Sermon Text: Deuteronomy 7:1-2, 13, When the Lord your God brings you into the land
you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the
Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites,
seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has
delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy
them totally.[a] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 13 He will
love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of
your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves
of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your
ancestors to give you.
Sermon Title: Get the “ites” out
Point 1: They are the:
a) Hittites: sons
of Heth. We know they were fierce warriors based on the story of Uriah, the
husband of Bathsheba, who preferred to be on the battlefield than take a
one-day pass to be with his wife. They lived near Hebron. This is some of the
very same land that is disputed today in the Middle East which is still being
fought over.
b) Girgashites: Unknown
derivation. Dwelling on clay like soil.
c) Amorites: means
a sayer. They lived in what is now called Syria, Palestine and some say the
Jerusalem area. A tribe of Canaan. They were also giants.
d) Perizzites: People
who belong to a village. They may have had a small town perspective.
e) Hivites; or Hortites: Cave dwellers. One might say they were lovers of the dark.
Hideouts and secrets. There is a lot of confusion about their name and origin.
Which also tells me they could have flourished in confusion.
f) Jebusites: They
were also thought to be from Jerusalem and imposters of the holy, on par with
the Amorites and Canaanites.
g) Canaanites: The
son of Ham. A large number of their populations were slaves; war captives,
defaulting debtors, unemployed men and women who sold themselves into slavery,
children who parents sold them into slavery; farming slaves who worked the land
but did not own it, state slaves, and temple slaves. It is obvious they had a
slave mentality. They worshipped Baal and Anat two gods at the head of pantheon
(lot of gods). They were vegetation gods.
Point 2: We can see how the Israelites begin
knowing themselves in verse 1, 7 Deuteronomy 7:1, 7 When
the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and
drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites,
Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and
stronger than you 7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you
because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of
all peoples. Deuteronomy 7:6, For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the
earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Paul put it this way in 1 Peter 2:9, But you are a chosen people, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare
the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Point 3: In order to get the “ites”
out you have to face them head on. God told the Israelites not to play with the
“ites”. He said to follow my lead. Hit them in the face and slap them in the
face. Deuteronomy 7:10, But those who
hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to
repay to their face those who hate him. Deuteronomy 7:5, This is what you are
to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down
their Asherah poles[b] and burn their idols in the fire. In other words 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, (For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 22, The Lord your God will drive out those
nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them
all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. He told Israel, He will love you and bless you and increase
your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land-your
grain, new wine and oil-the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks
in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. Jesus put it
this way in John 10:10, I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
