Moses gives detailed instructions about what to do when the Israelites enter the land: destroy the altars, break the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles. Don't worship the gods of the land. Establish your worship at the place the LORD chooses.
I'm reading this post-Christian, in a culture that's rapidly becoming post-Christian. And I notice something: the Israelites couldn't simply coexist with Canaanite religion. They had to choose. And choosing required destruction - not of the Canaanites, but of the idols.
In our time, we're given a different message: respect all traditions, affirm all paths. And I do think there's something to respecting people. But Moses is clear: you can't have the altars to Baal and the altar to the LORD existing side by side. You have to choose.
I think about what altars are still standing in my own life. Things I haven't destroyed because I wanted to keep my options open. Social status. Sexual freedom. Financial security. The altars to those gods are still partly standing, and I'm still partly worshipping at them.
Moses is saying that real allegiance requires destruction. You have to be willing to break what competes with devotion. You have to be willing to look strange, to sacrifice what the surrounding culture values. That's hard. But the alternative is divided loyalty, which is actually just disloyalty disguised.
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