Joshua chapter 16.
We have more identification of how the land was allotted or distributed amongst the 12 tribes of Israel. The Ephraimites did not destroy all the Canaanites living in Gezer, but had them living amongst them while having them do forced labor.
To me it sounds like a compromise against what God asked of them. God said to destroy all of them. It sounds like they justified their actions as if to be saying, “Yes, we know we were supposed to destroy them but we're making them do forced labor, so that's okay.”
It's hard obeying God to the “T”. We disobey because something in the world looks attractive. Then we try and justify our actions. We tell ourselves it's not that bad of a sin. At least I still go to church. Or at least I read my Bible still. At least I'm not like that other person. They are the real sinners, NOT ME!. My bad thoughts are not as bad as what they are actually doing.
I tend to forget that sin is sin. It has to be put away and repented from. God forgive me of my sins. Thank you for grace and mercy! Help me repent of all sin! Amen
I like listening to the Bible while I read along …(.probably the teacher in me) and I also research chapters I struggle with…(see below )
The following comes from “the Bible explained:
This shows that the Israelites did not complete God’s will in getting rid of the Canaanites. We can see in this, the same problem that Christians live in today. We live in lands where the believers are mixed in with the rest of society. It is difficult to live a completely holy life under these circumstances.
PB you are so right ….it is difficult….but I’m going to keep moving in the direction GOD leads me
In chapter 15 we saw how the Jebusites could not be driven out by the people of Judah. Now in Chapter 16 we read that the people of Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites either. Of course we also know from chapter 9 that the Gibeonites were still around because the Israelites didn’t seek the Lord and so they got tricked.
When we think that we can make compromises regarding sin and try to justify our actions, we are actually just fooling ourselves. Only committing a small sin isn’t really possible because there is no such thing as a small sin.
We read this in James 2:10.
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”
Instead of compromising with the world, we must resist as we read in James 4:7-8.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”