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.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
There would be consequences to marrying into Canaanite nations. God warned against these choices. There would be painful consequences. If you choose not to follow God wholeheartedly and demand your own way, you will go through the consequences of those choices. Have you suffered through poor choices and the consequences that followed? Maybe you have had to go through the consequences of another person’s poor choice? God is supremely loving and patient. Do not confuse patience with approval of sinful choices. God is patient. When you follow him wholeheartedly, you may avoid many pitfalls and painful consequences. If you veer off and make sinful choices, stop, change your ways, and follow God with all your heart, mind, and soul. God is patient with us, but he will never approve or be indifferent to sin.
