When God gave Israel the Promised Land, He set clear borders for them in Numbers 34. One of those borders stretched to the “river of Egypt,” meaning their land should have included parts of what is now the southern border of Israel and Gaza. But Israel never fully took the land God had given them. Instead, they left parts of it unconquered, allowing the Philistines to remain. That one decision would cause them generations of trouble.
The Philistines became Israel’s greatest enemy. They oppressed God’s people, stole from them, and led them into sin. Think about Goliath mocking Israel, Delilah betraying Samson, and the Philistines capturing the Ark of the Covenant. None of that should have happened. If Israel had just obeyed God completely, they would have had peace instead of war. But because they left part of the job undone, they spent centuries fighting battles that never should have existed.
This same problem happens today. What we refuse to deal with now will come back to hurt us later. A small sin we ignore today can grow into a stronghold that controls our life. A bad habit we excuse can become a destructive pattern. Parents who don’t correct small acts of disobedience in their children often wonder years later why their kids rebel. The truth is, what we leave unconquered today becomes our greatest battle tomorrow.
The lesson of Israel’s unfinished conquest is still playing out today. The very land they left unconquered—Gaza and the surrounding areas—remains a source of conflict. The Philistines of the Bible are long gone, but their strongholds were never fully removed, and now that same region is one of the most contested places in the world.
God told Israel, “If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you… those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides” (Numbers 33:55). That warning still applies. If we don’t deal with sin, it will deal with us. If we don’t take full possession of the life God has for us, we’ll always be fighting battles that should have been won long ago. The only way to have true peace is to fully obey. Finish what God has called you to do, because the things left undone today will only grow into bigger problems later.
