HOW TO KNOW YOU ARE OPPRESSED IN YOUR CANAAN( Place of Promise)?

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Are you oppressed in your Canaan? The story in Judges 6: 1-11 is one that we can all relate to. The Israelites had already made Canaan their home, and they were prosperous there. Have you ever had a prayer answered that was so significant to you that it almost felt like a dream? I believe that once the Israelites experienced their season of rest; they were ecstatic. Their season of rest made them so comfortable that they forgot their need for God and even started rebelling and sinning against Him.

2 types of the Wilderness season
Conclusion

6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. ²Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern peoples invaded the country. ⁴They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. ⁵They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. ⁶Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

⁷When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ⁹I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” ¹¹The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. Judges 6:1-11

Their actions angered God, and He handed them over to their enemies- the Midianites for 7 years. Here are the Israelites living in the land that God promised them, and yet the Midianites were oppressing them. The Israelites got so frustrated in Canaan that they cried out to God for help. Fortunately for them, God heard their prayer and raised up a deliverer- Gideon. Do you feel oppressed yet you are in your Canaan? Do you want to gain clarity on what is going on where you are? Then let’s keep going. But first, let’s look at the wilderness seasons to help get us into context.

2 types of the Wilderness season

From this story, we learn that there are two types of wildernesses.

God-ordained wilderness season
Self-inflicted wilderness season.

An example of the God-ordained wilderness would be when the Spirit of God led Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This came before the unveiling of His ministry. The other example was when God led the Israelites through the wilderness as they left Egypt to prevent them from returning if things got tough. When God allows you to be oppressed in your Canaan, He is doing so to take you to the next level. Sometimes it could be before you get to your promised land. Anyway, God will waste nothing and because of that, if He has taken you through a wilderness season, it is because He wants to elevate you. Are you going through a wilderness season?

Signs that you are in a God-Ordained wilderness.

Whenever you go through a difficult season yet you feel you did everything right, you could be in a God-ordained wilderness. Of course, we know no one is perfect. But sometimes following God will lead you into trouble. And just to give you examples, let’s look at the life of Job. Job did not experience pain because he had disobeyed God. It was his obedience that landed him there.

1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. ²He had seven sons and three daughters, ³and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

⁶One day the angels^[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^[b] also came with them. ⁷The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

⁸Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

¹²The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man, himself do not lay a finger.

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

¹³One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

²⁰At this, Job got up and tore his robe, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.^[c]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”

²²In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

As we can see from the long text above, Job was not at fault, yet he went through a wilderness season. This one God allowed to happen. The other example was Paul but we will not talk about him. The book of Acts gives us examples of the times Paul went through a wilderness season that wasn’t his fault. Let’s not forget his being in prison, yet he was innocent.

With the second kind, our own actions can lead us to the wilderness. Looking at Judges 6:1-11, we can see that they could have avoided the oppression. The only thing God required from them was obedience. In the laws given to them by God through Moses, God had explicitly told them the laws they had to follow and even told them the reward for obedience vs the consequences for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). The Midianites oppressed the Israelites in Canaan. Can you imagine that? They thought that because they were in Canaan, they would never go through what they had gone through, yet here they were. Have your actions led you to be oppressed in Canaan?

Why would God allow the Israelites to be oppressed in Canaan?

The Bible tells us in Galatians 6: 7-8 that we should not be deceived because we reap what we sow and if we sow in the flesh, we will reap destruction. The Israelites, because of their rebellion, reaped oppression. Romans also tells us that God will give us over to our sinful desires if we continue living in rebellion. What choice are you going to make? God gave us free will and He will never override it.

In the book of Hebrews 12:6, the author tells us that God disciplines those He loves. Verse 5 tells us not to regard lightly the correction of God. God will allow some not-so-good things to happen to us so that we can learn our lesson and change our ways. He is very patient and before He does the extreme, He will first warn us and if we do not heed His warning, then He will give us over to our sins. The summary here is that God gets us to a self-inflicted wilderness to correct us.

The Israelites’ actions angered God so much so that He allowed the Midianites to oppress them in Canaan. Never think that you can mock God. Yes, He is loving and kind. But He is also just and holy. Therefore, your actions will always have consequences. Could it be you are oppressed in Canaan because of your wrongdoings?

How then can one get out of the self-inflicted wilderness if you are oppressed in your Canaan?

We find the answer in 2 Chronicles 7:14. If we who are called by God’s name will;

humble ourselves
pray and seek God’s face
Repent

Humility

The Hebrew word for humbling oneself is Kana, which means to bring into subjection. This essentially tells us we should forcefully conquer our carnal ways and bring them to the obedience of Christ. Obviously, we cannot do it on our own strength. But we have a fantastic helper, the Holy Spirit, who is ever ready to help us. And when we surrender fully to Him and ask Him for help in our weakness, we will overcome it.

Humility is when we recognize we are not in control and cannot do it in our strength. We are not self-sufficient. We need God. And we do so in humility. The Bible tells us that a broken and contrite heart, God, will not reject. Have you humbled yourself before God? It does not matter how far you have gone, resolve to repent today. That is all He is looking for.

One key thing about humility is that it allows you to surrender to God. And it is in your surrender that you give room for God to act in your life. Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel, received his throne back the minute he humbled himself to God. There are doors that God will open once we embody genuine humility.

Prayer and Repentance

When we pray, we are telling God that we cannot do it on our own and that we need Him. It is a way of recognizing His Sovereignty and Power. Through prayer, we surrender all to God and say yes to His plan and will for our lives. Prayer is an act of humility and surrender. It is us giving up control and giving it back to Him who has control.

We define repentance as turning back from previous ways. Repentance is acknowledging your mistakes, taking ownership, and deciding never to repeat them. Simply acknowledging your mistakes is not enough. Work on changing your ways. You do not have to do it on your own; you have the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you. He is there to show you the way to follow, but He requires you to yield to Him. The Holy Spirit is gentle and will never force His ways on you. When you yield to Him, He will never mislead you.

God tells us that when we do all that He will be ready to listen to us, forgive us, and heal our land. There is always a redemption plan with God and even if you run away from Him, the second you turn back to Him, He will be there to rescue you. Receive His amazing grace and His forgiveness. Remember that His mercies are new every morning.

Conclusion

God wants to forgive you more than you need His forgiveness. He wants to see you get out of the affliction and oppression you are in. That is because He loves you so much and you are His prized possession. Just because He allowed you to reap what you sow does not mean it will never change. All He wants is for you to return to Him and follow the right path. It is in obedience that you gain access to His protection. God wants to shield you from the darts of the enemy. But He can only do so when you are submitted to Him. Otherwise, when you stray from Him, you give the enemy access to torment you, and you will find yourself in the wilderness. It is time for you to stop struggling in your wilderness season now. Don’t wait any longer.

God promises to forgive you when you repent. And He promises to forget your sins as far as the East is from the West when you repent. It is time for you to experience freedom in your promised land. Don’t stay oppressed in your Canaan a second longer.