In these passages the Psalmist speaks about Israel’s downfall in the promised land. When Israel occupied the land of Canaan, God instructed them to destroy the indigenous population. God told Israel to drive out the people and destroy the ones that remained. God instructed Israel to kill every person including men, women, and children.
The indigenous people were steeped in sin. They worshiped demons and practice horrible things such as sacrificing children to the demons. God did not want Israel to be corrupted by these people and be seduced into adopting their practices.
However, that is precisely what happened. Israel did not destroy the occupants of the land as God had commanded. As a result, Israel intermarried with them and became like them. that was Israel’s downfall.
God gave Israel over to their sinful behavior, and Israel suffered as a result. Eventually, Israel was driven from the land and scattered among the nations.
There is a lesson here for us. If we choose to live sinful lives, God will not stop us. We all have a choice. We can choose to sin or we can choose to not sin. Therefore, the consequences or blessings will be the result of our choices. We will have no one to blame but ourselves.
