Deuteronomy 7:23-26 "But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. (v 24) And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. (v 25) The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. (v 26) Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing."
God made promises to Israel concerning His handling of the people of the land
into which they were going. He would deliver them into the hands of
Israel. If they felt the people were too difficult for them, then He (God)
would give strength for each battle. The clear message to the people was to rid
the land of those who had defiled it and then consecrate the land to the glory
and honor of God. I included several verses this morning because we will
see the people did not heed the Word of God and there were dire consequences as
a result.
It did not take a great period of time before this one would be broken. We go
forward just a short time following this when the Lord gave the victory over
Jericho to the people. We see a man by the name of Achan sneaking some of the
goodies from the destroyed city. He took a Babylonian garment and some silver
and gold and hid it under his tent. But God saw it there. God had not changed
His directive to the people: "Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold
that is on them, nor take it unto thee." This was given by God through
Moses and it still was the same. Achan knew that he was not to take those
items, but his desire for them overtook his understanding of God's commands. As
a result, Israel lost a battle that should have been an easy victory. And then
Achan, his family, his livestock, and al his possessions were stoned and
burned.
Another example of God's steadfastness came after Israel had desired a king.
God gave them a man named Saul to be their king. There is much to be said about
him but in context of this lesson, we find God sending Israel to destroy the
Amalekites. Saul was to have everyone and everything destroyed. But, he decided
there were some things that were worthy of keeping to himself. He did not
destroy the king. He saved the "best part of the sheep, oxen, lambs, and
all that was good." God had directed them not to spare anything.
Saul felt his judgment was better than the Lord's, so he kept some of the
things. Though this was hundreds of years later, God's command through Moses
still stood firm. "The LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and
shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. And he
shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name
from under heaven." (Deuteronomy 7:23-26)
What can we receive from all this today? It is sad to say, but some
people seem to think God's Word is outdated. Some think they can improve upon
the way in which it was written. In doing so, parts of God's Word have been
"watered down" and changed to fit the whims of man. Be assured,
the Scripture we saw in our study of Hebrews remains true to this day:
"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to day, and for ever."
God does not change nor does His Word. We are to take heed and seek to
follow Him.