Putting To the Ban Part 4

# 203 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 15:2,3 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'" (1 Sam 15:2,3) This command seems unduly harsh to us and thankfully we are no longer authorized to carry out this kind of judgment in the physical sense. But God had His reasons for “putting entire peoples and their property to the ban” In De 20:16-18 we read, “But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, 17 "but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you, 18 "lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.” These hard-hearted unredeemable peoples were judged harshly by God so that we might learn how much God hates sin. Johann Arndt in his book “True Christianity,” sheds interesting light on this subject. He reminds us that “God gave the whole of the Holy Scriptures in spirit and in faith and everything in them must happen to you (and I) spiritually.” For instance in the account of Cain and Abel, we discover what each child of God MUST face, namely the battle between the murderous devil and the Holy Spirit. In Noah we see that the flood MUST occur in us, namely the drowning of the old man in baptism, and in these battles of the Israelites against the pagans we see the reality of the battle between the flesh and the spirit which we MUST engage in. These harsh commands of the Old Testament are to serve as reminders to each of us to not compromise with sin. Col 3:5 says, Therefore put to death (put to the ban) your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Instead of doubting God's love and mercy when reading of these things, see His mercy and grace at work on your behalf in using these things and all of Scripture for preparing you and I for the realities of spiritual warfare.