God had promised to remove the enemy little by little
Joshua 15 – 63 Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem to this day
They could not because they would not. God had promised to remove the enemy little by little. (Ex23–29,Deu 7–22)
After 6 years, the conquest of the land was still incomplete (Josh13–1–5). When the Israelites decided to tolerate their enemies rather than expel them they failed to act on God’s promises. Thrice we read that the Israelite tribes did not drive the Canaanites. Out.(Josh 15:63,16:10,17:12)
Israel failed to possess the land fully for the following reasons.
- Israelites grew stronger and Canaanites weaker. So the Israelites were using the Canaanites for forced labor.They enjoyed the comfort of these services
2. Some of the Canaanites had iron chariots and so were superior to the Israelites. So their Israelites could not overcome such Canaanites in their own strength. Israelites were beginning to lose their confidence in the power of God to overcome their enemies Ps 60:6-8
This is a picture of majority of Christians who have not driven out sins like anger, lust and bitterness from their lives. Sins that Jesus came to save us .
Cynthia Sathiaraj
Chennai