship of Him with other dark principalities that were disguised as idols. Ba'al was one, as was the queen of heaven. My new book - Jealous, Exposing the Queen of Heaven - goes into detail about this. I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think. If you go to the order option on the right hand menu of my site, you can choose your preference of book formats. http://kellyjeanwhitaker.com/
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