613 Mitzvot
Negative Mitzvah 51
Not to let anyone serving false gods settle in Eretz Yisra'el

The b'nei Yisra'el were to drive out the idolatrous inhabitants of the land of Kena'an (Canaan) with the help of YHVH. He told them that they must not serve their elohim, but serve Him alone. This is why it is commanded to not allow them to settle in Eretz Yisra'el. If they were to stay, B'nei Yisra'el might be caused to sin. The Hebrew word for sin here is chata. It means to miss the right path. Life is like a journey and there are many side paths that may seem to be shortcuts, but they only cause us to get lost from the right path to YHVH.

Mishle (Proverbs) 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

If they were to allow the pagan nations to settle in Eretz Yisra'el, it would be a perpetual trap to them. The image here is of a trapper who sets a trap with a lure to entice the animal into the trap. Sin can entice us its way. The bait seems so pleasing, but once we grab hold of it, the jaws of the trap snaps upon us and we are caught, unable to get out on our own.

Ya'akov (James) 1:14,15
But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

We saw this happening repeatedly during the times of the judges.

“Menasheh did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Beit-Shean and its towns, nor [of] Ta’nakh and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Yivle’am and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Kena’anim would dwell in that land.It happened, when Yisra’el had grown strong, that they put the Kena’anim to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out. Efrayim didn’t drive out the Kena’anim who lived in Gezer; but the Kena’anim lived in Gezer among them.Zevulun didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Kena’anim lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.Asher didn’t drive out the inhabitants of ‘Akko, nor the inhabitants of Tzidon, nor of Achlav, nor of Akhziv, nor of Chelbah, nor of Afik, nor of Rechov;but the Asheri lived among the Kena’anim, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.Naftali didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beit-Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beit-’Anat; but he lived among the Kena’anim, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beit-Shemesh and of Beit-’Anat became subject to forced labor.The Amori forced the children of Dan into the hill country; for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;but the Amori would dwell in Mount Cheres, in Ayalon, and in Sha’alvim: yet the hand of the house of Yosef prevailed, so that they became subject to forced labor.The border of the Amori was from the ascent of ‘Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.” (Shoftim/Judges 1:27-36)

“The children of Yisra’el lived among the Kena’anim, the Chitti, and the Amori, and the Perizzi, and the Chivvi, and the Yevusi:and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.The children of Yisra’el did that which was evil in the sight of YHVH, and forgot YHVH their Elohim, and served the Ba’alim and the Asherot.” (Shoftim/Judges 3:5-7 Hnv)

There is one exception to mitzvah. For example, there was Uriyah the Chitti, the husband of Bat-Sheva [Bathsheba]. There was also Aravnah the Yevusi. He offered to give David his threshing floor that was situated on Mount Moriyah, but the King insisted on paying full price for it. This was the place where the Temple was built. Both of these men rejected their idolatrous religion and followed after the One true Elohim.

Technically this mitzvah applies primarily to Eretz Yisra'el, but there is a principal that can apply to everyone. We should avoid enjoining any community with idolaters. For example, when Ezra was rebuilding the Temple, the strangers who settled in the land during the time of Yisra'el's exile, offered to help them rebuild.

“then they drew near to Zerubbavel, and to the heads of fathers’ [houses], and said to them, Let us build with you; for we seek your Elohim, as you do; and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-Chaddon king of Ashur, who brought us up here.But Zerubbavel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ [houses] of Yisra’el, said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our Elohim; but we ourselves together will build to YHVH, the Elohim of Yisra’el, as king Koresh the king of Paras has commanded us.” (Ezra 4:2-3)

The Jamieson, Faussett and Brown commentary states, "A very interesting explanation of this passage has been recently obtained from the Assyrian sculptures. On a large cylinder, deposited in the British Museum, there is inscribed a long and perfect copy of the annals of Esar-haddon, in which the details are given of a large deportation of Israelites from Palestine, and a consequent settlement of Babylonian colonists in their place. It is a striking confirmation of the statement made in this passage. Those Assyrian settlers intermarried with the remnant of Israelite women, and their descendants, a mongrel race, went under the name of Samaritans. Though originally idolaters, they were instructed in the knowledge of God, so that they could say, "We seek your God"; but they served Him in a superstitious way of their own. This refusal to co-operate with the Samaritans, from whatever motives it sprang, was overruled by Providence for ultimate good; for, had the two peoples worked together, familiar acquaintanceship and intermarriage would have ensued, and the result might have been a relapse of the Jews into idolatry."

2 Melachim (Kings) 17:26-34
Therefore they spoke to the king of Ashur, saying, The nations which you have carried away, and placed in the cities of Shomron, don’t know the law of the god of the land: therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them, because they don’t know the law of the god of the land.Then the king of Ashur commanded, saying, Carry there one of the kohanim whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land.So one of the kohanim whom they had carried away from Shomron [Samaria] came and lived in Beit-El, and taught them how they should fear YHVH.However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Shomroni [Samaritans] had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.The men of Bavel made Sukkot-Benot, and the men of Kut made Nergal, and the men of Chamat made Ashima,and the ‘Avvim made Niv’chaz and Tartak; and the Sefarvayim burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelekh and ‘Anammelekh, the gods of Sefarvayim.So they feared YHVH, and made to them from among themselves kohanim of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.They feared YHVH, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.To this day they do after the former manner: they don’t fear YHVH, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law or after the mitzvah which YHVH commanded the children of Ya’akov, whom he named Yisra’el;

We also see Shimeon, a Samaritan sorcerer, who amazed the people of Shomron (Samaria) with his sorceries. When Philip preached the good news of Yeshua in Shomron, he was on the people who "believed". The Shomroni [Samaritans] received the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) when Yochanan [John] and Kefa [Peter] laid hands on them.

Now when Shim’on saw that the Ruach HaKodesh was given through the laying on of the emissaries’ hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that whoever I lay my hands on may receive the Ruach HaKodesh. "But Kefa said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of Elohim with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before Elohim. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask Elohim if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” (Acts 8:18-22)

Another principal that can be drawn from this mitzvah is that we should allow anything to "dwell" in our homes that will entice us to sin, especially toward idolatry.