Day 303
Exodus 23:23-24
"For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Caananities, and Hivites, and Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt notbow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images."
God told the Israelites He would send an angel before them and get rid of all the people who occupied the promised land. He was going to prepare the way for his covenant people to possess the land He promised their forefathers He would give them. He realized that as the children of Israel entered the territory once owned by heathen people, they would learn about their idol gods and their way of life. Along with the discovery of those things would come the temptation to imitate some of the ways of the heathen. So, He warned them to keep themselves sanctified unto Him.
As New Covenant believers, God is faithful to go before us in this world's system and open doors for us that no one can shut. He surrounds us with favor so we will get good jobs we are qualified for and better prices on goods and services. He sees to it that we get many other benefits because we belong to Him and serve Him. At the same time, He realizes that as we interact with the world, we will learn about their way of life, the things they idolize and what they depend on for their success. So, in Romans 12:2, His Word warns us to avoid being conformed to the world's way of doing things.
It is easy for us to understand God's instructions to the Old Testament saints, because we have images in our minds of the carved statues the heathen bowed down to. We may have knowledge of some of the horrible, ungodly practices they engaged in, such as sacrificing their children and engaging in immoral sex in the worship of their false gods. The same sins are not as obvious today, because we are supposedly more civilized as a people. The idols of the world today are not limited to images carved from gold, silver or wood. They are sometimes sleek machines that transport us by land, sea or air. Sometimes they are human beings who have been set up like gods and are adored and imitated by their followers, who collect memorabilia and set up shrines in their homes. Other times, jobs, positions and status cause us to turn away from the ways of God to possess them. Children in this "civilized" world are sacrificed in abortion clinics, and immoral sex is still practiced, as people worship lust and greed.
So, we must realize that just as strongly as the Israelites needed to heed the warning of God thousands of years ago, we need to pay attention to the same kind of instructions He has given us, or we will fail as many of them did. Many of them who succumbed to the temptation to participate in idolatry were probably unconcerned about the temptations when they first appeared. However, all it takes to fall into temptation is to do nothing to prevent it. In Exodus 23:25, God told the children of Israel to serve Him. If they would have practiced serving Him, they would have been protected from falling into idolatry. Today, if we will diligently practice renewing our minds with God's Word, we will not find time to be conformed to this world's system.
I am grateful to God for all He has done for me. With His help, I will renew my mind daily with His Word and stay away from being contaminated by this world's system. I will sanctify myself to worship God only and nothing or no one else.