Judges 2:2 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?
Ah Friends, it’s supposed to be another spring-like day, but for some reason my spirit isn’t feeling it. I’m in a state of malaise that I can’t explain. Nevertheless, I will still give thanks and praise for the wonderful privilege of seeing another beautiful day. And so should all believers who awaken this morning, regardless of their personal feelings or circumstances, for we owe everything that we are and have to the mercy, grace and LOVE of the Most High God Jehovah. Let’s never forget that. And all God’s people said in a mighty voice: ‘Thank you Lord!’ Oh mih people, life is such that we don’t always know why our emotions are low, but in Today’s Bit, we know why the children of Israel lifted up their voices to the Lord and wept. That’s because the Lord, through His angel, came up from Gilgal to Bochim and gave them a thorough dressing down for their wilful and habitual disobedience, thus breaking their sacred covenant with Him. My Friends, please remember that time longer than twine, so if we keep on disobeying God’s dictates, then at some time we will pay dearly for it. On several occasions the Lord had instructed the Israelites: ‘And ye shall make no league (treaty) with the inhabitants of this land.’ Let’s look at a couple instances. ‘Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.’ (Ex.23:32-33) In Deuteronomy too, the Lord demanded separateness from the heathen. ‘And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.’ (Deut.7:2) He also outlawed inter-marriage because He knew those things would greatly increase the risks of His chosen people turning away and serving the pagan gods, which would certainly kindle His anger. Friends, the Lord knows what He’s doing, that’s why He is the Lord and we are His minions. He knows why He issues certain edicts that might seem a tad harsh to us. And if we are true believers, then we must submit our will to His. Please realize that our God is the Creator of the universe and all therein, thus His comprehension and foresight is much greater than ours, so it would serve us well to simply bow to His dictates. But it seems the Israelites had a problem with that. I guess they felt the Lord was trying to curtail their worldly fun and experience, the same way we often feel when denied some bit of eye candy or worldly trinket, which, contrary to our belief, would only get us in trouble with the Lord. In His rebuke, the Lord also mentions another instruction He’d issued more than once: ‘ye shall throw down their altars.’ In Exodus, He warned them of the idolatry of the Canaanites, whose land they were going to possess. ‘Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.’ (Ex.34:12-14) Oh my people, the Lord could not have been plainer or more forthright with the Israelites. Then in Deuteronomy He again specified that there should only be one place of worship, and that in His name. ‘Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree. And ye shall overthrow (destroy) their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves (wooden images) with fire; and ye shall hew (cut) down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of the place.’ (Deut.12:2-3) Oh Friends, I don’t know what that sounded like in the language they used back then, but in English it sure sounds simple and to the point. There are no ifs, ands or buts to cloud the meaning. But for whatever reason(s) the Israelites failed to comply. As Judges, chapter 1 shows, they conquered many of the heathen tribes but never utterly destroyed them, instead opted for living together. ‘Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants…but the Canaanites would dwell in that land…they put the Canaanites to tribute (forced labour), and did not utterly drive them out. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites…but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them and became tributaries (forced labourers). Neither did Asher…Neither did Naphtali…’ (Judges 1:27-36) None of the tribes of Israel obeyed the Lord’s command; destroy them utterly, but allowed them to co-habit as forced labour. It possibly served the Israelites well, but was a direct disobedience of God’s command, that He found distasteful. Thus, in His rebuke at Bochim He declared: ‘but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?’ Friends, it’s the same with us today, both as a society and as individuals. There are laws in our society that we break as individuals. Then as a society, and also as individuals, we break the dictates of our God when it’s clearly spelled out not to. But when it’s time to pay for our disobedience, we hold our heads and bawl, begging God and man for forgiveness and mercy, like the Israelites did that day when God called them to account at Bochim (weeping). But sometimes my people it’s too late, the damage cannot be undone and we just have to pay the price. Therefore Friends, I implore us to think before we act or talk, consider the consequences before committing ourselves, for there’s no doubt that wilful, habitual disobedience to man or God will cause us to pay dearly. Just look at our ungodly world and the lawless, violent individuals it contains. We’re no better than the Israelites. Please think on those things my people, because we’ll eventually pay, if we don’t improve. Much LOVE!…if you disobey…sooner or later…you’ll pay…
Ah Friends, it’s supposed to be another spring-like day, but for some reason my spirit isn’t feeling it. I’m in a state of malaise that I can’t explain. Nevertheless, I will still give thanks and praise for the wonderful privilege of seeing another beautiful day. And so should all believers who awaken this morning, regardless of their personal feelings or circumstances, for we owe everything that we are and have to the mercy, grace and LOVE of the Most High God Jehovah. Let’s never forget that. And all God’s people said in a mighty voice: ‘Thank you Lord!’ Oh mih people, life is such that we don’t always know why our emotions are low, but in Today’s Bit, we know why the children of Israel lifted up their voices to the Lord and wept. That’s because the Lord, through His angel, came up from Gilgal to Bochim and gave them a thorough dressing down for their wilful and habitual disobedience, thus breaking their sacred covenant with Him. My Friends, please remember that time longer than twine, so if we keep on disobeying God’s dictates, then at some time we will pay dearly for it. On several occasions the Lord had instructed the Israelites: ‘And ye shall make no league (treaty) with the inhabitants of this land.’ Let’s look at a couple instances. ‘Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.’ (Ex.23:32-33) In Deuteronomy too, the Lord demanded separateness from the heathen. ‘And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.’ (Deut.7:2) He also outlawed inter-marriage because He knew those things would greatly increase the risks of His chosen people turning away and serving the pagan gods, which would certainly kindle His anger. Friends, the Lord knows what He’s doing, that’s why He is the Lord and we are His minions. He knows why He issues certain edicts that might seem a tad harsh to us. And if we are true believers, then we must submit our will to His. Please realize that our God is the Creator of the universe and all therein, thus His comprehension and foresight is much greater than ours, so it would serve us well to simply bow to His dictates. But it seems the Israelites had a problem with that. I guess they felt the Lord was trying to curtail their worldly fun and experience, the same way we often feel when denied some bit of eye candy or worldly trinket, which, contrary to our belief, would only get us in trouble with the Lord. In His rebuke, the Lord also mentions another instruction He’d issued more than once: ‘ye shall throw down their altars.’ In Exodus, He warned them of the idolatry of the Canaanites, whose land they were going to possess. ‘Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.’ (Ex.34:12-14) Oh my people, the Lord could not have been plainer or more forthright with the Israelites. Then in Deuteronomy He again specified that there should only be one place of worship, and that in His name. ‘Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree. And ye shall overthrow (destroy) their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves (wooden images) with fire; and ye shall hew (cut) down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of the place.’ (Deut.12:2-3) Oh Friends, I don’t know what that sounded like in the language they used back then, but in English it sure sounds simple and to the point. There are no ifs, ands or buts to cloud the meaning. But for whatever reason(s) the Israelites failed to comply. As Judges, chapter 1 shows, they conquered many of the heathen tribes but never utterly destroyed them, instead opted for living together. ‘Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants…but the Canaanites would dwell in that land…they put the Canaanites to tribute (forced labour), and did not utterly drive them out. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites…but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them and became tributaries (forced labourers). Neither did Asher…Neither did Naphtali…’ (Judges 1:27-36) None of the tribes of Israel obeyed the Lord’s command; destroy them utterly, but allowed them to co-habit as forced labour. It possibly served the Israelites well, but was a direct disobedience of God’s command, that He found distasteful. Thus, in His rebuke at Bochim He declared: ‘but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?’ Friends, it’s the same with us today, both as a society and as individuals. There are laws in our society that we break as individuals. Then as a society, and also as individuals, we break the dictates of our God when it’s clearly spelled out not to. But when it’s time to pay for our disobedience, we hold our heads and bawl, begging God and man for forgiveness and mercy, like the Israelites did that day when God called them to account at Bochim (weeping). But sometimes my people it’s too late, the damage cannot be undone and we just have to pay the price. Therefore Friends, I implore us to think before we act or talk, consider the consequences before committing ourselves, for there’s no doubt that wilful, habitual disobedience to man or God will cause us to pay dearly. Just look at our ungodly world and the lawless, violent individuals it contains. We’re no better than the Israelites. Please think on those things my people, because we’ll eventually pay, if we don’t improve. Much LOVE!…if you disobey…sooner or later…you’ll pay…
SCRIP-BITS 