“And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.” Exodus 23: 28-30
Exodus 23 is an extremely rich chapter in Scripture. The first half of the chapter is much like Proverbs with God providing many practical truths on how to live in His wisdom. When we come to the last half
of the chapter God gives Israel insights into the Angel of the Lord – the Messiah who will accompany them into the promised land and who will fight for them. While Israel is to be obedient to go into the land, they re not capable in themselves to win the battles they will face. God tells Israel that they will fight battles but as they do the Angel of the Lord will confuse their enemies. (We see this today in the battles we face. We stand but God leads our enemies to do foolish things that cost them the victory).
God tells Israel that the great Creator of the Universe will use nature
to defeat their enemies (“send hornets”). Then in Exodus 23:28-30 God tells Israel an amazing truth. God is able to give the nation total victory. He could give them instant peace and ease in the land, But God states He is not going to do that and He tells Israel (and us) why.
I will not drive them out from before you in one year God promised the nation victory but He did not promise them victory instantaneously. (Remember their enemies were so great that the Israelites felt like grasshoppers in their sight.) Although God is able toinstantly defeat these enemies he tells Israel that is not His plan.
Lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Here God shares His reason. If God defeated the enemies immediately and removed them from the land, Israel would not be strong (mature) enough to manage the land. It would overwhelm and defeat them.
Little by little I will drive them out from before you God then tells Israel how the victory will be won. There will not be one great victory but instead it will be accomplished a little at a time. Victory will be obtained gradually, slowly – continual faith in God.
Until you have increased and possess the land Again the Lord gives insight into how He moves. His purpose is not just to give His people peace and ease but to mature them on order to make them capable to stand for Him. The word increased is the word for fruitful – as they bear much fruit they will be increasingly more capable of doing all the Lord has planned for them,
What can we learn? As we live the Christian life we often wonder why the Lord allowed tha t in my life? Perhaps the trial was hard or painful. Perhaps it appeared to have no purpose. Perhaps we think of all we could have done for the Lord if we had not had to deal with this problem. Like the little child who begs their father to do something that the father know they cannot do, we often beg God for things we cannot handle. The Lord tells us, like he did Israel, “ little by little”. The second thing we see is that God has a purpose beyond giving us ease in this life. He wants us to grow and develop. He gives us trials and tests to bring us to that end. As we make progress (slowly and gradually). He allows us to fight and win battles that He knows we are prepared for. Never waste a test from God. Ask Him what it is He has for you to learn.