May 19, 2016
Judges 10: 10-16
10Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD , "We have sinned
against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals." 11The LORD replied, "When the Egyptians,
the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,
12the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you
cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13But you have forsaken me and served other
gods, so I will no longer save you. 14Go
and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in
trouble!" 15But the Israelites said
to the LORD , "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but
please rescue us now." 16Then they
got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear
Israel's misery no longer.
Title: The mercy and grace of God
Message: Truly sufferings make
people dependent on God. Israel became proud and forgot God when they triumphed
in all of their fights, when all of their enemies became their captives and
when they thought they had everything. They worshiped other gods, an act which
drew out the LORD’s anger and made Him leave them for a while. However, as the
people underwent failure and defeat and could no longer bear sufferings, they
remembered God. They confessed their sins, asked for forgiveness, threw their
idols and returned to serve Him. Having witnessed all these, God’s anger
moderated and soon He was helping Israelites again (Judges 11:21).
Promise to Claim: God’s grace and mercy
overflow. The Israelites as proven by the preceding verses experienced these
over and over again. We, too have been undergoing the same. It’s just our
arrogance which hinders us from noticing all these that we think God is merely
watching us and does nothing as we go about life’s trials. God knows and sees
all and that He’s with us every step of the way. He will never forsake us.
That’s guaranteed.
Command to Obey: Let us fear God. Let Him
rule our life. Let Him steer the wheel. He gave us free will because of His
grace. However, as humans we cannot wisely maneuver life without Him. Yes, we
can make choices. We can make things happen. However, we have the tendency to
go against Him. Because of our nature, we tend to be easily influenced by the
enemy and we tend to forget that behind all that we have is God and at the end
of the day, He’s the one who will confront us. Thus, let us acknowledge Him and
make Him the center of our lives.
Warning to Heed: Defeat and failure overcome
those who dishonor and disobey God. Curses and sufferings will be experienced by
those who worship other gods and those who go against His commandments.
Application: I will make God the center
of my and my family’s life.
