Again and Again
My reading today brought me to the Old Testament book of Judges. Haven’t been here for quite a while. But just the name often strikes fear when I think I might have to stand before one for something stupid I did.
The book starts out as a continuation of where Joshua left off right after his death. If you remember, Joshua had led an exemplary life. He was one of two spies (Caleb was the other) that were sent to spy out the land God had promised and came back with a faith-filled “let’s do it” attitude to attack. The other ten spies had a fear-filled report and convinced all the people everyone would die if they fought. Well, it cost the doubters entrance into the Promised Land because God became angry and would have wiped them out had it not been for Moses’ intervention.
The first four chapters
of Judges tell how the Israelites “did evil in the sight of the Lord” again and again. A key verse is in Judges 2:2,3 “But you have not obeyed Me…Therefore…”. And God follows up with what He’s going to do to punish them. There is another key verse a few later, “there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. (v10)”
Two things jump out at me in this section. First, God’s extreme patience with Israel’s sin and rejection of Him. Five times in these chapters, we see specifically the charge against them “they did evil…”. And five times, they called out to God and He bailed them out.
The second thing,
and perhaps the lesson for us today, is in verse 10. Obviously, the parents hadn’t trained the next generation in the ways of the Lord. Look at the outcome, “they did evil…served the Baals…forsook the Lord…act more corruptly than their fathers. (v11-19)”
When I view our society today, the same charges apply to us, evil, idolatry, turn our back on God, more corrupt than last generation. I’m not a history scholar, but I do know the 2nd law of thermodynamics: everything moves from order to chaos. Think back to the 50s and 60s or even further, the 30s and 40s. Yes there was evil in the world. And, yes there was idolatry and more. But there was also a sense of right and wrong, a morality that kept society more in check. Where has that gone?
God has not changed in the millennia since Joshua’s era. Judgment is upon us because we have become exactly like early Israel. Most people don’t make the connection between our behavior and the chaos in the world. It’s because they don’t have a relationship with the One who makes the rules, the One who “is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8)”.
We can be thankful
that God is the same. His amazing patience and love haven’t morphed into a distant, unapproachable judge who’s waiting for our execution. But there is one thing we would have to do that most won’t: turn from our self-centered existence, in humility, and agree that we’ve broken the rules (the Bible calls it sin). If we do that before it’s too late, God promises forgiveness. Jesus said, “the one who comes to me I certainly will not cast out (John 6:37)”. He also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6)”.
It’s simple. We have to do it His way. But His way is the way to an eternal relationship with God, filled with peace and life beyond our comprehension in a place prepared for His children. If we don’t, there’s “the other place” described as filled with “darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:50). While you still breathe, you have time to decide. Don’t wait. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.
Today is Easter. Christians all over the world celebrate because this day is the guarantee that God’s promises are all true and available to all. More than 500 eye-witnesses saw Jesus, talked with Him, and ate with Him after the resurrection. To deny that is to seal your fate in “the other place.” Please don’t.
If you’re interested to find out more of what this celebration is all about, check out our Steps to Salvation page on this site. Thanks for reading.