Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After the time of Abimelech a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.
He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, He became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."
The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"
But the Israelites said to the Lord, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now." Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.
Judges 10:1-16
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 9, we saw a truly ruthless and evil leader, the first king in Israel, Abimelech who murdered all but one of his siblings and most of the people who crowned him king before being struck in the head by a millstone dropped from a tower and then stabbed by an armor-bearer so that it might not be said that he (Abimelech) had been killed by a woman.
In chapter 10, we are briefly introduced to two more judges appointed by God: Tola who ruled for 23 years and Jair who ruled for 22.
After both had ruled and passed away, we read where once again, Israel reverted to their evil ways, serving “the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines”. They “forsook the Lord and no longer served him”. So as you would expect, God “became angry with them” and “sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites who…shattered and crushed them”. The oppression would last “eighteen years” and effect “all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites” before the “Ammonites…crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim”. In the end, “Israel was in great distress” and, as we have seen before, “cried out to the Lord” saying, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."
Given the number of times that Israel has decided to return to doing evil before the Lord, you might expect Him to start losing His patience. And that he does. For He responds to Israel’s cry by saying, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!" Israel had forsaken God over and over in favor of false gods. Now God was forsaking them…telling them to turn their cries toward the false gods they had placed so much trust in, asking them to save them. Something that God knew would never happen. Without Him, Israel would be in a perpetual place of suffering…the place any of us will be when we live our lives void of the Lord.
Question: How often are we like Israel? We fail to turn to God until things get too tough for us to handle and all of a sudden cry out to Him to come and rescue us…like He’s there to answer our beckoning call. In doing this, we get it all wrong because no one…and I mean no one…dictates to God what God will do. We need to get a grip and understand who is in power and control…and it’s not us, no matter how much we might think we are.
So Israel was in real trouble this time. Before, the Lord had always answered their cries and sent a deliverer. But now…what would happen to them? God had deferred their needs to the false gods they decided to worship…gods that allowed them to do what made them feel good but never answered their cries. So Israel, realizing their dire circumstance, made one last ditch effort to regain God’s favor. They took three critical steps that we need to take as well if we ever find ourselves in the same place in our own lives…and don’t think it couldn’t happen if we decide to just continue sinning in the same way over and over and over again and just think that the Lord is going to find that acceptable. The three steps were:
1. Repentance. It all starts with a heartfelt commitment to turn from your transgressions, confessing your wrongs before the Lord. In our scripture we see where the “Israelites said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned’. Admittance that you have wronged is the first step to reconciliation.
2. Submission. Repentance doesn’t mean that you won’t be disciplined. There are often negative consequences attached to our sinfulness. We need to accept these consequences, understanding that the Lord is always trying to teach us (the root meaning of the word discipline) and help us grow stronger in our walk with Him. Israel realizes that God is in control and His will is going to be done with them as they say, “Do with us whatever you think best…” and then add a plea for Him to “please rescue us now." The key was submission after repentance.
3. Action. You can repent and submit but if you don’t then take action to correct your sinful behavior, then your words and surrender are hollow and irrelevant. You must be willing to part ways with whatever is causing you to sin. In Israel’s case, “they got rid of the foreign gods among them” and then recommitted themselves to serve the Lord. We should all follow this pattern as well when we find ourselves in a position to restore ourselves to God’s favor.
So Israel had repented, submitted and taken action to rid themselves of the false idols they chose to worship, deciding instead to serve God and God alone. And their willingness to get right with God paid off for we read where God, showing once again His love, compassion and forgiveness, “could bear Israel's misery no longer”. Israel was once again on the brink of being restored…and so can we if we follow the three basic steps to restoral…repent, submit to God, and take action against what makes us sin.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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