"And you shall make no covenant with the
inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars." But you have
not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, "I
will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and
their gods shall be a snare to you." Judges 2:2-3
God gave the Israelites specific
instructions: Drive the Canaanites out of every corner of the land, and
obliterate any vestige of their abominable idol worship. This assignment was
challenging! Their enemies had formidable chariots. The Canaanites had
seemingly impregnable fortresses that were dangerous and difficult to overcome.
The Israelites failed to drive all the Canaanites from the land. Much about the
Canaanite lifestyle and religion appealed to the Israelites’ sinful nature.
Rather than destroying them and their idolatry, Israel compromised. The
Canaanites would prove to be a troublesome distraction to the Israelites. Their
idol worship would present a constant temptation.
When you became a Christian, God
declared war on sin’s strongholds in your life. Sinful behaviors and attitudes
were firmly entrenched in your character, but God commanded you to tear them
down. The Holy Spirit pointed out areas of your life that were resistant to
God’s will. Were you tempted to merely establish a truce rather than
obliterating every sin? Is anger one of sin’s strongholds? If so, it will rise
up against you in moments of weakness. Is there a stronghold of lust in your
life? If so, you will succumb to it when caught off guard. In careless moments,
these strongholds will still tempt you to continue your past sinful behaviors.
Do not underestimate the
destructive power of sin. If there are strongholds in your life that you have
never defeated, the Holy Spirit is still prepared to bring you complete
victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment