READING: Numbers 32-33, Mark 13:28-14:16
Sometimes we debate over one aspect of Scripture but then miss the more significant teaching. For example, scholars and pastors have debated what kind of God would require His people to drive the inhabitants out of the land of Canaan when they arrived there. His word was clear: “You must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places” (Num. 33:52) – but the clarity of the command only heightens the question for some.
God, though, is not a cruel God; He’s a holy God. And, He’s also an all-knowing God who was well aware that the land’s inhabitants would become a snare to God’s people if they remained in the land. The only option was to remove them and their religious shrines.
I read this text, and I wonder how often I allow sin to just linger in my life. I wonder if I drive it out like I should as a follower of Christ, the Holy Son of God.
PRAYER: “God, help me to drive out my sin. Let it not linger in my life.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Numbers 34-36, Mark 14:17-42