In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed”, and in chapter ten and verse ten of Judges, we learn how, “the children of Israel cried unto the LORD”, where we read,
And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying,
We have sinned against you, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
The verse reads, “And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, … The writer began with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob shouted aloud, summoned and called for help” “unto the LORD” which means ”toward Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name of the One True God”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. The writer shared how the offspring belonging to “Israel” called for help from Jehovah God.
The verse continues, “… We have sinned against you, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.” The writer added the words, “we have sinned” which means “we, the people of Israel, have missed the mark, offended, gone wrong and been sinful” “against you” or “in opposition to you, Jehovah God”; “both because we have forsaken our God” which means “for the reasons, causes and accounts that we, the people of Israel, have left behind, abandoned and deserted our, the people of Israel’s, Supreme Deity”, “and also served Baalim” or “and even so and indeed labored, worked and worshiped Baalim whose name means ‘lord’ and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites”. The writer shared how the people of “Israel” confessed their errors and wrongs in opposition to God as well as abandoning Jehovah God to worship “Baalim”.
When we think through the words in this verse, we see how the people of Israel understood their errors against Jehovah God. They “sinned” and abandoned their relationship with Jehovah God. Rather than worshiping Jehovah God, they began to serve and labor on behalf of “Baalim”. These behaviors were not only practiced by the people of Israel who lived prior to them, but they were repeated over and over again. We shall see how Jehovah God responds to them in our next verse, but for now let us also be mindful of our own tendencies to act in the same manner. God is a loving God who desires to have a personal relationship with all of us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us continue to align with Him and His ways with a constant “crying out” to Him for His mercy. (See 1John 1:9; Hebrews 4:16)
Next time we learn how Jehovah God asks Israel, “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance”.
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