Good Morning.
Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. (Exodus 34:11-12)
From the beginning of Scripture all the way to the end, God makes it clear that His people are to be a set apart people, meaning they are not to entertain ideas of embracing forbidden mixtures — i.e. mingling the holy with the profane. This prohibition extended to any fraternization with people who engaged in idolatry and unsavory habits. It is very important to take note of the fact that, in the midst of describing Himself to Moses, God reminds the children of Israel to “take heed” or “be on guard” against their inclination to do this very thing. Remember, the sin of the golden calf — an act that had come close t annulling the covenant and destroying the nation — was an expression of the very thing H warned against.
To make treaties, covenants or marriages with them would prove to be a snare unto the people. The Hebrew word translated as “snare” can also be rendered as “noose.” This is not necessarily the kind of noose that hangs from a gallows but the type that prey might step into and not be able to escape from — in other words, it meant eventual but certain death. In reality He was telling Israel that if you associate with the wicked and idolatrous people in the land, you won’t provoke them to worship the Almighty, they would cause Israel to worship their gods.
The warning given here was not just for them — it holds true for us today. We cannot think that its okay to willingly coexist with wickedness and expect to escape the consequences. Time and again we see that when God’s people try to make peace with the world, we usually get sucked into it and founder. This is why Paul said that we are not to be unequally yoked; light is not to fellowship with darkness. To the contrary, we are called to be a set apart people living set apart, holy lives.
Yes, we are in this world and will, no doubt, be affected to some degree by the world. However, we are not to compromise God’s standards for living life just to accommodate a world that wants to do its own thing. We must “take heed” and guard against this tendency so as not to be taken by the enemy’s snare. So let us continue to be alert and walk circumspectly as we strive to honor our Father in Heaven.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments