EXODUS 23
26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornetsbefore you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, or I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” – Exodus 23:26-32
EXODUS 23 MORE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MOVING INTO CANAAN
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
God promised the Israelites a land that they will inhabit
He gave them specific instructions how to overtake it
Terror and confusion to the nations living in it will be experienced
Those nations will be driven slowly to ensure their takeover.
In this account we witness a God who has a very detailed plan for his people to occupy Canaan. Did you ever wonder why it took that long for that promised land that was part of the covenant he made with Abraham to be fulfilled? Why would God give them a land that had pagan inhabitants? We cannot surmise God’s thoughts or ways, but we can see that God knows our hearts and abilities. If he gave that land right away to Abraham, the lineage that Jesus would be coming from won’t be fulfilled. I think that it is also because of the stubborn spirit of the Israelites that prolonged the arrival at Canaan. Also, the Israelites wouldn’t have propagated that much hadn’t it been for the long years they were travelling. It is interesting how the land was occupied by pagans. Maybe God wanted to show them his power to destroy these idolaters to his people so that they can rely on God for everything. God even timed the occupation slowly. He thought of everything.
REFLECTION
- Why should believers completely trust God’s plan and timing?
