The Israelites had now experienced a great time of growth
and prosperity and had gained considerable victories in the land to which God
had brought them. They were living large. Their 'modern times' were in full
swing! Modern housing - they no longer had to live in tents. A marketplace
close to their settlements, social activity and times of celebration. The 'latest' in fashionable clothing,
meaningful work - this was living! There were still Canaanites living nearby
who for some reason did not get removed from the land - some were kind of nice
and kept their properties up and sometimes you would come across a marketplace
that the Canaanites owned or visited. They looked different from the Israelites
in some respects, and dressed and lived differently. They definitely worshiped
differently ...
A people of promise. God in His grace and providence had anointed/ordained a man named Abraham, who could trace his origins to the family of Shem, son of Noah. Because of his demonstrated faith and the grace of God, God promised Abraham that his descendants would become as numerous as the stars and the grains of sand. The people who would first be identified with this promise was the nation of Israel, descending from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As the Genesis record continues to show, the people of Jacob moved from Canaan during the famine to Egypt when one of Jacob's (aka Israel's) youngest sons had been elevated to the governor and second in command of the region and who administered the plenty that God had provided for that purpose in His providence. After 400 years in Egypt, according to God's divine timing, He redeemed the people from the bondage of slavery for the purpose of bringing them to a place where they could worship Him according to His determination outlined in the 10 commandments and laws that He would give the people to guide them to true blessings as He restored them to the land of their forefather Israel.
The people of Israel did eventually occupy the land - God assigned areas for each tribe according to His will for them. (It is interesting who was given the northern region and who was given the southern region.) God did give them victory over those interlopers who had claimed the land for themselves and warred against God's purpose. However - and this is important to know - not all of the Canaanites were driven out, due in part to the unfaithfulness and disobedience of the Israelites to carry out God's command to drive the wicked from their midst.
Additionally, the Israelites, after re-inhabiting the land - were straightforwardly instructed not to intermingle with the people of the land - primarily because they were pagans who did not worship the true God, the Savior of Israel. The peoples of Canaan were not ignorant of who this God was, which is why God allowed for the proselyte (a converted Canaanite; also called stranger in some Bible translations) to become part of the blessing and not be annihilated with those rejecting God. (compare Romans 1:18-23; Exodus 12:9; 1 Chronicles 22:1-3; 2 Chronicles 2:16-18; 2 Chronicles 30:24-26; Ezekiel 14:6-8)
Years would pass, and the initial generations of Israelites returning to the land would pass away. Judges 2 indicates that eventually generations were born who did not know the God of Israel, i.e., folks had turned to the pagan gods of their neighbors. Why would they do that - after all these were the people, or at least their grandparents and great grandparents were the people whom God had brought from captivity in Egypt after miraculous signs were performed to demonstrate God's glory and sovereignty. They and their parents and grandparents had witnessed God's saving hand against their enemies. They had witnessed and enjoyed the blessings of abundance in a land God had given to them. (compare Psalm 77-80) Why, then, would they turn their backs on God?
For the same reasons essentially that Adam and Eve, and us today, do so. To satisfy our own desires for dominance, self-rule and worship. To feel good and enjoy the fleeting pleasures disobedience gives.
But our God is a Jealous God who will not tolerate forever the wandering away of His chosen people. (compare Exodus 20:4-6; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:23-25; 5:9; 6:15; Joshua 24:18-20) His perfect Jealousy, born of a sovereign right to command obedience and worship, is not to be toyed with. As in the example of the wayward child in Part 1 of this blog, God knows what is best for His created beings, despite what the lust of our hearts tell us. He has the right to chastise His people and set up the necessary guardrails to protect them and command their exclusive worship. He has provided the means and instrument to restore His people - which He provides at great cost. He has redeemed or purchased His people at great cost, in His grace and providence. HE HAS THE SOVEREIGN RIGHT and is worthy above all things to be praised and worshiped.
We, too, are the people of the promise through the seed of Abraham - in the person of Jesus Christ. We thus need to recall that the reason that God had faithful men record the accounts of His chosen people, of His salvation plan and process, is for us, for those who would follow those generations. (compare 1 Corinthians 10:1-11) We, too, are chosen people in a 'promised land' - a place of relationship with God where we are to worship Him exclusively. God's holy Word, His record of the actions and consequences of His people in past days, are for our benefit so that we can discern and make choices in line with God's will for our lives through a careful review and consultation of those accounts. (compare 1 Corinthians 10:12-15; Psalm 119:66; Proverbs 1:1-2; 2:3-9; Philippians 1:9; Hebrews 5:13-14) Will we be enticed by or lured to the practices and culture of the world? Yes. Will we be tempted to think like the world? Yes. Jesus tells us that in His Gospels and we are warned about it in the letter of Revelation. We are still flesh, therefore, our divine 'war' is with those fleshly desires to subdue them by following the Holy Spirit's direction in our lives. Is it easy? No, nor was it easy to live in the culture and sensual environments in which God's people in the past lived. They, too, were tempted with sexual immorality, greed, and idolatry and many succumbed, just as many of God's people fall to those desires today, and become subjected to God's correction. We must take care to seek God's will in all things, or suffer the same consequences suffered by those in the past who chose to go their own way.
For our God is still a Jealous God, who is jealous for the people whom He chooses! Let us 'work out our salvation', i.e., follow the course God has set for us with all determination, with fear and with trembling, as before a Great and Loving God, who has our best in mind at all times. (Philippians 2:12-13)
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