Exodus 23:28 — I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham as an inheritance. The people living in that land worshiped satanic idols and practiced demonic rituals. The land needed to be scoured clean of all wickedness for God’s people to live there unmolested by evil. God said He would help purge the land by sending the hornet.
Hornets are aggressive, stinging, flying insects. A swarm of angry hornets can cause panic and terror. God was going to put the fear of the Lord into the Hivite, Canaanite, and Hittite people to drive them out of the land He had promised to Israel.
When Joshua sent spies into the city of Jericho, they learned that the people there were afraid. News had reached the people of Jericho that Israel had already defeated two nearby kings. God had sent His hornet to put dread in the hearts of Israel’s foe.
The hornet may have been literal insects, since God can use what He has created to work His will. The hornet could also have been the sting of holy conviction that God was sending to the wicked people living in Canaan to give them an opportunity to repent and surrender to God.
For the believer, the hornet is part of God’s sanctification process. God gave Paul a thorn in his flesh. Jesus braided a whip and drove the money changers out of the temple. God desires to drive anything out of us that would pollute our relationship with Him. God sends us the hornet, not to drive us away, but to drive us to meet Jesus at the cross and die to self so that we can live for Christ.
02/03/2025 Devotional
"For the believer, the hornet is part of God’s sanctification process."
I was devastated for a while because of the hornet, which was from God.
If it's a part of God's sanctification process, I am confident I will see His goodness.
Psalms 27:13-14
[13] Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. [14] Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Someday, I will say, "Thank you, Jesus! You are the one who loves me truly.
God desires to drive anything out of me that would pollute my relationship with Him. God sends me the hornet, not to drive…