June 4, 2023

Deuteronomy 9: 4, 5 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here . . . because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity . . . but on account of the wickedness of these nations. (NIV)

No fall is sudden. . . . [No] man [has] been dragged over into the domain of evil, who had not strayed carelessly, or gazed curiously or lingered guiltily beside its verge.*

While I am not a proponent of the “everything happens for a reason” school of thought, I don’t doubt that some things happen for a reason. In this instance, God makes it clear that the reason for the Israelites’ victorious invasion of Canaan had nothing to do with their righteousness or integrity – they were merely an instrument of God’s judgment against the wicked Canaanites. 

In Deuteronomy chapter 20, verses 16 through 18, God lists the evil tribes and orders the Israelite army to annihilate them – “do not leave anything alive that breathes,” he said. Otherwise, “they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do . . . and you will sin against the Lord your God.” Apparently, the Israelites never complied completely with the command and, just as God predicted, they were contaminated by their association with their new neighbors. 

We might wonder how the Canaanites reached their state of ungodliness. Someone has said that there has never been a time in history in which the worship of God was not proclaimed somewhere.* I can’t verify the accuracy of his observation – at least not without some very thorough research - but it seems safe to assume that the tribes in the Promised Land had not always been Godless. (We can’t say they were godless – “little g” – because they worshipped lots of gods.) They should have been a most alarming cautionary tale to God’s chosen people, but, alas, not so much . . . 

There are three quick points I want to make from this passage. 

1. God’s reasons for blessing you might not have so much to do with you. He might bless you so that you can bless others – or he may have other, surprising, motives. 

2. Partial obedience is not really obedience. There will be a price to pay. 

3. Fraternizing with evil is not how to overcome evil. We can’t isolate ourselves from the ungodly – we’re commanded to go into the world – but God’s people are commanded to keep themselves pure. We must insulate ourselves from the enticements of the evil around us through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. 

It is impossible for God's holiness . . . to pass from us to the world. . . . The world will contaminate your holiness, if you are not on guard against it.*