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Destroyed from OFF the Land – Josh. 23
Destroyed from OFF the Land – Josh. 23
God promised the land to Israel, Abraham's offspring (Gen. 17: ). God gave it (Josh. 24:13). They possessed it (Josh. 23:5; 24:8). ALL the promises that God had made them "have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed" (Josh. 23:14; see also Josh. 21:45).
Yet, the keeping of it was conditional. Joshua warned them: "know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you." (Joshua 23:13).
"“It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you." (Joshua 23:15).
"“When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”" (Joshua 23:16).
This was according to the covenant that God made with them thru Moses: "When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed" (Deut. 4:25–26; see also Deut. 28:63-64; 30:18-19; Lev. 18:28; 26:31-35; etc.).
They proved UNFAITHFUL and did exactly what God warned them about, and HE was faithful to HIS word and destroyed them from off the land and scattered them among the nations (Jer. 16:13; 50:17).
They were then promised that they could be returned, IF they would seek the Lord with ALL their heart and ALL their soul. God destroyed them off the land by Babylon, and God brought them back by the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. Their living in the land even then was according to the very covenant of Moses.
In the end, the people rejected the promised 'prophet like Moses' and for this they were destroyed from off the land by the Romans. NOW, to seek the Lord is to seek Him through Jesus. The promised end is to live with God forever. The promise is to those who trust and follow Jesus, whether of Israel or of any other nation (Mat. 28:18-19; Acts 10: ).
OUR dwelling with God is yet conditioned upon faithfulness to our covenant. "‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10) Will you hear him say: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant"?
Hugh DeLong
