Drive Out Sin

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you … they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” (Num. 33:55)

Israel was made for a glorious land.

But if they let the Canaanites remain, they wouldn’t enjoy it.

This is why God told them to “drive out the inhabitants.” Every tolerated enemy would become a “thorn in their side” and a “barb in their eye.”

Our enemies today are not sinners in the land but sin in the heart. The barb in our eye is the blinding transgression we cannot see. 

But the principle is the same: 

The sin you tolerate today will trouble you tomorrow.

The “little transgressions” you permit seem manageable at first—but over time, they grow into a constricting force of chaos in your life. Like a thorn in the side, they yield ever-expanding pain. Like a barb in the eye, they blind you to the goodness of God. 

The serpent says you can taste sin and keep tasting the goodness of the land. He never mentions that eating takes you out of Eden.

Heed the warning that the Israelites neglected. Drive out sin before it drives out your joy in Christ.

Every time you put sin to death, you invest in future peace. Through confession and repentance, you clear the land and taste afresh the milk and honey of Christ.