Numbers 33:55
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live.”
Why were they to be driven out? The people of the land practiced pagan religions. Some of their acts were contrary to God’s ways. Prostitution and sacrificing infants were two.
God wants His people to be holy. They were to live in a holy manner. The levitical law gave them guidance as to how that was to be done.
God wants His people to worship Him alone. One of the commandments forbids worshipping other gods. Isaiah 42:8 says it this way, “I will not share my glory with another”. This isn’t selfish. It’s the right thing. The Lord is the creator and sustainer of life. No other assists Him. He is alone in that and many other roles.
How does this apply to us? By becoming a christian, it’s symbolic of crossing over into the promised land. What in our lives is similar to driving out the inhabitants? It doesn’t mean we can’t associate with nonchristians. That’s how we witness Christ. However, if we’re with them too much, then it will have a corrupting affect.
Driving out the inhabitants means to remove the potential for sin and idolatry. We rarely have physical idols in the western world. However, there is plenty of idolatry. We directly serve pleasure, money, power, sex, the environment and so on.
When one works so much that family or friends are neglected, then that one is worship money and maybe power and/or influence. When one is guided by pleasure at the expense of others and responsibility, then that one is worshiping pleasure.
How do balance this? 1 Peter 3:15 says to “sanctify Christ as lord in your hearts”. He will guide us. Yield to Him as we go throughout our day. Not being led by a guilty, condemning heart, but by His promptings.
Today’s passage says that they will be troublesome if not driven out. So also, if we flirt with elevating things at the level of God, then we will also have problems. He “won’t share His glory with another”.
Lord, help us to root out competing influences. You are due sole allegiance.