March 8, 2012 … Take Possession of the Land

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 33-34 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 33: 50-53: … [“all” means ALL], … 50 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the LORD said to Moses, 51 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52 drive out ALL the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy ALL their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish ALL their high places. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

My Journal for Today: Today my chronological read takes me into and through Numbers, Chapters 33-34, linked for your study above if you’re reading along with me. And herein we read of Moses’ charge, by God, to document the exodus of God’s people from Egypt and their trek through the wilderness, which also includes the boundaries of the promised land as the assignment of the lands to the various tribes if Israel. All in all not the most exciting read in God’s word; but each day I pray for the Lord to reveal something which He wants me to take away for application in my life or for me to use to share with others in ministry or in life. And today God gave me the bold answer to that prayer with verses 50-53 in Chapter 33, where God gives strong instruction to God’s people, via Moses, as to what the Israelites must do when taking possession of the land God had promised to His chosen people.

And in copying the aforementioned section of scripture for your study and meditation today above, you will notice that I took the editorial liberty to embolden and underline the word ALL whenever it appeared in this passage. And when you read through those instructions from God through Moses to His people, especially to the leaders of the people, you probably get what I’m emphasizing by highlighting the concept ALL in this passage.

My dear one, when God says ”ALL” in His word, He means ALL. And I know that this instruction is hard to take; and it’s hard to imagine that our loving God is telling Moses and His chosen ones to kill ALL the people and to eradicate ALL of the idols in the land and to destroy and demolish ALL of the high places where the idols in the land where on display. But, my friend, again I repeat, when God says ”ALL” in His word, He means ALL.

And this is speaking loudly and clearly to me this morning, because we New Covenant chosen ones, like the people to whom God through Moses was writing these all encompassing instructions in the Old Testament, are to move into the life (i.e., our “promised land”) where God has led us; and we are to eradicate ”ALL” of the idols in our lives, taking down ”ALL” of the high places where these idols are made prominent by those in this life.

And I don’t know about you, my fellow Christian, but I still have some tearing down and total eradication to do in my life with some idols that I still have in high places in my life. I’m not going to go into it in depth my conviction here; but though I’ve followed God’s instructions in today’s highlight passage in many areas of my life, I still have areas - like obsessive/compulsive eating and the habitual viewing of some very worldly entertainment - which hold positions of too much prominence in my life, … areas of idolatry where I haven’t TOTALLY destroyed the idols or demolished their prominence (i.e., “high places”).

No, I need to say to myself, “Bill, … God says ”ALL” in His word when it comes to eliminating the idols in life, and when God says, “ALL”, He means ALL!!”

And in taking action against such idols, as the Apostle Paul instructed us in Colossians 3 [please go back and read this chapter as linked here …], we simply must be in TOTAL surrender to God’s will and utilizing the enabling grace given to us by our Lord to eradicate ”ALL” of the unGodly idols in our lives as well as tearing down the high places where they become prominent. I’ll leave it to you (with God’s help – as He promises in 1st Cor. 10: 13) to get to the business (God’s business) of tearing down some idols today.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, show me ALL the idols in my life and help me tear them down! Amen