A Story of Failure

“And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?” (Judges 2:2).
 
When God gave the land of Canaan to the tribes of Israel, it was with the understanding that they would drive out the wicked people found there. They were to break down their idols and their altars.
 
In that beautiful land of promise, God wanted them to create a pure and holy nation that would literally glow with the glory of God against the backdrop of the wicked idolatry that was present there. The problem was they did not do what God commanded; so, theirs was a story of failure. They became tired, too eager to build their houses and to develop their farms.
 
Like these people, sometimes we ignore direct teaching in scripture about how God wants us to conduct our physical and spiritual lives: instead, we take care of our own business and follow our own ideas, thinking God will love what we are doing regardless.
 
If that ever becomes our way of thinking and mode of operating, we must know that the New Testament teaches we will arouse the same kind of displeasure from God as they did.
 
We in the Christian Age have the same kind of direction as these people of old: we must follow God’s direction, even if we do not understand His reason for requiring it. Jesus put it best: “If you love me, keep My commandments.”
 
Love,
Joe