"It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people. Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD."
And that's being charitable. It seems like Israel is creating an idol or complaining every single page from Exodus to Deuteronomy. It's hard to believe God didn't simply destroy them all, which He threatened multiple times.
But here's the thing I come back to every time I read this section of scripture: Are we any better? Sure, we look the Israelites and say "Hey, they got to see God in a pillar of fire, what morons they are for disobeying." But we have the Spirit. No one gets any excuses.
2 comments:
Great take.
How quick we are ourselves to forget all that God has done us, no matter how big or small. How soon we forget those big and little answers to prayer, only to throw God under the bus the first chance we get.
If they are considered "stubborn," how am I any different? I'm pretty sure I've "provoked" God to a degree further than I ever did with Frank Hawley in the weightroom.
Now that's a metaphor.
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