Judges 2
In chapter one, we were challenged to run from compromise. Some of Israel did not drive out those that God commanded. Instead, they chose to allow them to stay and live as forced labor.
They compromised in the mission God placed before them.
In chapter two, we read a helicopter view of Judges. Again, I want to remind us this book could have been a different story.
The person reading this could have a different story in the future. You are not forced to remain on the course you currently walk.
Carefully listen to the full command of God and seek obedience. In verses 1-5, we read the words of our Savior. He told them, “I will never break my covenant with you…” There are instructions to follow, but one truth remains. Those who God chooses cannot be unchosen. We choose obedience or disobedience. The natural consequences of that choice determine a variety of paths for our life. For Israel, their choice to disobey landed them in a circular path of complacency, destruction, judgment and redemption.
Carefully chose the leader you will follow because your long-term spiritual health depends on it. While Joshua led Israel, life appeared to be good. They were on a path blessed by God. That same path remained while Joshua’s elders continued his leadership. Once those leaders were gone, unfaithfulness appeared quickly.
Verse ten says, “there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
As leaders of our home and church, we must create opportunities for younger generations to know the Lord. In this passage, know is more than a realization of God. It is to experience God on a level that makes us hungry to experience more of God. We must know God on that type of level before we are able to bring another generation to that level.
As leaders of our home and church, we must remember the work God has done and reveal what God is currently doing. Share what God has done in your life regularly. Ask your children and grandchildren if they know how to hear God speak to them. Go on a short-term mission trip with your family. Intentionally create opportunities that reveal the work of God.
Carefully stay on the mission God has for you, so unfaithfulness does not become the new normal. The “thorns in your side” and the “gods that shall be a snare to you” quickly became jewelry and focal points. Those items were allowed to remain visible and soon stole their attention. Verses 11-23 give us statements such as:
- The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord
- They provoked the Lord to anger
- They could no longer withstand their enemies
- They whored after other gods and bowed to them
- The hand of the Lord was against them for harm
Unfaithfulness can become the new normal very quickly. Satan doesn’t need much time to derail our spiritual train ride. In fact, he looks to present other trains for us to get on that might be more appetizing for a little while. If we remain hungry to experience God, Satan's traps are less appetizing, and we are able to remain on mission better.
In 2021, I want to be careful about staying on the mission God has for me. We all are capable of drifting from our mission.
Do you know what might trigger a drift in your life? Do you know what softens your hunger for God? Who is in your circle of influence that helps you remember the work and wonder of God in your life? How do you intentionally work at staying on God’s mission for you?
Israel drifted as the wind blows. Let’s press forward into God’s mission together.