In the Bible, “peace” is defined as “quietness, rest, safety, completeness”. Adam and Eve enjoyed this state of being before the fall in the Garden of Eden. It was lost when they yielded to the temptation of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Sin entered the world, and brought the torment of guilt, shame, rejection, and fear. Consequently, mankind was separated from His Creator, along with the peace that relationship provides. From that time forward, man has struggled to regain peace by satisfying the lusts of the carnal nature we all inherited from our forefather, Adam. It is to no avail – “The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace” (Isaiah 59:8). Jesus came to restore us to a relationship with the Father and make the “crooked paths” straight. Repentance and faith in God is the only pathway to true and lasting peace.
As I’ve shown in the past, Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the promised land is a prophetic picture of God’s plan to deliver us from the power of darkness, bring us to trust wholly in Him, and into the kingdom of His Son through the gospel. It is a visible account of an inward work God wants to do in the unseen region of men’s souls. As the Israelites were to go and possess a geographical land mass, we are to possess our souls –“In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19). The “land” of the Canaanites represents the soul of man that is filled with things that are not of God. It may help you to see this correlation if you consider the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. In this parable, Jesus uses different types of ground (land) to illustrate the various conditions of men’s hearts (souls). In Deuteronomy 12:10, God told the Israelites that in possessing the land, He would give them rest from their enemies. Now, believers can possess their souls, in God’s rest, by being delivered from everything in our hearts that is not of Him – “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:9-11). This rest is true peace!
The pathway to peace is perfectly illustrated by God’s dealings with Israel in their journey to and occupation of the promised land – “And He said: ‘Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite” (Exodus 34:10-11). God promised the children of Israel that HE would drive their enemies from the promised land, saying, “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land” (Exodus 23:30). To “inherit” means “to occupy by driving out previous tenants and possessing in their place”. Please note that God said HE would drive out the enemies(Deuteronomy 1:30, 20:4, 33:27). It was never His plan for the Israelites to overcome by their strength or ability. Likewise, trying to overcome by our own resolve, strength, and ability is fleshly works. Our part is to believe and yield ourselves completely to God. He does the land-clearing! Additionally, God warned the Israelites that they must completely destroy any altar, image, or grove in the promised land which would give place to another god. New Testament believers must also destroy the altars and images of all other gods (including self) in the promised land. But again, this refers to something that occurs within the unseen region of our souls. You and I must choose to serve and depend upon God alone – “Neither give place to the devil”. (Ephesians 4:27).
Who were these enemies who must not be allowed to remain in the land? How does the fact that they had to be driven out apply to our lives today? The name of every enemy has to do with selfishness and self-centeredness, the root of all unrighteousness:
Amorites: Publicity, boasting, pride, prominence-
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Pride is the opposite of humility, the very nature of Jesus. Pride won’t listen to God and is obsessed with putting on a good, self-confident front even when we are actually very needy and insecure. Pride exhausts us with worrying and working to impress other people who are, ironically, just as needy as we are.
Canaanites: Rejection-
Our fallen nature is separated from God and longs to be accepted and have a sense of belonging. Our need to feel accepted and approved drives us to perform and be noticed. Sadly, our striving to overcome rejection often brings even more rejection. An introspective focus – “How does this circumstance affect me?” “What do they think of me?” – can never result in peace. We will not be free from the fear of rejection until we find our rightful place in a relationship with our Creator. This will end our lusting for approval in any place we think we may find it. His approval is the only approval we need.
Hitties: Fear, terror-
Although most people resign themselves to the idea that fear is just a normal part of life, God says it is an enemy that must be driven out. Fear is the opposite of faith and must be expelled for faith to function in its full capacity. Why did only two of the adult men who left Egypt actually enter the promised land? It surely wasn’t that God was not faithful to His Word. He brought Israel to the brink of the promised land, but they were afraid to go in! Even after their miraculous deliverance out of Egypt and God’s care for them in the wilderness, fear made them willing to forsake God’s Word and forfeit the promise. Fear makes man unwilling to fully trust God as protector and provider of ourselves and those we love. Fear drives man to try to be his own god.
Perizzites: Unforgiveness, separation-
When we allow unforgiveness to remain in our heart, and don’t seek to be restored to a right relationship with God or with others, we are making “self” our god. We decide that we have the right to withhold forgiveness. We are in sin before God just as much as the one who sinned against us. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:14-15). All of us have suffered hurt at the hand of others. Some of us feel that even God has done us wrong and we’re holding a grudge against Him. It is “natural” to harden ourselves against more hurt. But what is “natural” to our flesh is the enemy of God’s work of salvation and redemption in our lives. To know Jesus is to know the One who binds up the brokenhearted. He is our comforter, our healer, and the lover of our soul. The miracle of His love and mercy in our own lives leaves no ground for unforgiveness toward Him or toward others.
Hivites: Rebellion-
Throughout the Bible the Hivites are a picture of rebellion. They cunningly tricked the Israelites into making a covenant with them because God’s people failed to ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord (Joshua 9:4-15). The Hivites were allowed to stay in the promised land when they should have been driven out. Any time we are deceived into compromising what God has instructed, it is voluntary rebellion which will keep us from the perfect peace and blessing found only in obedience to His will.
Jebusites: Defilement, polluted-
These people represent the defilement that comes into our lives through lust, impurity, and perversion. When God created Eve to be with Adam, it was before sin and its lust had entered the world. Their union was created to be a holy thing, in righteousness before the Lord. It was when they rebelled against God that their relationship became cursed with bondages to passion and desire. Any sexual relationship or activity, whether reality or fantasy, outside the covenant of marriage is a perversion of what God intended. It is sin, and it brings defilement. Even if we have been violated by acts that were against our will, our souls can be healed, cleansed, and restored by the power of Jesus’ blood.
God’s promise to drive every enemy – pride, rejection, fear, unforgiveness, rebellion, and defilement – out of our soul is the assurance that He will remove everything that separates us from Him. This is salvation–being whole, healed, preserved, and complete. That is peace!