23:29,30
God now warns them that He will do this little by little. We would like our enemies to be defeated quickly, but God says He will do it more gradually. Why is this? “Lest the land becomes desolate and the wild beasts multiply”. We have seen this happen several times in our lifetimes. The Soviet Union collapsed but the land was taken over by gangsters and oligarchs. Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, but the land is pretty lawless now and a dangerous place to live in. Iraq is another example. It is not just a matter of throwing out the evil rulers, but there needs to be good rulers to take their place.
23:31-33
God determines the boundaries. In Acts 17:26, speaking in Athens, Pauls says that God sets the times and the boundaries. So far we have read of God driving the enemies out, now He says “you shall drive them out”. We need to understand the order and the principles here. The way of rebellious man is to think that he can live independently of God. This is a deception that always leads to disaster. We are utterly dependent upon God, but that does not mean we do nothing or play no part in things. It is because God would drive out the enemies that Israel would be able to drive them out. Israel is warned again to have nothing to do with the ways of the nations, especially their idol worship.
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