9.25.25 ~ Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, Ouch!

Good morning!

We are in the 10 days of awe. The time period between trumpets and Atonement(s), heading into Tabernacles. The celebration of Yom Teruah is complete. What are we supposed to do during these 10 days?  Enquiring minds want to know :-)

Back in the book of Exodus, God promised the Israelites that He would go before them and drive out the inhabitants of the land (Exodus 33:1-2).

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ “And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. (Ex. 33:1,2)

The Israelites needed to trust in Him and fight with His help.  Yet, they were warned against failure.  In this week's Torah portion, Vayelech, we will see that od told them, “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell” (Num. 33:55).

Even though God gave His people rest all around (Josh. 21:44), there were still pockets of the Canaanites and others throughout the land.  The Israelites still must drive them out one step at a time. God had told them, “

I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land”
(Ex. 23:29-30).

If we read in the book of Judges chapter 1, we will find “but Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron” (Jug. 1:19).  They tried but failed.  Then, instead of seeking God’s face until the victory was won, they gave up.  Pretty soon the remainder of the tribes just stopped trying.  Judah “could not” but the others “did not.”  We read this about Benjamin (v.21), Manasseh (v.27), Ephraim (v.29), Zebulon (v.30), Asher (v.31) and Naphtali (v.33).  Even when Israel became strong, they simply collected tribute instead of driving the people out as they had been told (v.28).  And, as the remainder of the book of Judges proves, these people did become pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides. Ugh and ouch! Too often in my life, I resemble this scenario!

In a picture, God saves us and brings us into the promised land.  Yet, there remain pockets of resistance in our lives.  We still have besetting sins, weaknesses of character, bad habits that give way to the world, flesh and devil.  God expects us to fight against these enemies and to ever strive to grow in grace.  Yet, many believers decide the battle is too difficult.  They choose the easy way of compromise.  They decide that the pockets of resistance are small and not worth the trouble.

Yet, these areas of our lives continually trouble us.  They keep us from a victorious life.  God would help us if we would just continue in the fight.  But we quit on God. This is the 10 days of awe!

Let me encourage you to finish the fight!

Yom Kippur, the sealing of the books, is coming! Will I be victotious or spend another year fighting the same gobbedly gook?

Chag Sameach!
Shalom,
Alan

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