“I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.” -Judges 2:21-22
God has many ways to refine his Church, but one method is through the influence of heathen peoples. In the start of the book of Judges we learn that the tribes of Israel failed to drive out the Canaanites from the lands which they conquered. Instead, they made covenants with the Canaanites, adopted their gods, bred their women, and mixed them into their economies.
The tribes became relaxed after they’d received their land allotments and after Joshua had died. Moreover, the generations at the time of the Judges had forgotten how the Lord led their fathers in past conquests and victories. In fact, many of them had never been tried by the hardships of war.
“Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof” -Judges 3:2
Because of this laxity, God gave them over to their stubbornness and allowed them to face the consequences of their mixing and mingling. This was not because God stopped loving his children, but because God intended to prove Israel and to determine the ones that would bring glory to his name.
Though the children transgressed many times, God’s covenant with Israel remained. Each time they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He had mercy on them and granted them salvation.
“I will never break my covenant with you.” -Judges 2:1.
We see today, in nearly all former Christ-proclaiming nations, the children of Israel lost and scattered among the heathen people. Many of God’s children have gone astray, adopting heathen ways, and falling into sin, and the Lord has rightfully given these nations into the hands of Canaanites.
But the Lord’s covenant still stands today and by his grace and mercy it is made new in Christ Jesus, the ultimate Savior. He shall call all that are His, out of the nations to repentance. He shall prove Israel.
“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” -Psalm 89:34
Image Credit: K Mitch Hodge via Unsplash
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