(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Joshua 23:11–16, “Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.”
The Lord gave Israel one responsibility and that was to remember that there is only one God. If there is only one God then their behaviour should be affected in certain ways. The one true God had delivered them from Egypt so that He could further His plan of blessing all the families of the earth through Abraham’s legitimate heirs. In order for the Lord to complete His plan Israel just had to accommodate themselves to the truth. They had to accept that the Lord God had defined good and evil and they were not to try and listen to other people and change the Lord’s definition to suit themselves. Since sin entered the world, each and every man wanted to define good and evil for themselves and the world had disintegrated into a chaotic mess. The Lord called Abraham aside and Abraham believed Him. It was very important that Israel remained separate from the other people of the world so that they wouldn’t become confused about the correct definition of good and evil. That is why they were told to drive out all the other nations. As long as they disobeyed the Lord in this matter they would struggle with obeying the Lord because they would have to fight against differing world views. On the other hand, the Lord kept every promise He had made to them and proved to be loving and faithful. Joshua, like Moses before him, urged Israel to remember that the Lord is faithful so that they could remain faithful to Him. The Maker always knows what is best for His creatures.
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