LEARNING DAILY

 

Joshua 23:11-13, Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. Or else, if indeed you go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations – these that remain among you – and make marriages with them and go in to them and they to you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

 

Yikes! Over and over the people of Israel were warned that there would be blessing for obedience and consequences for disobedience. This included being told many times that when they entered the Promised land that they were to drive out and destroy those living there, because failure to do so would cause the Israelites to compromise, intermarry with the remnant and begin to live in the belief system of idolatry. They were warned that these unbelievers would influence Israel to adopt the shameful ways of the Canaanites. God’s people were to keep His unchanging Word at the very forefront of their lives; that was the only way for them to withstand the temptations as they moved into the Promised Land. They did not do this. They left a remnant in the land. With this remnant, they intermarried, and the consequences of disobedience happened.

 

The call for God’s people to be separated from the ungodly “world” remains the same for God’s people today. Nothing has changed regarding this New Testament teaching of separation. Let me define the term “world” again. It often refers to the enormous system of this age that Satan promotes and that exists independent of God. This world system “consists not only in the evil immoral, and sinful lifestyle and values found in the world system but also refers to the spirit of rebellion against or indifference to God and His revelation that exists within all human enterprises not under Christ’s lordship” (LSSB). Think about how Satan uses the world’s ideas, philosophies, ideas, governments, education system, medicine, arts, entertainment, sports, and so much more to oppose God. Can you think of any area Satan has not influenced to oppose God, those of us who follow Him, God’s word and His righteousness?

 

Joshua’s words are a reminder and an encouragement to each of us today. We must be diligent to do at least two things. We must love God; we love Him with all our heart, our soul, and our mind! When we do, we do all we can to walk on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom. But Joshua’s words must be considered by each of us. We must not be friends with the “world” we live in because doing so we will compromise our walk with the Lord. Snares and traps are those things set and hidden on the ground to catch unwary travelers. Scourges and thorns are those things that continue to tempt and bother us until we are so weakened that we give in to temptations. We must be diligent in watching for those things that come against us. We must be alert to those who would befriend us and lead us into temptation. Becoming friends with those in the world by hanging around them only causes us to be tempted with ungodliness and sinfulness in the world. We have enough trouble on our own.

 

We stay in God’s Word, doing our best to walk how it tells to walk on the narrow way. We stay strong in our relationship to Him by being in prayer about all things. We are careful about who we allow into our lives, desiring to build relationships with Godly people. When we can, we tell those in the world about Jesus and how He has changed our lives. We live our lives watching and waiting for Jesus to sound the trumpet to join Him in the clouds. We live our lives so we will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.