3.22.9 "Take It!"

"Take It!"

Numbers 33:40-35:34
Luke 5:12-28
Psalm 65:1-13
Proverbs 11:23

The story of the children of Israel and their delivery from Egypt is extremely important for us to understand. There's a reason that so much of scripture is devoted to it. You will note how much it is referred to throughout the rest of God's word.

Why is that?

There are a few reasons. The first is that Egypt represents the bondage of sin. The Exodus represents God's desire to bring us out of bondage to restore an intimate relationship with him. The people represent our flesh and our desires. Notice how continually the people want to return to the "good" things they remember of Egypt. We are often the same way. Our own desires cause us to long for the "freedom" of selfish living. We so easily forget that therein is bondage.

Through all of this we discover the character and nature of God. He has an intense love for his people, but he is a holy God, and he cannot dwell with wicked people. He puts laws in place to help the people keep themselves holy. When sin occurs, it's only atoned for through the sacrifice.

With all of this symbolism in place, there's a portion of the word that stands out this morning:

"... the Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel, 'When you pass across the Jordan river into the land of Canaan, you must drive out all the people living there and destroy all their idols - their carved stones, molten images, and the open-air sanctuaries in the hills where they worship their idols. I have given the land to you; take it and live there... But if you refuse to drive out the people living there, those who remain will be as cinders in your eyes and thorns in your sides." (Numbers 33:50-55)

The Lord wants us to experience complete freedom from sin. It was God's desire that the people would experience total freedom from the bondage of idolatry in the Promised Land. He knew that if they did not destroy these things going in, they would fall prey to it.

How does that relate to us? Christ has offered us salvation. Freedom. He forgives our sin. He says to the people "I have given the land to you; take it and live there." He offers us freedom and complete forgiveness. We have a part in this. We must "take it and live there."

What does that mean? It means that there are things all around us that represent the idolatry of "the old life". It may be different things for everyone of us. It may be a TV show, it may be a hobby, it may be almost anything, but if it comes between our relationship with the Lord, it is sin.

The warning is clear. If we refuse to drive it out, it will become a cinder in the eye or a thorn in the flesh. It's easy to develop "pet sins". Things we ask forgiveness for, but don't want to give up. Oh, we "want" to give them up... at least we say we do, but inside a desire has been fed and grown so long that it has become an issue of bondage, and we don't even realize it.

It isn't a matter of forgiveness. It's a matter of obedience. It's taking care of the the things God wants us to take care of. It's about living in the freedom of the promise he has for us. We can't experience the full joy of the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship until we live in this freedom.

"Take it and live there!"



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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