Living with God 3

Lesson 3 (Be Ruthless)
Deuteronomy 7:2 "you shall crush them, completely destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them".
Deuteronomy 7:5 "But you shall deal with them in this way: you shall destroy their altars and break down their images, and cut down their groves and burn their graven images with fire".

When we move out and follow God the Holy, the Almighty, into the places prepared by Him for us then inevitably there will be situations that will require actions. Part of claiming our inheritance, the land prepared by God for us, the promised land of peace and fruitfulness outworked in our lives, is about bringing all things in line with God and His will. So here in Deuteronomy 7:2 and Deuteronomy 7:5 the children of Israel are instructed to be completely ruthless with those people that inhabit the land at present. So, much like our own lives, the places that God does not inhabit are inhabited by something that is contrary to Gods will for our lives and if left unchecked will cause us to stumble.
God is a jealous God and will not share, yet by the same token He is a tolerant God who allows us free will to choose Him. Choosing God for our lives will undoubtedly cause us some tough decisions, as in this story, where God instructs the children of Israel to crush and completely destroy those occupying the land that God has says is His. Don't make a pact with them or show any mercy He says. The only way to see God outwork His purpose for our lives is for us to be ruthless when it comes to sin. We need to acknowledge it, destroy it and show no mercy to it. We have the benefit of knowing that Christ died for our sin and became the go between. The children of Israel only had sacrifices and scape goats and always had to offer something for their sin in order to be right with God. We, on the other hand need to come to the Father through the Son and acknowledge his forgiveness and then set our lives to overcome and inhabit the uninhabited places for our redeemer and king.