Conquest of Canaan Promised

Story:  Conquest of Canaan Promised

Passage: Exodus 23:20-33

Characters:  God, Israel

Summary:    God promises that Israel will conquer Canaan and He will greatly bless Israel in the Promised Land as long as they obey Him and stay faithful to Him. 

  

Notes:  God promised several things in this passage.  The main point I see is that the success and blessings of Israel would not be their own doing.  Not only could they not take credit for it, but it gave them no reason to worry or be afraid of the nations in the promised land.  God says He is providing an angel to guard them and lead them.  They are to be careful to obey his voice and not rebel against him because he will pardon transgression.  This is because God’s name is in Him.  I believe this means that this angel is God in some form.  I honestly don’t know exactly what this looks like or means, but it appears God personally guided them and protected them on their journey.  If they were to obey though, He would be an enemy to their enemies.  God doesn’t set a condition for what happens next.  He says that WHEN His angel brings them to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Canaanites and He blots them out, Israel is not to bow down to their gods, but rather they are to completely overthrow them and break down their pillars.  First off, God says He will blot these people out.  It is not an if, but a when.  Second, He reiterates again the importance of not following their gods.  Honestly, it would be utterly stupid to start worshipping the gods whose nation was just destroyed and abandoning the God who destroyed them, but God felt He needed to remind Israel anyway.  If Israel serves God, He will bless their food, keep them healthy, keep them miscarrying, and give them long lives.  God says He will throw their enemies into confusion and they will run from Israel.  God says He will send hornets ahead of Israel to drive out the nations in their path.  I don’t know what this means, but it is obvious that this conquest would be blatantly supernatural.  Israel was going to be protected and fought for by an all powerful God.  Why wouldn’t God just destroy them all at once?  Why take so long if He is able to conquer them completely?  He explains it is so that the land will not be overgrown and wild beasts won’t take over.  God is intentionally moving slowly to protect His people in the future.  We sometimes question why God doesn’t just act all at once.  This passage shows that sometimes God just has the big picture in mind, and the very thing that you want gone right now is actually keeping you safe in the future.  God is infinitely wiser than any of us could ever be.  He will slowly drive them out before Israel until they possess the entire land.  God finishes by once again reiterating that they are not to make a covenant with them or their gods.  They are not to dwell in the land because they could tempt Israel to sin.  God is very very concerned with Israel worshipping the native gods.  God is indeed a jealous God.  He does not want His creation to get the praise and worship that He deserves.  The purpose of His creation is to point us to worship the creator.  We are far too easily sidetracked into worshipping the created.  God knew that was our weakness and He commanded Israel over and over and over again to avoid that at all costs.  We will see how they do.

Questions:  Why was God going to destroy so many people?  Why the emphasis on not serving the foreign gods?  What are the hornets God mentions?  Why couldn’t God just wipe out everyone at once and also keep the animals from overtaking the land?

Lessons: I would say the theme of this passage centers around our dependence on God and the proper reaction to His blessing and protection.  Israel was supposed to take a relatively passive role in the conquest of Canaan.  Most of the driving out would be done by God directly in some form.  Israel was to trust that and not serve the foreign gods they find.  As Christians, we are not of this world.  We are strangers making our way to the Promised Land of a New Heaven and a New Earth.  What are some of the foreign gods which easily ensnare us?  It is vital that we do not worship these gods at all!