That Which We Don't Drive Out

       It was there for the taking –THE PROMISE LAND. Since the time of Abraham one of the continual themes stated throughout the nation of Israel was the guarantee from God that one day they would possess the land of Canaan. With God at their side and with the leadership of Joshua, they conquered the land except for small pockets of resistance. As Joshua lays down the leadership mantle it was his intent and God’s desire for the Israelites to carry out conquering these pockets of resistance. Yet, in a series of disturbing verses the Israelites did not carry out the wish of Joshua and the command of God. The verses read something like this - the Benjamites, however, failed to dislodge (Judges 1:21), neither did Zebulun drive out (Judges 1:30), nor did Asher drive out (Judges 1:31, 32) and the list goes on.

       To the Israelites this might not have been that big of a deal, but to God it was a breach of the covenant He made with Israel. In one of the most startling verses in the Bible God sends an angel to the people of Israel and says the following:  “Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.” (Judges 2:1 – 5) In these verses God lays down an important principle that is so important to our Christian life and walk, THAT WHICH WE DON’T DRIVE OUT ENSNARES US!

       Unfortunately, haven’t we found this to be the case in our own lives? We struggle with a sin, and instead of driving it completely out of our lives, we try to hide it or we keep it on the periphery of our lives. Since we haven’t driven it completely out, we look up one day and the sin is right in front of us again with the same vengeance and destructive power. We cannot escape the principle taught so many years ago through the lives of the people of Israel, THAT WHICH WE DON’T DRIVE OUT ENSNARES US!

       The challenge for each one of us is to examine ourselves and answer a very difficult but necessary question, “what will it take to completely drive out the sin in my life?” While this question challenges us, we ask it because we deeply desire to live a life not ensnared by the destructive nature of sin. So, what do we need to drive out?   

(Next week we will explore one strategy for driving out sin in our lives.)                                                                          - Bill Tracy