‘When the Lord your God thrusts them out before you, do not say to yourself, “It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to occupy this land”, it is rather because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you’ (Deut. 9:4).
It was a reminder to the Israelites. They came to occupy the promised land not because of their righteousness or the uprightness of their heart (Deut. 9:5) and they have nothing to be proud of. Though it was the fulfilment of a promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God had a specific reason to cleanse the land of its previous inhabitants. It was the wickedness of those people; idolatry, adultery, child sacrifice, and many other abominable practices that marked their social and personal life. God gave His people a land that was defiled by the grievous sins of its previous inhabitants.
The reason behind people going into exile or being thrown out of their homeland is their sin. These are days of unprecedented upheaval in many countries across the world and demographic changes are happening at a faster pace that was unimaginable in the past. For example, Europe is fighting the invasion of an alien culture caused by the influx of millions of people from other countries. Europe was Christian for the past two millennia, but its Christian values are fast eroding or are being taken away. Remember that the future heirs of Europe come to occupy it not because of their righteousness. It is because of the iniquities of the land. Truth is bitter, but it is better to face it, rather than running away from it. Many governments in Europe are busy enacting laws glorifying almost everything that the Bible testifies as detestable sins.
After advising the Israelites about the importance of sexual morality God warned his people in these words; ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves. Thus the land became defiled, and I punished it for its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants’ (Lev 18:24)
The scripture says that a land vomits out its inhabitants because of their sin. In that process someone else will come and occupy their place. Diminishing birth rate and changing demographics are signs of what awaits Europe. It doesn’t need much effort to guess who the future kings of Europe would be. When the true owners are thrown out, who will inherit their institutions about which they boasted in the past? God permits others to invade us from all four sides, not because of their righteousness, but because of the iniquities rampant among God’s people and the total disregard to God’s commandments.
The only way to continue in the promised land is obeying the commandments. This is what God told Israelites. Today God wants to tell us the same thing. Adhere to the commandments. Europe is just an example. It could happen anywhere. It is only a matter of time. The call is clear; Repent and return to God so that ‘our days may be long and that it may go well with us in the land that the Lord our God has given us.’
