Pricks and Thorns

As Israel camped along the Jordan River, contemplating the impending distribution and conquest of Canaan, Moses spoke many words of caution and challenge. At God's direction, he urged the people to achieve a complete conquest of the land. God instructed, "You shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places" (Numbers 33:52).

It was the tragedy and downfall of Israel that they did not obey this command. They did conquer many, defeating thirty-one kings in the beginning of the conquest (Joshua 12). The early chapters of Joshua are filled with phrases like "utterly destroyed" and "no survivor." Then the Bible records other results. "Now as for the Jebusites ... the sons of Judah could not drive them out." "But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer." "But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land" (Joshua 15-17, also Judges 1).

God had the power to drive those nations out, single-handedly if He so desired, but He chose to allow those remnants to remain. In fact, after Israel displayed a habit of disregarding God and His commands, God stated, "I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it as their fathers did, or not" (Judges 2:21-22).

Moses had warned of the danger inherent in an incomplete conquest. "But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live" (Numbers 33:55).

The remaining nations would be pricks and thorns. They would irritate and trouble Israel. Except for limited periods of servitude, those other tribes didn't control Israel, but they were a constant problem. Conflicts and wars persisted throughout Israel's history. Those nations remained a threat. The greatest threat, however, was not military or political. It was spiritual.

God allowed those troubling nations to remain as a test of Israel's faithfulness. With the presence of heathen nations who worshiped false gods, would Israel remain true to Jehovah? Sadly, most of them would not. Instead, they were influenced by their pagan neighbors. They intermarried with them. They worshipped their idols. They paid homage to their false gods. The ebb and flow of idolatry persisted throughout Israel's history, eventually leading to God's judgment through foreign captivity.

Solomon presents a good individual example of this great struggle. Solomon had a heart to serve and follow God, clearly revealed through his prayer in I Kings 8. Solomon started out well, but then he started to marry foreign wives. God had warned what would happen. "They will surely turn your heart away after their gods" (I Kings 11:2). Solomon lost his whole-hearted passion for God. "His wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God" (I Kings 11:4).

Solomon had good intentions. He followed God for a while. He followed God partially. But his end was a disaster, because he allowed ungodly influences into his life, and those influences turned his heart.

Israel had good intentions. They followed God for a while. They had times of revival, and there were individuals who remained faithful. But the end of Israel was a disaster, because they allowed ungodly people to be pricks and thorns that troubled them and turned them from God.

Like Israel, many Christians want to walk a dangerous line. Yes, they want to follow God. Yes, they want to please and serve  Him. But they also want to enjoy certain aspects of the world. They think they can do both. They think the things they have chosen are relatively harmless; surely they won't influence them away from God.

The Bible tells a different story. "Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?" (Proverbs 6:27-28). These verses speak particularly of immorality, but the principle is clear. There are things that a Christian simply cannot expose himself to without being adversely affected. Worldly things will have an unwelcome impact.

Peter states the truth even more strongly. "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul" (I Peter 2:11). By partaking of the entertainment, culture, and friendship of the world, a Christian is actually bringing himself into a dangerous battlefield. These things will attack his very soul. They have the potential to cause disaster. They will certainly reduce his impact for God and might even stamp it out completely. What seems small and insignificant to start might be the doorway to spiritual destruction.

For those who desire to follow God, the safest path is to utterly destroy, to chase out all of the damaging influences. Christianity is not easy. Why allow troubling pricks and thorns to remain? Why invite a Trojan horse that will wage war on the soul? To allow just a few, just a little bit, just the small things, is to invite disaster.