"But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live." Numbers 33:55 (NIV)
Regarding the non-believers, "... if you do not drive out ... those you allow to remain will become ... thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble ... where you will live." These are the words of The Lord God spoken by Moses to the people of God telling them that they are not to mingle with and befriend certain non-believers in the land that they were moving into. They were to drive them away and not associate with them. For if they allowed them to remain in their midst, they would become thorns in their sides and cause them trouble.
Today we also need to be careful regarding those whom we choose to associate with and to befriend. We are to spread The Word of God to everyone, but those who will not welcome us or listen to us as we share The Word of God, we are to leave them alone. (Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, and Luke 9:5) How can two walk together unless they agree? (Amos 3:3) This does not apply to one who is married to a non-believer, when only one of them accepted Christ. (1 Corinthians 7:13-14) However, the friends we choose often exert a great influence upon us, and if we cannot turn them to Christ, we should not let them turn us away from Him. (Galatians 6:1, James 5:9, James 5:12, and 2 Peter 3:17) When The Lord God says for us to leave some people alone and not to associate with them, we ought to let them go. To keep them in our lives will just bring us pain and trouble.
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