1And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. 4And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
-Judges 2:1-4 (KJV)
Do you realize how faithful God is? Even though we constantly fail Him, He remains true to His word. The Israelites found this out as they journeyed to the Promised Land. Yet, they constantly failed God as well. We read this account just prior to the death of Joshua, who was their leader during the time they took possession of the Promised Land.
Verse 1 says, "And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you." Remember, if you've studied the earlier books of the Bible, Israel wondered around the desert for 40 years as punishment for not trusting God. They came to the borders of the Promised Land, sent spies into the Promised Land, and then turned their backs on God because of the report. 12 spies went in, two came back ready to take possession, and the other 10 were not. Therefore, God punished them by not allowing that generation to enter into the Promised Land. But, God never broke His covenant. He led the nation into the Promised Land, just like He said He would do. Verse 2 says, "And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have you done this?" When they did go in and take possession of the land, they did not drive out and defeat all the inhabitants. Some of the inhabitants of the land was allowed to stay among the tribes of Israel. Once again, they disobeyed God. Verse 3 says, "Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you." Now, because they didn't obey God in the first place, He will not drive out the remaining peoples. They will be a thorn in the side, they will be a snare unto Israel. Why? Because they did not fulfill what God has called them to do. Verse 4 says, "And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept." They realized they had disobeyed God, and they wept. I'm sure they repented of their sin. Even though God would forgive them, they still had to deal with the consequences of sin.
What is our application today? When you accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you must allow Him to drive out the inhabitants in you. What do I mean? The thoughts, emotions, actions and things of your life that cause you to sin must be destroyed if you are going to get your full inheritance. When you give your life to Christ, you become new. The old things in life must be driven out. Just like God was with Israel, and had driven out most of the inhabitants of the Promised Land, God will drive out the old life in you. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Israel was battle weary, they had lost heart. They didn't see the battle through until the end and total victory was won. They settled for the compromised victory. Sadly, too many of us today settle for a partial victory over our lives of sin. Don't lose heart. Trust God and defeat all the inhabitants of your life. Then, and only then, can you claim victory. Just like Jesus was with the Israelites as they claimed and took possession of their Promised Land, He will be with you. What areas of your life do you need Jesus to take possession of? Think About It.
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