"Look Out That No One Takes You Captive"! - TEMPTED TO COMMIT ADULTERY

Satan cleverly tempted the Israelites to commit idolatry.  How did he do so?  He took advantage of their need to provide food for themselves.  When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they had  to change their methods of growing food.  While in Egypt, the Israelites irrigated the farmland by using water drawn from the Nile.  However, the agricultural system in the Promised Land was based, not on water drawn from a huge river system, bot on water gained from seasonal rains, as well as from the dew that watered the vegetation.  (Read Deuteronomy 11:10-15; Isaiah 18:4, 5)  Therefore the Israelites had to  learn new farming methods. That would not be easy because the majority of those who had  any farming experience had died in the wilderness.

Jehovah explained to his people that their circumstances  had changed.  Then he added the following warning, which at first glance may have seem  unrelated to the subject of agriculture." Be careful not to let your heart be enticed to go astray and worship other gods and bow down to them." (Deuteronomy 11: 16:17) Why did Jehovah warn against worshipping  false gods while he was speaking about learning new farming methods?

Jehovah knew that the Israelites would be tempted to learn some local farming techniques from the pagan people around them.  Of course, their neighbors  were much more experienced than the Israelites were, and God's people could learn some useful skills from them, but there was a danger. The thinking of those Canaanite farmers was affected by their  belief in Baa.  They viewed Baal as the owner of the sky and the giver of rain.  Jehovah did not want his people to be deceived by such false beliefs. However, time and time again, the Israelites chose to worship Baal.  (Numbers 25:3, 5; Judges 2:13' 1 Kings 18:18)  Now notice how Satan was able to take the Israelites captive.

Next time: "Look Out That No One Takes You Captive"! - THREE TACTICS SATAN USED TO TAKE THE ISRAELITES CAPTIVE

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