More to the Story - Chapter 8
WHEN YOUR MISTAKES LAND YOU BEFORE A JUDGE
Have you ever had to own up for something you did wrong? Maybe you remember sneaking out to see an R-rated movie and then confessing the truth to your seething parents after you crept in the house past curfew. Or maybe, more recently, you lied to your boss and had to face the consequences once you were found out.
We have all had to come face-to-face with an authority and own up to what we’ve done wrong. Palms sweat, stomach twists and turns. It can feel like you’re going before the judge in a court martial.
Judges elicit a sense of fear, don’t they? They never call you in for something you have done right. We think of them as someone who harshly tells us what we did wrong. And they seem to be everywhere these days on television. There’s Judge Judy and Hatchett. Mathis and Christina. Judge Brown.
Then there are some judges you may not know. They even have a book in the Bible with their name on it. Judges. These judges appeared on the scene to help sort out right and wrong. They also helped people get out of trouble.
God’s people kept putting themselves into a never ending cycle of disobedience, discipline, declaration of wrong, and deliverance. Judges like Deborah and Gideon and Samson helped them find their way back to God.
What did the people do that was so bad they needed judges? Two things. First, they failed to put God first in their lives (JUDGES 1:28). And secondly, they did not teach their children to know God (JUDGES 2:10). These two “sins” led to their downfall and ruin.
Are you making the same mistakes they made? If so, you have a judge that can help you––Jesus. The good news is that when he “calls” you into his office after you’ve messed up, you will look up to see your judge’s face and see your savior there.
Prayer
“Lord, as I read the Story this week, help me to see your message for me in the stories of these men and women who were far, far from perfect, yet allowed themselves to say yes to you and therefore were people who lived lives of consequence. Amen”
You can follow Pastor Jeff on Twitter @jefflampl
God said the land would "vomit" out the Canaanites because they had polluted the Promised Land by sacrificing their babies and other awful practices. When the Israelites disobeyed God's orders to destroy all of the inhabitants they were allowing the things that polluted the land to remain. They intermarried with the worshippers of Molech and Baal and began to worship the hideous gods of the Canaanites. Perhaps their disobedience towards the Lord's command to purge the land was instrumental in their constant turning from the one true God to follow after the foul gods of the Canaanites.What we may see as "genocide" was not only to cleanse the land but it was also to protect God's chosen people. We still see the results of their disobedience.
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