“The people of Israel said to Adonai, ‘We have sinned! Treat us in whatever way seems good to you, but save us today, please!‘”-Judges 10:15
Israel’s response to the Lord when they were told to return to their neighbors’ pagan gods for salvation was so typical of how we would respond if we found ourselves trapped in an uncomfortable situation.
“Treat us however you please
but save our butts TODAY, please!”
This statement is the equivalent of “gimme a hotdog today and I’ll pay you back next week”.
Translation: “We don’t want to change our behavior God. We just want you to change our circumstances”.
Well, God doesn’t work that way folks.
The Lord wasn’t going to rescue His people until they sincerely turned away from their wicked ways
The Israelites had to make a firm decision to stop whoring after the gods of the Canaanites.
And until that happened, the Lord wasn’t gonna step in to help them.
Herein another sad truth is revealed.
When we abandon God for the ways of the world, one day we’ll be forced into circumstances when we will need Him.
That’s the pattern we see being established here.
EVEN AFTER we confess our sins…
And EVEN AFTER we begin the process of getting rid of the evil in our lives…
The truth is we’ll still have to live with the consequences for what we’ve done.
Possibly for a very long time.
Fortunately, when we do confess our sin and repent, the Lord will take us back.
But don’t expect to continue on with the same ole’ lifestyle you’ve been used to living up until now.
And be prepared for a helluva lot of pain when you do start to remove the evil from your life.
Expect anger from friends, family and society in general.
That’s why every Hebrew did NOT welcome the repentance process.
Because he knew he would have to make some uncomfortable changes.
And let’s face it, no one likes uncomfortable changes.
Imagine the trouble an Israelite went through if one day out of the blue he told his Canaanite business partners he was no longer cool with their gods.
Or how about the Hebrews living in mixed ethnic towns and cities?
Imagine the ruckus raised if they announced they were no longer going to participate in their neighbors’ backyard pagan festivals.
These were important social celebrations that played an important role in the lives of Canaanites.
Never mind the fact there wasn’t supposed to be any mixed ethnic villages inside the Promised Land in the first place.
Now let’s apply this same scenario to our current situation.
Deep down inside who do you know the Lord wants you to sever ties with?
Be honest with yourself.
Or what activities do your regularly engage in that you know the Lord wouldn’t approve of?
These aren’t easy questions to answer are they?
Because the highway to hell begins with the deceptive path of tolerance that disguises itself as a road filled with peace, harmony and warm fuzzies.
Let him who has ears to hear, listen.
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