Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Alliance and society with the enemies of God » Are ensnaring
“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’—which neither you nor your fathers have known,
They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you.”
For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”
be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’
journey of israel through the Desert » Marked by constant murmurings and rebellions
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know My ways.”
in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert.
Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp [the significance of] Your wonderful works or remember Your many acts of faithful love; instead, they rebelled by the sea-the Red Sea. Yet He saved them because of His name, to make His power known. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert. read more.
He saved them from the hand of the adversary; He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. Water covered their foes; not one of them remained. Then they believed His promises and sang His praise. They soon forgot His works and would not wait for His counsel. They were seized with craving in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. He gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them. In the camp they were envious of Moses and of Aaron, the Lord's holy one. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram. Fire blazed throughout their assembly; flames consumed the wicked. At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped the cast metal image. They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating ox. They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring deeds at the Red Sea. So He said He would have destroyed them- if Moses His chosen one had not stood before Him in the breach to turn His wrath away from destroying [them]. They despised the pleasant land and did not believe His promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the Lord's voice. So He raised His hand against them [with an oath] that He would make them fall in the desert and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them throughout the lands. They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. They provoked the Lord with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them. But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. It was credited to him as righteousness throughout all generations to come. They angered [the Lord] at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them; for they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, but mingled with the nations and adopted their ways. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood- the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; so the land became polluted with blood. They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
He saved them from the hand of the adversary; He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. Water covered their foes; not one of them remained. Then they believed His promises and sang His praise. They soon forgot His works and would not wait for His counsel. They were seized with craving in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. He gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them. In the camp they were envious of Moses and of Aaron, the Lord's holy one. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram. Fire blazed throughout their assembly; flames consumed the wicked. At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped the cast metal image. They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating ox. They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring deeds at the Red Sea. So He said He would have destroyed them- if Moses His chosen one had not stood before Him in the breach to turn His wrath away from destroying [them]. They despised the pleasant land and did not believe His promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the Lord's voice. So He raised His hand against them [with an oath] that He would make them fall in the desert and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them throughout the lands. They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. They provoked the Lord with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them. But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. It was credited to him as righteousness throughout all generations to come. They angered [the Lord] at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them; for they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, but mingled with the nations and adopted their ways. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood- the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; so the land became polluted with blood. They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
Learning » The reward for learning the works of the heathen
but mingled with the nations and adopted their ways. They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
Snares » What is a snare
A fool's lips lead to strife, and his mouth provokes a beating. A fool's mouth is his devastation, and his lips are a trap for his life.
The Angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. You are not to make a covenant with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thornsin your sides, and their gods will be a trap to you."
but mingled with the nations and adopted their ways. They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you. You must not make a covenant with them or their gods. They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you."
Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you.
So be very diligent to love the Lord your God for your own well-being. For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God has given you.
and later to reconsider his vows.