ZECHARIAH 9:7

“And I will remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, and be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like a Jebusite.”

I have been so fortunate to have never had an abscessed tooth, much less one that required removal. I know people who struggle with their dental health. They just have bad teeth. They do all the right things, but they develop abscessed teeth. If they can’t be healed with medication, they have to come out. Why? Because the infection will spread and cause more problems.

In today’s verse, God says He will “remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth.” This refers to the sacrifices the Philistines offered in their idolatry. These things had to be removed. God judged them for this practice. It could not remain because the effects would spread into Israel and to His people. The “cancer” of idol worship had to come out.

APPLICATION

Is there something in your life that needs to be removed? Are you harboring a hidden sin that can grow and infect your whole life and the lives of others? God still does surgery on us today. He wants to cut out that sin that infects us. James tells us why in James 1:14-15. “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Sin is like that abscessed tooth. Left in your mouth, it will continue to infect, eating away at the bone. You can numb it for a while. You can ignore it temporarily, but it must come out. Sin will lead you down a dark road. We know it leads to destruction. Once we confess our sins, He will forgive us. Our initial prayer of confession which leads to salvation seals us by His Holy Spirit. But everyday sins (and I do mean everyday sins) can hamper our spiritual growth and take us out of the battle.

I try to confess my sins to the Lord daily. I usually quote part of Psalm 51 where David asked God to cleanse him and wash him. That’s what I want. I desire to live sinless, but I have a long way to go. One day, I will live sinlessly in eternity. Until then, I keep pulling those abscesses. They are painful and they stink. Get rid of them.

Father God, pull out all my abscesses of sin. Cleanse me today that I may be used of you.