The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. (Judges 3:5)
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The children of Israel settled down among the various tribes of Canaan.
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When Israel arrived in Canaan, they were commanded to destroy these people without mercy.
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Now they were living among them.
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It took a very short time for their former enemies to become their new neighbors.
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Here's the problem.
Israel was to be separated from the world around them!
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They were unique among all the peoples of the world.
They had been chosen, redeemed and set apart to serve the Lord God Almighty.
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God expected them to remain separate (Deut. 7:6-11)!
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Because they didn't, they opened a floodgate of sin that would end with them facing the terrible chastisement of God.
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God's redeemed ones are to be a separate people (2 Cor. 6:17)!
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We are God's special possession.
He loved us; He chose us; He send His Son to die for us.
God redeemed us and bought us (1 Cor. 6:19-20)!
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When we refuse to walk in His will and honor His Word in our lives, we open the floodgates of sin that eventually overwhelm us and drown us in its turbulent currents.
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It is a dangerous thing for a child of God to live like the world around him!
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Israel compromised!
They interacted with the people they were not supposed to!
