Drive Them Out!
“And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”
“But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell . Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.”
The promised land of the children of Israel was not waiting empty for them when the Lord finally led them to it. It was inhabited by people who lived idolatrous lives and did not know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In numbers 33: 50-56, the Lord is speaking to Moses and giving instruction as to what to do to the inhabitants of the land that He promised to them. In a nutshell, He told them to drive out the inhabitants, and destroy all their idols and their places of idol worship. They did not inherit the land empty, but they were not to take possession of the land and settle in it until they had done what God said first: drive out the inhabitants and destroy all their idols and places of idol worship. What would happen if they did not follow God's instruction? He warned that the inhabitants they let remain would be like "pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides and shall vex you." Not only that, but the Lord said that whatever He had planned to do to those godless people, He would in turn do to His own people if they did not do as He commanded.
When the Lord uses the words "drive them out" there is no mercy behind them. EVERYONE had to go! The language of Deuteronomy 2:34 gives a clearer picture: "And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:" Even the children were destroyed! There was to be no one left to corrupt the morality of the Israelites and to infect the land with idolatry. Ecclesiastes 3 says that to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. This was not the time for mercy or reconciliation. This was the time for the land of Israel to be born and for the children of Israel to kill the inhabitants of the land; it was time for them to plant and pluck up that which the idolatrous nations they fought against had already planted; a time to break down the places of idolatry and build up the temple of God; a time for them to laugh and dance, even as their enemies mourned.
How does this apply to us today? Lets look at the word "land". It doesn't just mean a territory or a region. It speaks of people or inhabitants. The land is not just the ground we walk on, but we are the land. Everything the children of Israel were promised as they inherited the physical land, is now ours spiritually through Jesus Christ. The children of Israel had land that flowed with milk and honey. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places!
When we get saved, it becomes our responsibility to clean the land. Everything we let inhabit us before Jesus, now has to go, in Jesus name.
At the point of salvation, Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, we become the temple of the living God, and a Holy God should not have to share space with unholy things. Just as the children of Israel had to be diligent in destroying the inhabitants of the land and all they represented from the land, so to must we be just as diligent in wiping our land clean of all sin. We know from personal experience that when we share our land with sin, bad things happen. Just as the Lord warned the children of Israel, so it happens to us: sin becomes "pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides and shall vex you." How sad that we allow the Lord to share the land with sexual immorality, addictions of every kind, etc.
The Lord us urging us to clean our land. We are not strong enough, but He is our strength. We don't know how to get clean, but He is our wisdom and understanding. We can truly do all things through Him! "If you say in your heart, these nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?" do not lose heart! Remember the victory the Lord has won for all His people throughout the ages, and know that you are His people! What He did for them, He wants to do for you! You are more than a conqueror through Him! He is your victory. He is the weapon of your warfare that you need in order to get rid of the enemy in your land and make your body a true temple of the Lord. We are a people holy to the Lord our God. We are chosen to be a people of His treasured possession. We are His dwelling place and nothing else should have a stake in our land but Him!