Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Do not allow a sorceress to live." "Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death." "Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed." Exodus 22:18-20
The people of Israel were on the way to Canaan and would inhabit land already inhabited by the Canaanites…a people who were polar opposites of the Israelites and what God commanded them to be. God knew this and many of His commandments were intentionally structured to warn the people of Israel against adopting other religious principles. What was it about the Canaanites that the Israelites needed to watch out for?
Well, for starters, the Canaanites believed in polytheism, a prevalent religious doctrine practiced by many other countries in the world such as Mesopotamia and Egypt. Their two main gods were El, the chief deity who was also known as the father of Asherah and all other gods with the exception of Baal, who was worshipped as the god of fertility. Idol worship and sacrificing to idols of the Canaanite gods was prevalent in the Canaan society. So we can obviously see where God would have a problem with the Canaanites since He clearly stated to the people of Israel that there would be no other gods before Him. So what else was there about Canaan that ran counter to God?
Try sorcery, witchcraft and divination. It is clear in today’s scripture how God felt about these actions. The strongest judgment, death, was reserved for those who decided to shirk God and try and call on other powers, to include their own, to cast spells, initiate curses and forecast the future. Their dark arts were in direct opposition to God’s dominion over all things spiritual and thus commanded serious punishment. As God said in the third commandment, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." So as if worshipping false gods and practicing witchcraft/sorcery weren’t bad enough, there was one other thing that was completely counter to God’s expectations.
For the Canaanites were a very sexually immoral people. Take a look at Leviticus, Chapter 18, and you’ll see reference to incest, adultery and, as if this weren’t bad enough, beastiality or having sexual relations with an animal. There was little doubt that God abhorred sexual immorality and so He burned with anger at Canaan. He didn’t want Israel to be influenced by this and thus the serious penalty for the act.
So after all this, you’re probably wondering to yourself, "Now what does any of this have to do with me?" Well, the Israelite/Canaanite model is very similar to our current day Christian/world model. We are immersed in a world where anything goes. We can find rampant sexual immorality anywhere we want to find it and yes, this includes sex with animals as well as incest and adultery. We can also find plenty of people who practice and believe in the power of witchcraft, sorcery and divination. (Anyone heard of Harry Potter? Wicca religion? Fortune tellers? Astronomy and horoscopes?) And yes, many people today worship almost anything except for God There are plenty of false gods and idols worshipped (please go back and read my blogs on the second and third commandments).
So what happens when we become immersed in a sinful environment that often beckons us to join it? We too often do just that. We turn away from what we know God wants us to do and instead pursue the world’s enticement. We decide to not stand firm on God’s principles and instead join in.
Question: Where do you stand today? Are you closer to Israel and God’s righteous expectations for you or you more toward Canaan and its sinful behavior? Only you can answer that but if you’re closer to Canaan, I recommend you step back, reassess yourself, repent and seek to get right with God. Come to think of it, this is what we’re supposed to be doing during Lent anyways. Why not get right with God today? He’s watching and waiting. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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