TO THIS DAY

Judges 2:1-3
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The LORD’s Messenger Comes to Bokim

1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 2 For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3 So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”

Israel’s enemies remain a thorn in their side to this day. The failure to obey, several thousand years before, is still causing them trouble. There are consequences to sin. Peace in the Middle East has not been attained. “Their gods…”, the Islamic nations are and will continue to be troublesome for these people who failed to obey the Lord’s command.

Should we expect any less when we fail to obey God? Israel is God’s chosen nation … the nation through which He sent the Savior Jesus Christ. If they are subject to years of punishment for disobedience, should we, a Christian nation expect any less when we fail to faithfully follow God’s Word? Solutions will never come through government. God calls for His people to turn from their wicked ways and humbly seek His face. Only then will God heal this land.