Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, 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. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Deuteronomy 7:1-6
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As I was growing up, I remember the words of my parents well as I began to reach the point where I was selecting people to socialize with. For they cautioned me about choosing friends wisely because of the influence they could have on me. They had invested a lot of hard work in raising me with the right principles and knew that all that hard work could be placed in jeopardy if I associated with the wrong person or group. I listened to them, took their advice onboard and put it into practice…and in return, I came through my childhood not failing or falling because of the undue influence of others. And I still practice these principles to this very day, ever holding onto my values without compromising them to be popular or “part of the crowd”. What a blessing it was and still is to have parents that loved and cared for me so much!
Well, God, Israel’s Father and ours as well, had the same general principle in mind as we open Chapter 7 in Deuteronomy. He knew that as Israel “grew up” in their new Promised Land, they would be in the midst of cultures that would adversely influence them if they weren’t careful to adhere to God’s principles and expectations.
Scripture tells us that Israel would be inheriting land from the “Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites”, seven nations larger and stronger than Israel but delivered over by God so Israel could defeat them. God only placed one expectation on Israel as they went into battle: they were to totally destroy the seven nations, showing no mercy. They were to “break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire”. Why? Because if they failed to totally destroy these people and their sinful objects of worship, then Israel would run the risk of being infiltrated by their people and their sinful ways.
God sought to keep any infiltration from occurring. He commanded Israel to “not intermarry” with the other nations and not to “give their daughters to another nation’s sons or take another nation’s daughters for their sons. Why? Because the Lord knew that Israel would be turned away from Him to “serve other gods”. If this happened, God made it clear how He would react: His anger would burn against Israel and He would quickly destroy them. Clearly, it was in their best interest to comply with His commands.
Today, things haven’t changed nor has the Lord’s concerns. The world today has all kinds of undue influences that can entice and draw us in while drawing us away from the Lord and His expectations. We need to be very careful regarding who we choose to associate ourselves with. Keep in mind that you can be associated with the principles of a group, even if you don’t participate in their ways. It’s a thing called guilt by association. So if you hang out with people who live ungodly lives and claim to be a Christian, you can bet that people will begin to question your Christian claim. Or see you as hypocritical. And this is something we want to avoid at any cost. We simply can’t allow ourselves to be discredited as we go forth in our daily ministry.
Question: Who do you associate with? Are you hanging out with the right crowd…with people who share good, solid, righteous Christian principles? Are you connected to others who are drawing you closer to sin and further from holiness?
It’s obvious that the Lord is concerned about this matter of association and rightfully so. We need to heed His guidance and ensure we walk the straight and narrow path He sets before us. There’s too much at stake if we stray.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment