Numbers 21:1-3
When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.
Tag: Destruction follows Devotion
Believers have sin that fights against them every day. We struggle with it to overcome it, but it seems to hang on to our lives and grips our very being. It takes us captive each day of our lives. In the above text we see Israel had a foe that would fight against them and take them captive. Note the vow Israel made to God in regard to their foe: "If you will indeed give this people into my hand, they I will devote their cities to destruction." Israel made a vow to God that they very enemy that tormented them each day would be completely destroyed if God would give them power over them. To fully understand this we have to put ourselves into their shoes. The nation was traveling from camp site to camp site. These were cities that, once conquered, could be used for shelter and relaxation. If they "devoted" them to "destruction" they would never be able to receive the benefits of defeating them. In those days you would not destroy a city once you defeated the people who lived in the city, you would take it captive and it would become your city. But, this city was NOT In the promise land. This was NOT a city Israel was to possess. Like Israel of old we have sin that we would prefer to live in and not completely destroy. We would rather have remnants of it hang around for our enjoyment and our ease. Technology might be that "city" that we want to both destroy (it is supplying hurt to our lives) but we also don't want to fully remove it from our lives. We want to live in parts of it. God has for us the power to overcome the enemies in our lives, but we must be willing to see them destroyed. We must be willing to call them Hormah ... destruction. If we still have a twinge of destine to hold them, we really didn't destroy them.
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