Ep 743 – Numbers 33-34

The people of Israel are poised on the edge of the promised land. The time has come for them to cross the border and take what was rightfully theirs. It had been given to them by God, but it remained just a   promise as long as they stayed on the East side of the Jordan River. They were going to have go cross over and start the formidable task of ridding the land of its inhabitants and all vestiges of their pagan religions and false gods. This wasn't so much about conquering as it was about cleansing. The land had been polluted and poisoned by centuries of occupation by people groups that worshiped everything from the sun, moon and stars to a litany of fabricated deities whose temples, shrines and high places dotted the landscape. In Numbers 33-34, God is going to give the people of Israel one final marching order before they cross over the Jordan River and begin their conquest of the land. And it would not prove to be an easy order to follow. Before they could occupy the land, they were going to have to purify it. And according to God's plan, not their own. There was no room for compromise.