"Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”
The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”
But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.
When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in Gilead.”
gods. all these nasty gods. something worshiped because it has power over you, or you believe it has power that can help you.
The gods that the Israelites turned to were pure demonic. Actually if you look up the god, Baal, it says "demon" and the pictures that depict what he looked like, look like demons. Why would you want to worship something so ugly?
God's chosen people, rescued from slavery, given a land of abundance and beauty....walked right back into darkness. Why would they do this? Why would they forsake what the Lord had done for them and given them? And this wasn't the first time, this was the FIFTH time they turned away from God and turned towards disobedience. FIVE times! Get it together oh people of Israel.
And then, when they were at the end of their rope, when those ugly, nasty, demon gods they thought could save them, failed to even answer when they tried to talk to them - they got it together. They went back to their first love. They called on the Lord.
What must that have looked like? An entire nation repenting, saying no to all the darkness over them, calling on the name of the Lord, saying "We have sinned against you because we have abandoned you as our God and have served the images of Baal." Did they all get together in one place and yell this out at the same time? Did they each fall on their faces and say this in their own homes? Did they all post it on facebook, twitter, instagram with #wearesorryGod #pleaseforgiveus?
An entire nation. Repenting. Turning from evil. Turning back to God.
It happened. And it can happen again. For real.
My heart grieves as I read the response from the Lord back to them. As they walked away from the Lord 5 times before, they called on God as a last resort for rescuing, and God says to them....
I rescued you before. You turned away from me. You chose other gods over me. Let those gods rescue you now.
But, they pleaded with God again (again, I wonder what that looked like for the entire nation to do), and this time, it was a genuine, life changing, giving up all that is evil, true repentance, cry to the Lord.
God's great, sweet, beautiful, mercy. God was grieved by their misery. Their broken and contrite heart.
"Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice."
Psalm 51:16-17
Don't be a habitual emotional repenter.
True repentance = True forgiveness = True restoration
When I finally "got it" in my life, the Lord rescued me just like he did the Israelites. I walked away from the Lord way more than 5 times, but that last time I went to him and cried out, and REALLY meant it, He changed my life forever. And I'm never going back. How could I when I get to do life with these little brown people.
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