Ephesians 2:8-9... For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.----------The Israelites during the period of the Judges struggled mightily with following and worshiping God as the singular definitive Creator and Father. At times, they would abandon him altogether to worship false Gods. Other times, they would group him as "just another one of the gods" they served.----------Obviously, this had a detrimental effect on their relationship with God and broke the covenant they had with Him to serve and worship Him only. The primary consequence was they were no longer under His divine protection and were fodder for the nations around them to oppress them.----------However, a secondary consequence was that they struggled to keep in focus what God desired and required of them in service, worship, and commitment. They were influenced greatly by the culture of the peoples around them and it affected how they saw God and his expectations of them.----------The clear warning for us is to not allow our culture to dictate or modify our understanding and devotion to God. The Scriptures teach us who He is and His expectations of us in worship, morality, commitment, etc.
