Have you ever raised a moral question over God telling Israelites to wipe out nations, including women and children, when they went into the promised land? I’m reading through Joshua 11 and I’m struck by God’s command to be ruthless toward the people living in the land and kill every one of them! Why such cruelty?

It was out of God’s grace that He commanded this. Both for the people perishing and the Israelites. The people of the land of Canaan were evil and if they were allowed to live, they would only produce more children that would eventually go to hell. God is cutting this off at the root. But it was also for the Israelites in that He didn’t want Israel to become evil, following other gods like those nations, and condemn themselves to hell. So, He is commanding the Israelites to cut off all source of evil among them. He is telling them to clean the house!

The lesson for us is that if we are Christians, we are to be ruthless in ridding ourselves of all things that would hinder our walk with Him. The things that would come back and bite us! So, if God tells us to rid ourselves of something we enjoy – such as sex outside marriage, overeating, crude jokes, getting drunk, homosexuality, wild parties – it’s because He wants us to experience something better. And we must be ruthless in getting rid of these things in our lives if we are to fully enjoy the life that God has in store for us.

You already know this in principle. That cake looks so tempting but you know what it will do to your gut! Best way? Get rid of it and don’t even have it in the house!

It is denying ourselves of lesser things so that we can enjoy something greater.

What is God convicting you to part with? They may not be something bad. Maybe incessant social media checking? Shopping for things you don’t really need? A marathon of movies that don’t really bring you closer to God? Parties that leave you feeling empty? Gambling away your hard earned money for a false hope?

When these things seem more attractive to you than God, you have gone overboard… Get rid of it!

PH