Title: DEVOTED TO GOD

Judges 1:17 KJV

“And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.”

INTRODUCTION

In Judges 1:17, the tribes of Judah and Simeon marched into the territory of Zephath. Rather than making a treaty, collecting tribute, or coexisting with the Canaanite inhabitants, they took decisive action: “they slew the Canaanites… and utterly destroyed it.” Following this complete destruction, they changed the name of the city from Zephath (which means ‘watchtower’) to Hormah.

The name Hormah (חָרְמָה) comes from the root word Charam (חָרַם), which carries a dual dynamic in Biblical Hebrew:

1. Utter Removal – To ban, wipe clean, or completely destroy beyond repair.
2. Devoted to God – Something consecrated or set apart exclusively for the Lord’s ownership.

You cannot experience the second meaning without executing the first. True consecration (being set apart for God) always requires radical removal (being set apart from sin). God commanded this level of destruction in Deuteronomy 7:2 not out of arbitrariness, but out of divine protection. Coexistence with idolaters would inevitably compromise Israel’s loyalty to Yahweh.

We prove we are Devoted to God when we practice Radical Removal of what God says must go.

I. DEVOTION DEMANDS REMOVAL

“…and utterly destroyed it” — Judges 1:17 KJV

Devotion to God is rarely measured first by what we put on, but by what we tear down. Before Israel could build an altar in Hormah, the idols of Zephath had to turn to dust.

A. Remove the RESISTANCE to God’s Command

God’s commands demand absolute, unconditional obedience. Israel was not permitted to negotiate the terms of their victory. Partial obedience in Scripture is consistently exposed as total disobedience (as seen later in King Saul’s failure with the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15).

Resistance to God’s word often hides behind rationalizations. Israel’s failure to remove Canaanites in other regions later became ‘pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides’ (Numbers 33:55). Devotion replaces self-justifying excuses with prompt surrender:

• God says Tithe → Remove the excuse: “I can’t afford it” (Trusting God in stewardship — Malachi 3:10)
• God says Witness → Remove the fear: “What will they think?” (Conviction of the Gospel’s power — Romans 1:16)
• God says Church → Remove the laziness: Priority of fellowship (Hebrews 10:25)
• God says Pray / Word → Remove the busyness: Prioritizing Word & Prayer (Psalm 119:11)
• God says Holy Living → Remove the compromise: Choosing purity over culture (John 14:23)

“If a man love me, he will keep my words.” — John 14:23 KJV

Obedience is love in work clothes. Removal of excuses proves devotion.

b. Remove the REMAINS of Sin

Canaan in Old Testament typology often represents the Christian’s internal spiritual battlefield—specifically, the indwelling presence of sin that must be mortified (put to death). Colossians 3:5 commands us to “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth,” and Romans 6:12 warns, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.”

Common ‘Canaanites’ We Tolerate:

• Covetousness — The quiet idolatry of material wealth and status over God’s presence.
• Bitterness & Anger — A subtle root that poisons fellowship and defiles many (Hebrews 12:15).
• Lust & Impurity — Sins directly violating the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
• Gossip & Discord — Sins that dismantle church unity and grieve the Spirit (Proverbs 6:16-19).
• Secret Habits — Tolerated private sins that undermine public integrity.

Joshua 23:13 warns that unremoved strongholds turn into traps. You cannot tame a Canaanite; you must expel it.

You can’t be devoted and divided. Some things must be removed so God can have all of you.

II. DEVOTION DISPLAYS RELATIONSHIP

“…and the name of the city was called Hormah” — Judges 1:17 KJV

Renaming the city was an act of declaring ownership and spiritual identity. The removal of sin is not merely an empty clearance; it creates a vacant sanctuary for God to inhabit.

Old Identity: Zephath	New Identity: Hormah
Marked by pagan worship & compromise	Marked by total consecration to God
Built as a human watchtower	Dedicated exclusively as God’s domain

A. Relationship is Revealed in Obedience

Devotion is not measured by emotional high points, but by spiritual consistency. Real relationship with God expresses itself through visible, daily habits of faith.

• In Giving — Honoring God with the firstfruits, declaring He owns our wealth (Malachi 3:10).
• In Going — Actively sharing the Gospel as an expression of Christ’s Commission (Mark 16:15).
• In Gathering — Committing faithfully to the local church body (Acts 2:42).
• In Growing — Daily meditating on Scripture to align thoughts with God’s will (Joshua 1:8).
• In Godliness — Reflecting Christ’s holy character in public and private life (1 Peter 1:15).

People believe your relationship with God by watching your routine with God.

B. Relationship is Revealed in Separation

Hormah represents absolute set-apartness. When an object or city was declared Hormah, it meant it belonged exclusively to God and was off-limits to worldly influence. 2 Corinthians 6:17 commands: “...come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord...”

A devoted life leaves visible evidence across every area of life. Your calendar, your phone, your speech, and your money all tell people who you belong to. You are not ‘a little Canaanite, a little Christian.’ You are Hormah—wholly God’s.

The goal isn’t to look religious. The goal is to look removed from the world and devoted to God.

CONCLUSION: WHAT NEEDS REMOVING?

Judah didn’t leave Zephath half-finished. They removed everything, then renamed it. God is asking us today: What ‘Canaanite’ are you still keeping in your life?

1. RECOGNIZE IT — Ask God to audit your heart. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me...” (Psalm 139:23-24 KJV)
2. REMOVE IT — Take decisive action. Confess it, cut it off, get accountability. “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out...” (Matthew 5:29 KJV)
3. REPLACE IT — Fill the cleared space with prayer, Word, and service so sin finds no room to return. “…be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 KJV)

 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” — Romans 12:1 KJV

 

You don’t become devoted by adding more. You become devoted by removing what’s in the way. So that your life can be called what God wants: HORMah — Removed from sin. Devoted to God.