– Cleansing the land.
God gave Israel each of the feasts so they would remember:
- Who He is,
- Their special relationship with Him,
- What He had done and will do for them.
Let’s remember God’s instructions about the land He gave to them. God chose a specific place, a certain piece of land on which He would put His name. He said that all the nations would come to worship Him at this place. Then God gave that land to Israel to be her inheritance. To fulfill that destiny and God’s purpose, the land and the people had to be holy. Therefore, God gave Israel specific instructions that might seem very strange and unfair to us today. But God had a reason and a purpose for commanding Israel to cleanse the land – the former inhabitants had defiled it.
Numbers 33:50-53; 55-56
On the plains of Moab the Lord spoke to Moses. He spoke to him by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, 51 “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Go across the Jordan River into Canaan. 52 Drive out all those living in the land. The statues of their gods are made out of stone and metal. Destroy all those statues. And destroy all the high places where they are worshiped. 53 Take the land as your own. Make your homes in it. I have given it to you. “ ‘But suppose you do not drive out the people living in the land. Then those you allow to remain there will become like needles in your eyes. They will become like thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56 Then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’ ”
But Israel did not totally destroy all the people as God warned, and they are still thorns in Israel’s side.
PRAY THAT ISRAEL WILL FINALLY POSSES HER INHERITANCE AND BRING HOLINESS TO THE LAND.
