Slimed by the World

Judges chapter 2 beginning at verse 12. 

"And they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods of the peoples around them and bowed down to them, and provoked the Lord to anger."

They saw the ways that the people around them did and they did the same thing. Things were no longer done God's way, And the Lord turned away from them. 

Verse 14
"So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them into the power of the plunderers who robbed them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer stand before their foes. "

Following the ways of those around them, the Israelites made the Lord angry. And being angry at them, he lifted his hand of protection from around them, leaving them exposed to their enemies and even overcome by them. This is a very hard position to be in. This is where a nation who believed in the Lord God Almighty, the One who parts the Red Sea for them, the One who used a mighty angel to destroy 185,000 enemy troops, the One destroyed 450 false prophets by sending fire from the heavens saw so much of the world aground them that they started becoming like them. The world is very oppressive. It is simple to lose your footing and begin thinking like the world. This is where one stops walking by faith and . begins sinking in this pool of muck. It is hard on any person to believe one thing when they see so much of the other. And what did they do wrong? They had adopted the ways of the culture around them. This is one reason why it is so important to stay close to the Lord, to spend time with him, and not be slimed by the things that we see and hear around us. 

Verse 16 But the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hands of those who robbed them.

God is faithful and merciful. He raised up judges to judge over the people and to show them the right in the wrong way of handling situations. People would bring their problems to the judge and the judge would discern how the Lord would have it handled. In this way, The Lord delivered them. 

Lets be careful not to be slimed by the world's way of thinking. Let's call out to be delivered. He always hears our cries for help. 

Ihs

~ ~ I Believe! ~ ~