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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.
Judges 3:7 NASB
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
Judges 3:12 NASB
God delivered a judge to save Israel.As I said yesterday, the moral and spiritual roller coaster would go up and down for Israel as they would quickly forget all that God had done in their lives. The question I wrestled with today was, should we identify with these stories, or, should we look at our deliverance through Jesus as strikingly different than these stories of old? What do you think?
There is no doubt we wrestle with our old flesh every day. There is an aspect to this roller coaster we can (and should!) relate to. However, we are sealed with the Spirit of God, and empowered by Christ to turn away from sin. We don’t need a judge anymore. The final atoning sacrifice has already been made. Do we really understand what this means?
If we read this story and fail to see the power of the Gospel through it, we have failed to grasp God’s purpose and plan from the beginning. This is not an isolated event that can be compartmentalized into our every day life. This is an all-inclusive reflection of our wandering heart that should lead us to a place of repentance and gratitude for what’s been done for us. We are not Israel in this story. We are the judges. We are those who are fueled by the Spirit of God to rescue the lost! We must take this mission and duty seriously.