(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)
(Judges 10:1-16) Now after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, rose up to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He judged Israel for twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.
3 After him, Jair the Gileadite rose up and judged Israel for twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; so they abandoned the Lord and did not serve Him. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. 8 And they afflicted and oppressed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they oppressed all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan, in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. 9 And the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was in great difficulty.
10 Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have abandoned our God and served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? 12 And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hands. 13 Yet you abandoned Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 Then the sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please save us this day.” 16 So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord; and He could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
If a person choses to worship and trust in a god, like, let's say money, they will have to serve that god. They will have to do what they can to make more money (whether legally or illegally or by manipulative tactics...) - because the god of money says, "If you want me, you'll have to do something!"
3 After him, Jair the Gileadite rose up and judged Israel for twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; so they abandoned the Lord and did not serve Him. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. 8 And they afflicted and oppressed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they oppressed all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan, in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. 9 And the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was in great difficulty.
10 Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have abandoned our God and served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? 12 And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hands. 13 Yet you abandoned Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 Then the sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please save us this day.” 16 So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord; and He could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
If a person choses to worship and trust in a god, like, let's say money, they will have to serve that god. They will have to do what they can to make more money (whether legally or illegally or by manipulative tactics...) - because the god of money says, "If you want me, you'll have to do something!"
And because that person loves and puts their faith and trust in their money, they will WANT to serve that god. But this god, as well as all others, will not save them from their sin or from eternal death. This god only provides maybe a tiny bit of selfish purpose, but it will not satisfy the thirst one has to be fulfilled and at peace for all eternity. In fact, serving any other god becomes a form of slavery. Look at the consequences for Israel when they chose to serve other gods, they were literally sold into slavery and suffered oppression.
Only God can save us and set us free from slavery! Only God can provide eternal peace in our hearts, and fulfillment and purpose in our lives. And after becoming a Christian, we will DESIRE to serve; but we need to be careful not to quench that desire. From experience I can say - that when I serve - I not only grow closer to those around me, but I grow closer to God.
Who we serve is a demonstration of our love, faith, hope and trust!
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