Well, it’s finally happened. The sin of the northern kingdom of Israel has lead to their dispossession of the land and their captivity in Assyria. They were cheats, liars, murders, drunks, idolators, adulterers, and even child-sacrificers, yet not none of those are the reason their land is dispossessed. No, Israel lost their land because a decision made roughly 660 years earlier — during the time of Joshua. But before we get to that, let’s take a look even further back, 690 years — during the time of Moses. Deuteronomy 7:1-2 reads:

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you — and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.

Destroy them totally. Make no treaty. Show no mercy. This serves as both the Lord’s judgement on the wickedness of the Canaanites as well as His promise-fulfillment and blessing on Israel. But what happens? 30 years later Joshua 17:13 reports:

However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.

That’s where it all fell down. No one ever corrected this initial mistake. And so it festered and it grew and its roots got larger and went deeper and it eventually destroyed Israel. A long-time family friend who fostered many at-risk children was driving around Vancouver’s Downtown East Side some years ago and her foster kids asked about the drugged-out homeless people so prevalent in that area. My friend felt the Lord give her a word of knowledge and she replied to her foster children, “They never planned to come here and live on the street, but they made one bad choice. And that led to another, then another, then another.” (paraphrased)

So it was with Israel. One small mistake uncorrected led to destruction. Slowly but surely. In this case it took over 600 years, but it came. However, like I said yesterday, God is a gentleman and He has given us the ability to choose. Only God can save us, but we have to submit our lives to Him. Every part. Or that one, teeny tiny thing we are holding back will eventually turn into a mighty Oak tree that dominates the landscape of our lives. I’ll leave us today with this warning from the Prophet Isaiah:

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 1:18-20