“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations… seven nations larger and stronger than you – and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. …for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.” (v1-4,26 abr)
As brutal as this sounds, God has a reason for commanding Israel to utterly destroy every trace of these seven nations – God knows they are not going to repent of their sin, and He does not desire for their sin to infect Israel or any other nation. This is similar to Sodom and Gomorrah – despite the fact God would have not hesitated to let them repent of their sin and be saved, God being all-knowing realized they would not repent and He destroyed them so the sin would not spread/continue.
Part of what really hit home for me was the final verse: “Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.” (v26) In context God is referring to idols, or materials used in idol worship (including the precious materials that were fashioned into an idol). Remember how when Moses ground up the golden calf, put it in water and made the people drink it? God wanted the idol, and the tainted gold from it, to be utterly destroyed and cast out.
Have we kept or coveted anything God would consider “vile” or “detestable”? Things that would lead us astray from God? I know I have. For a personal example, I have a large set of collectibles that were once a big part of my life and identity. Now, having my identity in God and Jesus, and less focus on possessions, this collection no longer holds any value for me, so I’ve begun sorting and cataloging it for sale. It’s not that the collection itself is a morally bad thing – to me it represents my old ways of thinking (materialism and misplaced identity) and I no longer want to keep those false gods, for I am a new creation under Christ.
“And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Mt 5:30) In context, Jesus is basically saying that we are to remove temptations from our lives which we know will lead us to sin, rather than keep them around, knowing they will lead us away from God.
I’m not suggesting we liquidate all of our possessions and burn every relational bridge. What I’m suggesting is eliminating anything that causes us to sin or draws our allegiance away from God. If Israel was to cast out anything that would lead them away from God, then we as God’s people, should do the same. The things is, we need help. God told Israel exactly what to throw away and what to keep. My challenge for today is to ask the Holy Spirit for that same guidance in our lives, so we don’t accidentally eliminate things we’re not called to, or keep ties we (or God) know will lead down dark paths.
I acknowledge this will be a painful process for most of us (myself included). I know I’ve incorrectly rooted my identity in some items and some people I should not have, and it was/is difficult to part with them. The hardest part was choosing to no longer associate with certain friends, knowing that they were leading me down paths I should not travel. The good news is, with the Spirit’s guidance and presence, we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
Father God, Almighty Lord, Great and Mighty King, we praise Your holy name. With heavy hearts we acknowledge that we have allowed things into our lives that have encouraged us to stray from You. Please forgive our foolishness. Please also open our eyes to the things or people which You know will cause us to sin, and then give us the courage and wisdom to insulate ourselves from their temptations. Father we fully trust Your wisdom and discernment, because our own has gotten us into trouble and we cannot trust it. May we pursue any changes in our lives out of love for You, and in accordance with Your guidance. In the name of Jesus we ask this, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training