December 1, 2023

God intended to destroy idolaters by sending the Israelites into Canaan. So it wasn’t as if they were going to go in and conquer good people; they were evil. However, Israel was not righteous, and they would not defeat the people because they were good, but only because of God. We must be careful not to boast in our righteousness because we are not, though we try; we are only good because of our salvation in Jesus. 

I’ve been working on my spring garden, preparing it to plant. We’ve killed the grass, tilled it up, and now I’m making the beds. I’m as concerned about aesthetics as the food, so I tend to go a little overboard. It’s a lot of work, and my arms feel like they are about to fall off! There is a pesky kind of grass that can come back from the dead, so not only am I dealing with how to lay out the garden, but I must try to get those deep-rooted grasses out or I will have to deal with them again. Those weeds are like the idolaters in the promised land; if they are not eradicated, and a few are left out of kindness, their deep-rooted idolatry will creep back in and destroy everything that God was trying to cultivate. 

Do not hang on to a particular sin that makes you feel comfy; it must be rooted out and obliterated! It will only open the door for the enemy to creep in and draw you into deeper sin. Let it go! It’s not worth dealing with God’s anger against you because you are too weak to relinquish it. Ask God to help you give up the sin that is keeping you imprisoned. The main point of this chapter of Deuteronomy 9 is to not boast in your righteousness.

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Romans 3:10

Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. Deuteronomy 9:4