Exodus 23:20–33 (ESV) —
20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
NOTE: Even though God did drive out the inhabitants little by little over seven years, Israel failed to drive them completely out. And they did become a snare to Israel and caused them to seek the gods of the lands. They lost out on the blessings of the covenant because they failed to be obedient. That was the heart of the OT law, blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. And the law showed all people that it was impossible to follow the OT law perfectly. All men fall short, and therefore we must turn to God in faith and believe that the heart is more important than the prescriptions. Funny, people today still think that good works, or more good than bad, will save them. It won't. The only thing that can save us is faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin by his death on the cross. Everything else fails. Only faith in Jesus saves.
PONDER:
- What am I putting my faith in for eternity in heaven?
PRAYER: Father, there are so many things going on right now. I pray for you to lead and guide. I cast my anxieties upon you. I know you will do what is right and good.
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