Numbers 33:29-56 NKJV
29 They went from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31 They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan. 32 They moved from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad. 33 They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34 They moved from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. 36 They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. 37 They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom.
38 Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40 Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
41 So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth. 44 They departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab. 45 They departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad. 46 They moved from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim. 47 They moved from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 They departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.
50 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, 51 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; 53 you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone’s inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. 56 Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them.’ ”
The people of Israel stood on the edge of promise. The wilderness was behind them, and the land ahead was theirs to receive. But with the inheritance came a command—a warning, too. The Lord told them clearly: when you enter the land, you must drive out all its inhabitants. Tear down their carved images. Destroy their high places. Do not let anything remain that would tempt you or lead your hearts away.
This was not about cruelty. It was about holiness. The land was not neutral. It was filled with idols, with practices that offended the Lord, with nations who did not fear Him. If the people allowed these things to stay, they would become thorns in their sides and trouble in their eyes. Left alone, sin does not grow quiet. It grows stronger.
The Lord was not calling His people to mere settlement. He was calling them to obedience. The land was a gift—but the life within it had to reflect the Giver. Holiness would require hard choices, uncomfortable actions, and clear lines. They could not cling to God with one hand and keep their favorite idols with the other.
The same is true for us. When the Lord brings us into His promises—when He forgives, restores, and gives new life in Christ—He also calls us to leave the old things behind. Sin does not quietly coexist with faith. It waits for a foothold. What we tolerate today may rule us tomorrow.
Jesus died to deliver us, not just from guilt, but from slavery to sin. He rose to give us a new way of living. And while the battle for holiness is not won by our strength, it is fought with real choices. We do not earn our place in the kingdom—but once we belong to Him, we cannot live like we belong somewhere else.
What sins have been left standing? What idols remain in the corners? The Lord is patient, but He is also clear: if you do not drive them out, they will not go away on their own. Let us pray: Lord, help us not to make peace with sin, but to trust You enough to leave it behind and walk in the life You have given us. Amen.