Remove Distractions

While they were camped near the Jordan River on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: When you cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, you must drive out all the people living there.  You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. [Numbers 30.50-52]

So much for tolerance!  When it came to 'taking possession of the land' the formula for success was found in complete domination.

My challenge is twofold: to ascertain a modern application of this passage to Christ followers today; and to see Jesus pointed to.

I believe this passage should give us today every reason to get rid of distractions, whatever they may be.  In Israel's case, they were easily distracted by the practices of the people they were around (remember the story of the Moabite women).  So, the only way to remain pure in their Jewish culture was to annihilate the corrupting force.  For modern readers of this story seeking contemporary application, it should be quite sufficient to comprehend the need to remove distractions from our lives.  What might those distractions be?  Anything that competes for our devotion to God.

I suppose if Jesus is to be found in this passage today, it would be in Jesus' recorded intolerance for impurity in the Temple (found in His throwing the money-changers out of the Temple).  Devotion  to God should be seen as a holy thing and nothing should be allowed to cheapen it: this includes making a business out of it.

We might ask ourselves, "Where are we going?" and, "What is there that needs to be overcome?"

'Tolerance' is merely a buzzword that has become very popular in current culture.  Like most 'fads' tolerance has only partial validity even though it is given widespread acclaim as all-reaching.  'Tolerance' is very much like the Moabite women mentioned in Numbers 25.1-3.  It invites all to its false premise and there infects them with a blinding disease - idolatry.

God's instruction to Moses and later Jesus' clearing of the Temple both tell the same story: distractions must be removed.  God knows that simply ignoring the distractions is not enough - they must be removed.

Father, I am asking You today to reveal to me what the distractions are in my life.  Give me grace to remove them.