Conquering the Promised Land

God's call to action for every believer

The nation of Israel stood at the edge of the Promised Land. It was beautiful and rich, but it was populated by giants. Seven pagan nations had fortified the area with cities and strongholds. If God’s people were to dwell in safety, the giants would have to go.

When we give our lives to Christ, some things change right away, but other things linger. Sinful thoughts and desires build cities and strongholds in our hearts and minds. Just like the children of Israel, we must conquer the giants of sin and tear down their strongholds if we want to live in the hope of God’s promise.

Deuteronomy 7 records the instructions God gave to Israel about how to conquer the Promised Land. Those same instructions apply to us as we set out to conquer sin in our own lives.

When God Gives Them Over

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 ESV - “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the… seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them…”

When we set out to tear down strongholds of sin in our lives, it’s important to recognize that God is the one who does the heavy lifting. If our faith is in God, we can live in expectation of victory.

But we still have a part to play. The Bible could have said, “When God obliterates the enemy so you can walk into the promised land unchallenged…”

But it doesn’t say that. It says, “When the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them…”

God never wastes an opportunity to strengthen His people. He sets up the easy pitch, but we’ve still got to swing the bat if we want to knock the ball out of the park.

Devoted to Destruction

Deuteronomy 7:2 ESV - “…when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction.”

God wants us to experience total victory. He doesn’t want us to be halfway free of lust or greed or pride, because a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). God wants us to be completely victorious, because only then can we know true peace.

The next few verses tell us how to find total victory.

Deuteronomy 7:2-5 ESV - “…you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.”

Let’s go through each instruction one by one.

You shall make no covenant with them…

• Justifying bad behavior is the same as making a covenant with sin. If we want to find victory, we can’t compromise.
  
  If you struggle with alcoholism, don’t say you will only drink when you’re at the grill. If you struggle with lust, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll fast-forward through the sex scenes. If you struggle with anger, don’t justify road rage by blaming the driver in front of you.
  
  End the struggle. Commit to total victory.

…and show no mercy to them.

• We can’t remove sin up to a point; we have to be rid of it completely. Unfortunately, this is where many of us fail. We go days or weeks without giving into habitual sin, and we become overconfident. We let our guard down. We quit pursuing holiness. We trust in our own strength and try to corral sin into a corner so we can manage it, and that’s when we get blindsided.
  
  Don’t fall for this trap. Get rid of the comic books if they entice you to lust. Get rid of the video games if they entice you to anger. Put boundaries on your relationships if friends or family want you to get drunk with them. Quit watching sports if you feel compelled to gamble. Show no mercy to the sin that wants to destroy you.

You shall not intermarry with them…

• Sin can’t coexist with righteousness. The two don’t mix. It doesn’t matter how much you’re in love with the sin—if it’s sin, then you need to break up with it.
  
  If there’s a stronghold in your life that you’ve been married to, you can pray out loud and divorce it. Renounce sin and acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and He will separate you from sin. Ask Him to break the bonds and soul ties that have been holding you to that sin, and He will. All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

…giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

• If we want to do new things, we have to do them in a new way. Sometimes when we are new believers, we try to do new things the old way because we don’t know any better.
  
  A new believer might use swear words when sharing the gospel. He might smoke cigarettes while telling others how God is convicting Him to give up alcohol. He might be angry at the car in front of him as he hurries to make it to the Bible study on time.
  
  God has grace on us when we’re learning; the key is to aim for purity. If we just stick with it, He will clean up our act. The more we confess Christ and recite Scripture, the more our behavior will become pure. The word of God is cleansing, and if we simply let it flow through us, all the dirt and filth will wash away.
  
  Don’t restrict the flow. Dive into the word and let it wash you. Read the Bible. Think about what you’ve read. Talk about it. Act upon it. Do these things, and the goodness of God will flow through your life.

But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire. And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you.

• If there’s something in your life that you know you need to get rid of, just get rid of it. This was the biggest failing of the kings of Israel. They did good things, but they didn’t get rid of the idols. King after king was admonished with the words, “But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.” (2 Kings 14:4)
  
  Don’t live your life with a nasty footnote on your legacy. Get rid of stuff you know God is calling you away from. Let it be said of you, “He tore down the idols and the high places and led his people into righteousness before the Lord.”

Your eye shall not pity them…

• Don’t mourn the loss of the sinful things you surrender to God. There’s a reason you gave them up, so make the choice not to miss them. Longing after past sinful behavior is a good way to get mixed up in it again.
  
  Proverbs 26:11 ESV - “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.”

…neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

• Are we addicted to the vehicles through which sin perpetuates? We have to do more than just tear down the idols—we can’t serve the gods of sin.
  
  Do we feel compelled to find something to watch on television? Do we feel compelled to order the large size coke and the extra fries? Do we feel compelled to watch the game even though we know our family needs our attention?
  
  Our behavior betrays our devotion. It’s okay to enjoy food and entertainment, but if we make those things our gods, we will be their slaves. If we want to be free from sin, we need to make sure our devotion belongs to Christ alone.
  
  Regular fasting helps with this. We can grow stronger by practicing self-denial. It’s okay to start small by saying things like, “I’m not going to eat dessert today,” or, “I’m going to disconnect from video games today.”
  
  The key is just to start. Ask God to show you what to fast, how to fast, and how long you should fast. Master self-denial, and no temptation of the flesh will have mastery over you.

The Reward for Faithful Obedience

We don’t ever have to be afraid when GOD is with us, and the Bible says He never leaves us or forsakes us. When the enemy tries to intimidate you, remember what God has done for you. Know that He is faithful.

The Lord is kind. He lets us take things step by step to keep us from being overwhelmed. Simply deal with the small thing He’s asked you to deal with, then move on to the next. Before you know it, the enemy strongholds will be gone.

If we focus on Jesus and obey His word, we will be rewarded.

Deuteronomy 7:12-14 ESV - “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock.”

He will love us, bless us, and multiply us. Our children will be blessed. Our work will be blessed. The quality of what we produce will be blessed. The rate at which we produce will be blessed. The legacy we inherit will be blessed. We will be distinctly blessed, so that everyone knows it is the Lord’s doing.

It is absolutely worth it to follow God and to conquer sin through obedience, and it’s never too late to start. If sin has been running you ragged, accept the Lord Jesus as your savior. Commit your life to Him, and He will lead you in the way you should go.