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Daily Devotion: Judges 3:12-14

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Judges 3:12-14    "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.  (13)  And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.  (14)  So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years."

We can already see in this book of Judges that Israel had cycles when they would follow closely to the Lord and other times when they would stray from Him. This was a constant in their history. But, if we are honest with ourselves, it is also a constant in each of our lives. There are times when we feel closer to God than at other times. In the day of Judges, the people would stray to the point of worshiping the gods of the land. This is what God had warned them about before He brought them into the Promised Land. They were not to follow after the nations and serve their gods; yet, they did it time and again.  God would allow the nations to rise against them each time they strayed. On this occasion, the people of Moab came against Israel and "possessed the city of palm trees."  What is the significance of this? Palm trees always represent a place of rest and comfort. Remember when Israel came to Elim where there were 70 palm trees. It was a place of rest and restoration.  

At the time of our verses today, Moab had taken away their rest, comfort, and place of restoration. It is a true fact that when we wander away from the fellowship of God, we lose all comfort and peace. It is an impossibility to maintain peace in our hearts and minds without the presence and power of God being with us. So how did God use a judge to deliver Israel when they cried out to Him? God chose a man by the name of Ehud to deliver Israel from the stronghold of Moab. We read in Judges 3:16, that Ehud "made him a dagger which had two edges." 

 Hopefully your mind is already where I am going with these thoughts. How can you and I defend ourselves against the wiles of Satan whereby he attempts to rob us of our peace and comfort? God has given us a weapon that is very efficient in our defence. " Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand." (Psalm 149:6)  The twoedged sword is the very Word of God. We are to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." I find that I need to spend time in God's Word every day in order to be practiced with this sword and able to use it in my spiritual warfare. How about you?

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