In our last study, we saw because of Israel’s disobedience by not driving out and destroying all the nations that God commanded them, they began to follow after these nation’s gods.
We specifically looked at three pagan God’s last week. Baal, Asherah and Molech. All three of these god’s have been around throughout history and while they are not named the same, they are among us today through political and social movements in our culture. While the names have been changed, it’s not to protect the innocent, but to deceive them.
The sad truth is that these gods have walked in the front door of the church in the US and they weren’t even recognized. Instead of rooting them out, they embraced them and today there is a lot of political, social and cultural movements that have replaced sound biblical teaching from the pulpits of America.
As I said last week, God takes His covenant seriously. Israel was punished for their disobedience when they broke covenant with God. As we will see this morning, God dealt harshly with them. Today though we are in a season of Grace, consequences still remain. Because the church has become complacent and compramised, the nation has become corrupt, abandoning the true God and turning to the pagan gods as Israel did. His judgment is coming and I believe we are in the last days, but if He tarries, and His coming is delayed, the consequences of our actions are eminent.
It’s possible maybe even probable that this country completely implodes and life as we know it is changed forever and not for the good. Again sin brings consequences. It’s time for the church to wake up and get back to its roots in Jesus Christ, returning to our first love, not that we be revived but transformed into His image.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
This week we begin our introduction to the judges. Our focus is not necessarily going to be whom they were, but that they were willing vessels. And we will see the pattern that is in place before and after each judge.
