Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: Judges 10:10-15

By

Judges 10:10-15    "And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.  (11)  And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?  (12)  The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.  (13)  Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.  (14)  Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.  (15)  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day."

I confess to you on this Monday morning that the book of Judges can be a sad one to read. The wonderful part of the book is that God remains faithful. He never changes. "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  (23)  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23) Yes, His mercies are new every single morning. I see the beautiful blue skies and the sunshine this morning and my heart says, "Thank you, Lord, for your wonderful mercies upon us. thank you for your faithfulness to us."  I know I have drifted from Judges in this paragraph, but my heart is heavy as I think about the manner that the Hebrews dealt so lightly concerning their relationship with the Lord and then realize that we in America have come to the same place. You see after the verses I just placed from Lamentations, the next verse says, "The Lord is my portion."  Is He truly our portion?

Even after the Lord had delivered them time and again, Israel had come to the place of worshiping and deifying things instead of God. It was at that point that God told them to go cry unto their gods that they had elevated in their hearts and minds. "Go, cry unto them and see if they will deliver you. You pray to gods that you have chosen over me, go pray to them. Let them deliver you."  God was grieved and Israel was allowed to go into a time of tribulation.  It seems to me that our nation is in a time of tribulation right now. Evil is called good and good is called evil. Darkness is preferred over light. Things and ideas are placed above the truth that there is only One True and Living God. It seems we are in the times of Elijah when he said to the people, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." (1 Kings 18:21) and also in the latter days of Joshua, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." (Joshua 24:15)

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Enter With Thanksgiving - Psalm 100:1-5

By
One of the most beautiful Psalms of Thanksgiving is the 100th Psalm. Please turn to it and read verses one through five. With all my heart I believe we are a people and a nation that has truly been blessed by God. Of all those who “give thanks to Him and praise His name” we should be at the top!  It is not uncommon to compile wish lists at Christmas, and draw up a list of resolutions for the new year. But there is another list we often overlook - a Thanksgiving Day list of all for which we are thankful. What would your list contain? Most likely, a good part would be material possessions. I’m convinced that we would find that we have much more for which to be thankful than just our material possessions.  Like you, I’m sure my list would include the major things - life, health, family, friends, and the nation we live in, despite all its flaws. But even more than that, I’m thankful for my salvation, my Church family, and the mercy that God showers upon us each d...
Read more

Daily Devotion: An Important Question

By
In one of the great Psalms of thanksgiving, the writer asked a most pertinent question. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all of His benefits toward me” (Psalm 116:12) ? We may observe two elements in this question. The psalmist acknowledges having received many benefits, or blessings, at the hand of the Lord. For the believer, to be the receiver of blessings from the Lord is a fact beyond question. That is one facet of a proper perception of reality. However, for the unbeliever, or even for the nominal believer, such things come in the course of nature, or as a matter of deserving them. But to fail to see that such benefits and blessings come from the Lord is to lose touch with reality. The other element of the question is that the writer expresses a sense of obligation to the Lord and reveals a desire to do something in response to the amazing goodness of God to him. It is the reflex of the godly heart to desire to do something in response to the perceived go...
Read more