Bible In One Year-Day 96 (Sunday, April 06, 2014)

Commentary: Judges1-3. Genesis through Joshua, we could see obedient leadership to God and followership, especially in the time of Joshua. They were able to conquer and possess the Promised Land based on this testimony and their absolute reliance on God. Unfortunately, the contrast is the case in the book of Judges; Judges 2:2-3 “And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.” Since the contrary was the case, they reaped the opposite of God’s promise; they could no longer stand before their enemies. Disobedience and rebellion weaken our knees before the enemies; they open us up for the spoilers and the plunderers. The lives of the Israelites suffered great defeat because they forsook the Lord for another god; Judges 2:13-14 “And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.” Spiritual harlotry became the order of the day. There is no way you could overthrow satanic influence over your life if you have entered into covenant with sin, the covenant must be broken first. Here we see a strong nation become a weak nation just because they have violated an agreement with their God. They were warned by Moses and Joshua against these acts, but they wouldn’t listen. When you see the devil having an upper edge, you need to quickly check for what changed in your lifestyle. What are the things you were not doing before but now doing? Prayerfully seek God’s face to reveal secrets to you and ask for the grace to overcome them. God loves us and His wish and will for us is good; 3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” If God takes us through difficult times, it is not to kill us but to prepare us for the next level, Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” It is sad to know that the Israelites opted for their own doing and stubborn ways, Josh2:19. Through their doings (i.e. what is right in their own eyes) they corrupted themselves and the result was oppression. The promises of God fail in the life of those who ply these ways, i.e. disobedience and stubbornness. Our doings please the flesh and ways are crooked and perverted. God in His faithfulness did restore the Israelites each time they cried out to Him and He gave them rest. When we come back to God He is faithful and just to forgive our trespasses. The price we pay for disobedience is far greater and higher than what we expend in obeying God. Those two evil ways, disobedience and stubbornness, are horrible before the Lord and it always return us to square one; 1 Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

When we abandon God’s instruction, no matter the number of years, we will come back to pick it up at that point of abandonment on repentance. But if we had obeyed in the first place, we would have gone far in achievement in life. An obedient child of God makes progress in the face of difficult and hard times. May the hand of God melt your heart to total submission, in the name of Jesus. We are reading next Judges4-6. Keep the fire burning and alive.