6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.
9 “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
The nation had weak spots. Commands were given to help the nation where it would most likely slip up. We could do well to follow these same commands, as we all have our areas where we can slip up and get ourselves into a bad spot and a bad habit. First, follow God’s Word and work to not turn aside. Next, keep yourself separate from the ideas of the ungodly. Finally, if you marry, make sure you are yoked with a believer. If you are unevenly yoked, the load the believer has to pull will most likely pull the believer off track. Many temptations are right in our back yards. Associations and relationships can be temptations. Identify your weak spots before there is a break down. Develop your strategies to overcome the temptations that threaten you and overcome.
