Do Whatever It Takes To Stay Away From False Gods
Exodus 23:20-33
20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
The reason why it is so important that the Canaanites are driven out of the Promised Land is because their idolatry is likely to trip up the Israelites.
There is an important lesson here about how easy it is for God’s people to become like their unbelieving neighbors. In the American church, we talk a lot about influencing others, but it often seems as if we are more influenced by the larger culture than we are actively influencing and shaping it.
Why do you think that is?
Where in your own life are you living too much like an unbeliever?
Join us for One Big Service!
Celebrate Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, with our special 10am service on Sunday, May 19th.
Afterward, join the festivities at our block party!
Invite everyone—friends, family, neighbors—for food, fun, and fellowship!