Following on the heels of yesterday’s post, we concluded that while Israel had conquered the land of Canaan to the point where they now lived in a state of relative peace within the land, there was still much work left to be done.
For instance, Tyre, Sidon and the Philistines still maintained a foothold inside the land.
These were folks marked for extermination by the Lord but Israel just had no interest in battling them at this point in time.
Why?
Well, for one thing, these 3 nations weren’t acting aggressive towards Israel at this point in history.
They figured we’ll just leave Israel alone as long as they don’t bother us.
Also, another thing is that Joshua and many of the tribal leaders discovered that before waging an attack on a particular Canaanite state, many of the enemy kings and leaders would come up and invite Israel to enter into peace treaties with them.
Although this was clearly against the Lord’s will, more often than not Israel would fall for this temptation (like they did with the Gideonites).
Honestly, I can’t blame Israel too much.
I mean which seems like the more attractive option?
Engage in a bloody battle with a fierce enemy and risk life and limb?
Or turn your former enemy into a group of servants who will now pay out a tribute to you on a regular basis?
Heck, I know I would find it difficult to not just take the cashola and be happy.
So as I just said, even though the Israelites weren’t exactly sitting around their campfires singing Kumbaya every night, this was a time of relative peace and quiet for Israel.
And you know what?
That’s exactly what the Lord said would happen.
Check out these verses from the Torah in the Book of Exodus.
“I will not drive them out from before you in one year, which would cause the land to become desolate and the wild animals too many for you. I will drive them out from before you gradually, until you have grown in number and can take possession of the land.”-Exodus 23:29-30
The bottomline here is that the Lord never promised Israel a quick and easy victory over their enemies
He said that it would happen over time.
However, there’s another really important point here we shouldn’t overlook.
The speed at which Israel would have been able to overtake their enemies was based on their obedience to the Lord and His commandments.
Let this be a lesson to us all.
If you want the Lord’s blessings in your life, then OBEY, OBEY, OBEY His commandments.
It’s that simple and I can understand that due to all of the temptations in the world, it can also be as equally difficult.
To close, as I mentioned yesterday, the Lord never failed to do His part in spite of Israel’s disobedience.
The land of Canaan was now firmly in Israel’s hands and had been distributed to the sons of Jacob.
The Levites had been given their promised 48 cities and even the 6 Cities of Refuge were in operation.
Finally, and most important of all, the Lord their God dwelled with them even though their enemies were still an ever-present threat…just lurking around the corner.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN JOSHUA CHAPTER 22
Thank you for an insightful lesson. This is what came to my mind while reading this article; is this not what is happening now in he church? God establishes a church gradually, starting with a home gathering. Then after growing to a large organization, they sign a peace pact with the world. That’s when we hear terms like religious tolerance etc. What’s your opinion?