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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"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
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the main events in the Book of Exodus is evident in its title as the people of Israel are delivered by God from Egyptian captivity and set on a path to Canaan, the land He had promised their ancestors. This land was inhabited by a people group called the Canaanites and culturally, they were polar opposites of the Israelites and the standards of living that the Lord had called them to. Knowing all things – past, present, and future – we know that God was aware of what lied ahead and so many of His commandments were intentionally constructed to deter His people from adopting sinful pagan practices.
What were some of the main things 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 at the time 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 worshiped as the god of fertility. Worshiping and offering sacrifices to the idols of the Canaanite gods was prevalent in the Canaan society so we can obviously see where the one and only God of all creation came into direct conflict with and opposition to these religious practices. This is why He commanded the people of Israel to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3).
So what else was there about Canaan that ran counter to God’s ways and expectations for living?
For one, they practiced sorcery, witchcraft and divination, and it’s clear in today’s scripture verses how God felt about these sinful spiritual behaviors. We see where the Lord reserved the strongest show of judgment, death, for those who decided to disrespect Him and call on the powers of darkness instead in order to cast spells, initiate curses, and forecast the future. Their reliance on the dark arts was in direct opposition to God’s dominion over all spiritual things and this required serious punishment. For as God made well known through His third of the Ten Commandments, He was a “jealous God" (20.5).
So we see that there were already two strikes against the Canaanite society and their religious practices but as we’re about to see, there was one more issue that was as bad, if not worse, than worshiping false gods and practicing witchcraft and sorcery.
This was because the Canaanites were a very sexually immoral people. Looking at the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus, we learn how incest, adultery and, bestiality were prevalent in the Canaan culture. The latter involved having sexual relations with an animal and we know the Lord makes little doubt about how He abhors sexual immorality and He didn’t His people to be influenced to sin against Him in this way.
So after all this, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with believers today.
Well, this direct clash between Israelite and Canaanite cultural norms parallels the Christian and world model we see in present time.
For Jesus believers are expected to follow the life of Jesus, a life defined by perfect righteousness, but they are immersed in a sinful world where there are no real limitations as to what someone can do, a world where anything goes.
Indeed, in this world, we can find rampant sexual immorality happening anywhere and everywhere 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. This can include Wicca religion, fortune tellers, as well as practioners and followers or astrology and horoscopes. Further, there are a multitude of people who willingly choose to worship false gods and idols (this truth was covered in previous messages on the second and third commandments).
So what happens when we become immersed in a worldly, sinful environment that often beckons us to join it?
Unfortunately, we too often accept the invitation, surrendering God’s principles and turning away from what we know He wants us to do as we pursue the world’s enticements instead.
This message from God calls all believers to self assess today to see where they stand.
Are we closer to Israel and God’s righteous expectations for life, or are we trending more toward Canaan and its sinful behavior?
Are we living daily for Jesus, shaping ourselves to be like Him, or have we abandoned His ways to chase after the ways of the world?
Only you can answer these questions for yourself but if you’re closer to Canaan and the world, I implore you to step back for a moment, realize you’re heading in the wrong direction, repent of your sins, and seek to get right with God.
Christian believers are in the world but they aren’t to be of it. The Lord sees our hearts and knows exactly where our loyalties are. Let’s make sure He sees that we are with Him and for Him, and Him alone.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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