“You shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite…so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God.”Deuteronomy 20:17-18

God knew what the Israelites would face in Promised Land. He wanted them to be ready, so they could be blessed and have victory. The Lord issued several warnings, including one specifically about the influence of the Hittites. This was a powerful nation, centered in Anatolia (modern Turkey), that controlled parts of the Promised Land that God had given to His people. Why was God so concerned about the Hittites? Thanks to recent archeological discoveries, we know that the Hittites were religious people, with their own gods and rituals. When they came in contact with other peoples, instead of rejecting their religions or gods, they simply absorbed the new gods into their own culture. They wanted all gods on their side. This attitude could have been seductive for the Israelites, weakening their commitment to the true God. Earlier, the Lord told them they were to have “no other gods before Me,” nor were they allowed to make or worship idols (Exodus 20:2-5). People like the Hittites would have been a corrupting influence, for the Israelites would have been tempted to be like them. Many people today are like the Hittites, thinking there are many ways to salvation or fulfillment, and the God of the Bible is just one possible choice. Some people say they are Christians, and even think they are “born again,” yet they also embrace other philosophies, influences, or pathways to God. Brothers & Sisters when faced with other worldviews, remember the words of Jesus: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). The early church boldly proclaimed this truth: “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).