Obedience and Discipline

How am I doing with obedience?

3 min read, approximately

“When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, and has driven out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations greater and more powerful than you—and the Lord your God has delivered them before you and you have defeated them, you shall destroy them completely. You shall make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. You shall not intermarry with them: do not give your daughter to their son or take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your child away from following me to serve other gods; then the Lord’s anger will burn against you and he will destroy you quickly. Instead, this is what you must do to them: tear down their altars, break their statues, destroy their images of Asherah, and burn their carved images in the fire. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be his special people above all the peoples on the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:1-6)

But the people did this: Judges 1:27-33 ‘Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, Taanach and its villages, Dor and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, or Megiddo and its villages; the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. When Israel became strong, they made the Canaanites pay tribute but did not drive them out. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol, but the Canaanites lived among them and paid tribute. Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. Asher lived among the Canaanites inhabiting the land, for they did not drive them out. Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites inhabiting the land; however, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath paid tribute to them.’ God gives us instructions, and as his children we simply need to obey, understanding that there is no better direction for our lives than his will. The question is: What does the Book of Life say about us? ‘And they turned away at once.’ ‘And they disobeyed my voice.’ ‘And they lived claiming to be Christian but never spoke with me.’ ‘I gave them power and self-control, but they lived full of fear.’ ‘They were always a stubborn child.’ Do we really know what it says?

May God continue to bless you
and may you continue to have an excellent day in Christ Jesus!
I invite you to stop by the Songbook