Israelites

There’s a lot of debate these days concerning what Israel should do with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Usually, I don’t write about political issues, but I can’t ignore this one. It’s my humble opinion that Israel should completely remove the Palestinians from their land. Not kill them but drive them out. Why do I say that?

^50-53God spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Tell the People of Israel, When you cross the Jordan into the country of Canaan, drive out the native population before you, destroy their carved idols, destroy their cast images, level their worship-mounds so that you take over the land and make yourself at home in it; I’ve given it to you. It’s yours. Num. 33:50-53 (MSG)

God knew if the Israelites didn’t obey Him and remove the people who occupied the land He was giving them, then they would be tempted to become like them and serve their gods. It can be difficult sometimes to worship and serve a God you can’t see. That is one reason the people who did not know God built idols of their made-up gods so that they could see them. In reality, it takes more faith to worship a god that is dead!

There is no difference with some people today. They have an innate desire to serve a god, and so they worship all kinds of things that are dead and can’t do anything for them. And those who do know God and even live according to his word, if they do not remove the things of the world from their land, territory, home, and life, they, too, will turn from God eventually.

Some are easily influenced or persuaded by what appears to be successful people who don’t know God. They too easily give up on God or grow impatient with Him to move in their life. So, the same principle God told Israel of removing anything that would come before Him from their land applies to our lives. That is why Israel should remove the Palestinian people from their land. Otherwise, they will always be a thorn in their side. They will continue to cause trouble for Israel. That is the ONLY way to bring real peace to the land.

By now, most of us have probably heard one minister or another tells us that the distance from the Red Sea to the Promise Land was an eleven-day walk. So the Israelites could have gone from captivity and slavery to a land flowing with milk and honey after a few days of walking. What happened? You might be asking. “Fear.” The majority of them listened to the ten spies who reported why they couldn’t take the land God was giving them instead of the two men of God full of faith. The ten assumed they were being called to battle. They failed to understand the battle is the Lord’s!

The result of listening to men who struggled with fear instead of God was walking in the desert for forty years. This is so difficult for me to understand, They had just witnessed God separating the Red Sea, and they walked to the other side on dry ground, and then, if that wasn’t enough to prove God’s mighty power, they watched as He closed the Red Sea drowning, eradicating their enemy! Faith should have been the last thing they lacked.

I know I have not walked in their sandals, but I would like to think I would have agreed with the men of faith who reported they could do it. It seems that many people will listen to men instead of God. No, they may not wander in a desert as a result, but they certainly do miss out on everything God has for them.

It seems as if some, who do not know God personally, have more respect for Him and his power than some believers do! I guarantee Israel’s enemies were scared. Imagine the testimony to all who are watching your life, whether you realize it or not, when they see God’s mighty hand at work in you. Have you ever thought about the fact that percentage-wise, there are only a handful of ministries in the world that are affecting the world for God’s glory? That is because those leaders dared to believe God instead of men!

Has God instructed you to go or do something that looks impossible for a mortal man? Remember this:

Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.” Mat. 19:26 (NET)

If He has, go for it. Follow God every step as He leads you into the land He desires to give you. Put your foot in the exact same spot where God’s foot just left. Don’t look to the left or the right. Don’t expect your journey to take place the same way God did it for someone else either. Cover your ears if you have to so you aren’t tempted to listen to negative thoughts.

When I was accepting my first position as a youth minister at a church that said they couldn’t pay me a salary, my father told me I was crazy and forbade me to go. I was twenty-one and hadn’t lived under his roof for three years. I listened to my heavenly Father, who told me to go. I listened to the CEO of heaven instead, and without a salary from the church, my needs were met.