I have these weeds in my back yard - no idea what they are called. They produce wide prickly leaves and if I let them grow up they will sprout these purple flowers shaped in a ball. If it sounds pretty, it's not. They are a pain. They are hard to kill and no matter how many I kill these evil things just come right back.
To kill weeds, you have to kill the roots. If you just mow them or pull the tops off, they will come right back. Unless you get the roots deep out of the ground, they are just going to come back again and again. And you need to prevent the seeds from getting established and spreading.
God gave a warning to Israel that built upon this concept, in Deuteronomy 29:18.
Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.
He was warning them of the danger of leaving behind their loyalty to God, turning their hearts to idols and rebelling from God's law. That sin would bear a poisonous and bitter fruit in the life of God's Chosen People.
But God's warning was that they would deal not just with the bitter fruit, but with the root from which that fruit grows.
What is the root of sin, the root of rebellion, the root that brings the bitter fruit? It is the belief that God's will and his ways are somehow oppressive and that life would be better by following the ways of the world. When this seed of sin is planted in our hearts it grows into rebellion, idolatry and wickedness.
The Serpent came to Adam and Eve and he lied to them to make them believe that their lives would be better if they would only eat the fruit contrary to God's command. He's been telling the same lies ever since. God's laws are unreasonable. You can only enjoy life to the fullest when you go your own way and do what you please. Obeying God will ruin everything.
Israel consistently bought into that lie. The Canaanites, with their wild pagan festivals, their immorality, their debauchery - the Israelites were drawn to that. One sovereign God gave way to a pantheon of gods that could be manipulated through magical rituals. All of God's "You shall not" commands paled compared to the "do what you want" of the Canaanites.
Israel believed the lie. The life God commands is inferior to the life sin provides. The seeds of sin were planted among them and just as God commanded brought a bitter, poisonous fruit.
Spending time in the Word of God and in prayer is God's weed-killer. When we immerse ourselves in God's Word, we see clearly to distinguish God's truth from Satan's lies. We realize that the bitter fruit of sin is not worth whatever joy or pleasure the sin may bring.
But God's warning was that they would deal not just with the bitter fruit, but with the root from which that fruit grows.
What is the root of sin, the root of rebellion, the root that brings the bitter fruit? It is the belief that God's will and his ways are somehow oppressive and that life would be better by following the ways of the world. When this seed of sin is planted in our hearts it grows into rebellion, idolatry and wickedness.
The Serpent came to Adam and Eve and he lied to them to make them believe that their lives would be better if they would only eat the fruit contrary to God's command. He's been telling the same lies ever since. God's laws are unreasonable. You can only enjoy life to the fullest when you go your own way and do what you please. Obeying God will ruin everything.
Israel consistently bought into that lie. The Canaanites, with their wild pagan festivals, their immorality, their debauchery - the Israelites were drawn to that. One sovereign God gave way to a pantheon of gods that could be manipulated through magical rituals. All of God's "You shall not" commands paled compared to the "do what you want" of the Canaanites.
Israel believed the lie. The life God commands is inferior to the life sin provides. The seeds of sin were planted among them and just as God commanded brought a bitter, poisonous fruit.
Spending time in the Word of God and in prayer is God's weed-killer. When we immerse ourselves in God's Word, we see clearly to distinguish God's truth from Satan's lies. We realize that the bitter fruit of sin is not worth whatever joy or pleasure the sin may bring.
Father, may I always listen to your truth rather than Satan's lies, that your blessings might flourish in my life and that I might never again experience the bitter fruit of sin.
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