“Furthermore the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people."
Those Israelites are just so stupid, aren't they? Why can't they just listen to God and just stop? It'd have made life a whole lot easier if they followed God's commands, right?
So many times I catch myself thinking this. Whenever someone mentions, or when I read something on, the Jews and when they turned their backs on God, and I wonder how they can be so foolish? But the next questions that come crashing in is: Are we that different from them? Are we that different from Israel?
I've been reading through Judges today, and all the suffering and pain that the Jews went through was because of their own stubbornness. If you come to think about it, it is very similar to how a lamb is cared for, and has everything in the world it needs. But it just won't be satisfied, and it yearns to stray away from the flock and look for adventure. Even when the shepherd is there to give the flock protection and fodder, yet it still wants to leave.
But a bigger picture blooms in my mind, we are so concerned with how the Jews reacted to God's requests, that we forget that we are exactly like them. God loves us, promises us eternal life with Him. Yet what do we do? We turn aside. We do what the Israelites did,"they whored after other gods and bowed down to them." (Judges 2:17) Not only do we go after other gods, but we forsake our true love. We ditch our Heavenly Father, the One who made us, to go after another.
This isn't a guilt trip. Or atleast I'm not aiming for that. This is a warning. Beware of the devil and his many weapons. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) So be careful, Satan is watching, to find and use your temptations, and they often come in the form of those we admire. Even worship. But if we trust God, and love Him, we cannot be led astray. For "true love casts out fear."
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