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Jdg 2:11 Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals,
Jdg 3:7 The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
Jdg 8:33 Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god.
Jdg 10:6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
Here is an example of the subtle progression of sin in our lives. As you can see, though God continually brought along a leader to steer Israel back to Him, their hearts were drawn to false gods. What do you do with a child who has been given boundaries and protection, yet continually puts themselves in harm’s way? God’s response is sobering.
“Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. 14 “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.”
Judges 10:13-14 NASB
Amazingly, there was repentance. The people heard God and counted His response as fair and just. They reflected on their behavior and were convicted to change.
This is a hard message to preach these days without sounding ‘holier than thou.’ Our culture today values independence so heavily that it’s now hateful to try and tell the truth. Often, God will allow us to sink into the gutter of our own choices before we realize our need for Him.
No matter what route we choose in life, God’s truth remains the same. We can respond and experience that truth today, or continue to do our own thing until we’ve lost everything. The message doesn’t change. God’s love is bigger than sin and shines brightly like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm. The question for many isn’t if they know about that lighthouse, but whether or not they will abandon ship and begin swimming toward it with every ounce of energy they have left.