Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess.” (Numbers 33:51-53)
Stop and consider: to destroy the images, idols and high places of those who worship false gods is not commanded for any other land –- only Canaan. Certainly, God overthrew the gods of Egypt and made a mockery of the gods other nations worshiped, but He never instructed His people to break down the idols in these other lands. Why? Because, as He told them, the land of Canaan was to be the land of their possession. This was the land that He deeded to Abraham and to his seed and, therefore, it was not to be polluted with idolatry — the LORD is their God and this was to be a Holy Land.
The Bible tells us that, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and those who dwell in it.” (Psalm 24:1). In other words, seeing that all of it is His, He can do as He wishes and deed the land to anyone He wants to — in this case, to Abraham and his seed. Now consider this: originally, the land promised to Abraham may have been called Eden, the place where everything started. The point is this — from the start, this was dedicated as a sacred space, and for that reason, the Adversary has done everything in his power to pollute it. Obviously, God knew that and consequently instructed His people to remove all things that defile from the land where His Presence would kiss the earth.
As for you and I, perhaps we cannot control what others do in their own homes — they will worship and revere what according to their own desires. However, we do have the authority and responsibility to make sure that our homes are a “sacred space” in terms of what we allow to enter. That being said, would the Holy One feel welcome in your home? Would He find that your home is clean and rid of things that offend His Presence or not?
If not, then perhaps the time has come to smash, demolish or just throw out those things that are not conducive to His Presence abiding in our homes. Whether or not His Presence is in our homes is the difference between life, blessing and prosperity or death, curses and poverty. Therefore, let us choose life and blessing and make certain that our homes — and our bodies — are appropriate habitations for the Holy One of Israel.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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