Drive Them Out

Exodus 23:31-33, “[31] And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. [32] Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. [33] They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.”

Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve written, but I felt the Lord wanted me to write something today. I read the verses above as part of my Bible reading this morning. It comes in a passage where the Israelites, having just left Egypt, are essentially getting the rules from God as to how they are to live. The principle is absolutely applicable for our lives as well.

God commands them to drive out the enemies of their land. They are to drive them out as opposed to making deals and covenants with them. The reason for this is found in verse 33 where it says, “…lest they make thee (the people) sin against me (God).”

As we live in very uncertain times right now, many of us have extra time on our hands. Let us take this time to reflect on our lives. May the psalmist’s desire be our desire when he said in Psalm 139:23-24, “[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: [24] And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

If God does point out anything in our lives that shouldn’t be there, let us drive it out. Too many times, Christians want to “make a deal” with sin. Some want to serve the Lord, but there’s a sin they want to hold onto. They will serve the Lord on Sunday, but they want to “enjoy” their sin on Monday. I believe that if Christians would just stop and realize that the sin they want to hold onto is sin that sent Jesus to a cross, that many, if not all, would get right about it. How selfish it is for one to accept Christ and take advantage of His grace by choosing to live in sin.

Here is the challenge to all regardless of how much or little extra time you have.
1) Ask God to reveal anything in your life that shouldn’t be there.
2) Drive it out!

There were times when the Israelites failed to drive out their enemies. Many times, there were no immediate consequences, but in every situation, it was only a matter of time until it came back and hurt them and those they loved.

The sin in our life may not seem like a big deal, but just like when the Israelites failed to drive out their enemies, it is only a matter of time until it hurts us. Let us take these times to drive out any sin in our lives and use our time to draw closer to the Lord.