Dispossess to Possess
God wanted to deliver the children of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and through Moses, He conquered the Egyptian gods, powers and Pharaoh and finally, set His people free. This was necessary for their freedom otherwise, Egypt and whatever else it represented posed a great obstacle to the freedom of God’s children. Not only to them, it also blocked a move of God in their lives and so for God to be able to move in their lives and fulfill His promises to them, Egypt and all its powers had to bow.
When it was time for God to send rain during the times of Elijah, the altars of Baal and whatever they represented had to go. Elijah knew how to usher the move of God in Israel and he did it so well and perfectly that God moved in an amazing way. When the Children of Israel were under the oppression of the Midianites, God spoke to Gideon and He told him that he will be the one to fight them, but he had to do something first. Watch this;
Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” ~ Judges 6:25-26 NKJV
This is unanimous to what Elijah did. God may have wanted to fight against the Midianites and give His children victory, but He couldn’t. It was being made difficult by the fact that the altar of Baal was still standing and not only that, it was an active altar. People were worshipping there and offering sacrifices to this false god which in essence kept the enemy grounded and constantly enforced. Destroying this altar would overthrow the power of the enemy in the spirit realm and render him powerless which means he will have no ground to stand on. This in turn will make it easier for Gideon to win the battle.
God spoke to the children of Israel through Moses in Deuteronomy 7:1-5, Exodus 34:11-17 and warned them against associating themselves with foreign nations. They were supposed to tear down their heathen altars, destroy their sacred pillars and cut down the symbols of their goddess Asherah among other things. Look at what He commanded them in the book of Numbers;
‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess…. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them.’ ” ~ Numbers 33:50-53, 55-56 NKJV
This was to ensure that nothing would stand in the way of their blessings and God’s promises to them in the land of Canaan would come unhindered. It was also a way of ushering the presence of God into the land of Canaan because it was dominated by heathens. These people used the worship of idols and heathen altars to control or to dominate the land of Canaan. The Israelites, God was hoping, would come in and bring in the culture of heaven in Canaan. This is the reason why He gave them laws that would govern them in the land. But they failed big time. They entered the land and did the opposite of what God had commanded them to do, and as a result, they ended up suffering, struggling and in constant warfare with their enemies. This means that their progress, prosperity, success and everything else that God had planned for them in the land of Canaan was either slowed down, hindered, intercepted or aborted altogether.
‘…But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell…’
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken ~ Isaiah 1:19 NKJV
The dominion mandate has everything to do with conquering territories and taking them over for God’s glory. It has everything to do with dispossessing the enemy and possessing what he has been sitting on. If you do not do this, the enemy will literally fight against you and everything that concerns you. He will make it so hard for you to produce, progress and even hinder the move of God and His blessings in your life. The truth is that you cannot claim to be of God while entertaining the enemy at the same time. It’s your responsibility to kick him out and let God into your world.
It is the responsibility of every child of God to identify what does not look like God in their areas of influence and do what Elijah and Gideon did. When God told the Israelites that He has given them the land to possess it, He was in essence telling them that everything which concerned Canaan including but not limited to their gods, altars, resources, and inhabitants was literally in their hands. It was their responsibility to take charge of the land, to dominate it or to rule over it. If Canaan would become a paradise, it would be because of them, if the enemy continued to rule and messed up their lives and unleashed his threefold ministry against them, it would be because of them. They were literally in charge. And yes, you are in charge of your life as well as your entire world. God has not left you helpless. Look at what He says in Jeremiah;
“See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” ~ Jeremiah 1:10 NKJV
For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.” ~ Jeremiah 1:18-19 NKJV.
