In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told the people of Israel, “I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do you unto us whatsoever seems good unto you; deliver us only, we pray you, this day”, and in chapter ten and verse sixteen of Judges, we learn how Israel, “put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD” where we read,
And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD:
and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
The verse reads, “And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD:” The writer began with the words, “and they put away” which means “and they, the people of Israel, turned aside, departed from and removed” “the strange gods” which means ”the foreign, alien and heathen deities” “from among them” or “separate and apart from them, the people of Israel”, “and served the LORD” which means “and labored, worked and worshiped Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”. The writer shared how the people of “Israel” turned aside from and removed their false deities
The verse continues, “and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” The writer added the words, “and his soul” which means “and his, Jehovah God’s, mind, heart and will” “was grieved” or “existed as mourning, vexed and straitened” “for the misery of Israel” which means “on behalf of the toil, trouble and labor belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails” and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. The writer shared how Jehovah God’s mind and heart were vexed on behalf of the trouble and toil being experienced by the people of Israel.
When we think through the words in this verse, we discover how the people of “Israel” removed all the foreign deities that were among them, and they began to worship, work and labor for Jehovah God again. This caused Jehovah God’s mind and heart to be vexed for the toils and troubles that Israel was experiencing, and we learn about the patience, mercy and grace of God for them. God loves people, and even when we have sinned, He is willing to forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit in us to guide us into all truth when we receive His Son Jesus as our personal “Lord and Savior”. Let us always remember, God’s long-suffering and patience with us has been and will be experienced over and over again when we surrender our lives to Him. (See John 3:16; Numbers 14:18)
Next time we learn how, “the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead”, 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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