‘According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.’ Leviticus 18:3
Here God is telling Moses and the children of Israel that how they lived and behaved in Egypt, they ‘shall not do’ in Canaan. And when they get to Canaan, they are not to do what the Canaanite people do. When I read that I asked the question, ‘Why would God bring them to a land filled with people that weren’t godly?’ I immediately got my answer in Genesis 12:6, 7;
‘Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem...And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”
You see, God was bringing the children of Israel to a land (a place) that He’d promised to Abraham over four and half centuries ago.The land where those ungodly people, the Canaanites were, actually belonged to Abraham’s descendant’s; of which Moses and the children of Israel were.
But here’s the thing. When God said, ‘According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do’; He was essentially telling them not to bring ‘the mess’ they use to do in Egypt into this new place. They couldn’t do what they did in their past and neither could they do what they were about to see. This new season, level, and place would require them to walk by faith and lean solely on Him. And if you know God is transitioning you out of one place into the next; then this applies to you. This new lifestyle is going to require you letting go of some folk, habits, and forms of entertainment.
God told them ‘…nor shall you walk in their ordinances.' You're going to have to unlearn the old codes and queues you use to live by. You’re not going to be able to live, do business, operate and live by the customs and laws of the game on this level. That foolishness won’t work here.
‘You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them:
I am the Lord your God.’ Leviticus 18:4
At this level, the only way you’re going to make it is by observing His judgments. You belong to God so only His ordinances apply. The question is are you ready to let the game go?
Copyright © 2014 Real Issues Ministries®. All rights reserved.
Comments