Consequences of Disobedience

Consequences of Disobedience

Judges 2:1-5 (KJV) ¹ And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. ² And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? ³ Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. ⁴ And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. ⁵ And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.


The Scolding of the Lord: Judges 2:1-2

Does our disobedience matter to the Lord?  Does He hold us responsible for our sin?  God is concerned, it does matter.  Here in Judges 2 we see the angel of the LORD (a Theophany, or OT appearance of Jesus) (1&4) appearing unto His people and rebuking (scolding) them for their disobedience.  He directly asks them in verse 2, why have ye done this? 

God holds us responsible and accountable for our sins, our disobedience to Him and His Word.  We cannot not excuse it or make excuses for it.  We cannot blame others or plead ignorance.  It is our responsiblity.

In what ways did Israel disobey the Lord?

1.  Incomplete Obedience:

They did not utterly drive out their enemies.  Remember, partial obedience is disobedience. 

2.   Ingratitude:

They failed to fully appreciate what God had done, was doing, and would do for them.  The Lord had delivered them out of Egypt, was giving them Canaan, and would have driven out all the inhabitants of Canaan for them.

3.  Compromise:

They were commanded not to make any deals with the Canaanites, but yet they did.  They entered contractually into relationships with the Canaanites ususally with the motive of financial gain.

4.  Idolatry:

They failed to throw down their altars and their gods shall be a snare unto you.  Disobedience and compromise lead to idolatry.  The Canaanite gods became the gods of the Israelites.  You either influence or are influenced. 

The Consequences of Compromise

The Consequences of Compromise

Judges 1:21-36 (KJV) ²¹ And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. ²² And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. ²³ And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) ²⁴ And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy. ²⁵ And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. ²⁶ And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day. ²⁷ Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ²⁸ And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. ²⁹ Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. ³⁰ Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries. ³¹ Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: ³² But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out. ³³ Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them. ³⁴ And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: ³⁵ But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries. ³⁶ And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

 

God had clearly commanded His children to drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan.  He had clearly promised the victory. (Judges 1:1-2)

In Judges 1:21-36 we see the consequences of compromise.  We see the death of determination.  Israel's success is turned to failure. 

• The Benjamites fail.  There isn't any recorded attempts to drive out the enemy. (21)
• Manasseh fails.  They disobey God and enslaved the Canaanites.  Choosing the gold of Canaan led to embracing the gods of Canaan. (27)
• Ephraim fails.  Their failure led to idolatry.  Hosea 4:17—Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
• Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan all fail. (30-34)

The consequences of compromise are costly. They allow their enemies to remain using them for profit.  The love of money is the root of all evil!

• The Canaanites infiltrate Israel gaining more and more strength and influence.
• Compromise leads to defeat.  Israel is conquered by their enemies. When you give the devil an inch, he will take a mile!
• Israel intermarries with the Canaanites and become idolatrous (3:6-7).
• God is angered. (2:14-15)

The compromise of Israel led to its defeat.  It led to them turning their backs on God and losing His blessing.  They literally snatched defeat out of the jaw of victory!

When we as children of God start compromising on His truth and His commandments we too start down the road of defeat.



Faith or Fail

Faith or Fail

by Pastor Curt

Judges 1:19 (KJV)   And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

Was the Lord still with Judah? Was the Lord able to defeat the Canaanites and their chariots? Judah had a great start, but lacked the determination to finish strong.  They became worried about the chariots of their enemies.

The Canaanite chariots had three people in them.  One was a driver, another was the shield bearer, and the other was the spear man.  The chariot’s axles had knives in them to cut down the soldiers as they passed by them.

If the Lord was with them what difference would this make? Why would failure be their only option? Peter experience a similar failure when he stepped out of the boat to walk on the water.  He had early success, but ultimately sank as he took his eyes off of the Lord.

Matthew 14:24-31 (KJV)  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.²⁵  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. ²⁶  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. ²⁷  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.²⁸  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. ²⁹  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.³⁰  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.³¹  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Judah failed for the same reason. They took their eyes off of the Lord. When faith is replaced with doubt or fear, failure follows.

We, as children of God, need each day to walk in faith.  We need to be guided by the promises of God remembering that God is with us!

Right as Determined by Me!

Right as Determined by Me!

by Pastor Curt on September 16, 2013

Proverbs 16:2 (KJV) ²  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

 The world bases right or wrong on its own conscience or the opinion of the majority.  If soceity says it is right, then it is right or if I do not violate my own conscience than it is OK.

However, behavior not in line with the Word of God or behavior not done being led by the Spirit of God is wrong.  Our final authority is God’s Word.

God’s Word gives an example of a people group who forsook God’s law for their own ideas.  It was Israel.  From Othniel to Samuel, the period of the judges was 41/2 centuries long, and they spent over 111 of those years in captivity to such as the Mesopotamians, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Amalekites, the Canaanites, the Midianites, and the Philistines.

The last 5 chapters of the book of Judges paint a picture of a land filled with moral depravity, spiritual wickedness, religious apostasy and political confusion.  Judges 21:25 summarizes this era.  In those days there was no King in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 
Does this not in some ways describe our country today, every man doing that which is right in his own eyes?  We have a deceived soceity that calls a mother murdering the unborn child in her womb a woman’s right and same sex relationships and marriage an alternative lifestyle. 

As a country we can call evil good and good evil, but it is the LORD that determines what is right and what is wrong.  He determines the consequences of our actions.

Psalm 1:6: The Ungodly Man

Psalm 1:6 (KJV) ⁶ For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
D.  He is Damned (6)

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:  

...the LORD:  Jehovah

...the way:    Course of action.

...the righteous:     just.  justified by the blood of Jesus. 

There are only two ways.  There is the way of the cross, and there is the way of the curse. Jesus said it clearly:

John 14:6 (KJV) ⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
There is only one way to eternal life in Heaven, and that is through the blood shed on Calvary's cross by God's Son, Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:12 (KJV) ¹² He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
All individuals can be classified into two categories; believers and unbelievers, or saved and lost, or righteous and ungodly.

...but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

...ungodly:   Morally wrong.  Condemned guilty.

...perish:      To be destroyed.  To come to nothing.

The closing word of the first Hebrew hymn is sobering.  It is perish.  God's Word is clear in this matter.  All who die without personal faith in Jesus Christ perish for all eternity. 

Mark 16:16 (KJV) ¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

John 3:36 (KJV) ³⁶ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 3:16-18 (KJV) ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
If you are reading this today, I urge you to turn to Jesus Christ.  I beseech you to believe in Him.  There is only one way to be saved and that is through the blood of Jesus.  Trust Him today!

Psalm 1:5: The Ungodly Man

The Ungodly Man: Psalm 1:5 Defined and Dissected

Psalm 1:5 (KJV) ⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

C.  He is Condemned (5)

...ungodly:   Morally wrong.  Condemned guilty.

...stand in the judgment:     The sinner will not be able to stand in the judgment.  He will be called to the great white throne of judgment only to find that the heaven, the earth, and all that he had or did is gone. Everything he had done and every investment of his time and talent will be gone.  He has no where to stand.  He has nothing that will stand.  He has built his house on the sinking sand.

Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV) ¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
...nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous:    The righteous are those whose sins have been washed by the blood of Jesus! Sinners are those who do not know Jesus.  They are responsible for their sins, as His blood has not been applied to their account.

In eternity, sinners will not be where the righteous are.  Frankly, let us be honest about this, Heaven would not be Heaven, if sin is present.  One of the attributes of Heaven that all the blood washed believers eagerly await is the absence of sin. 

Oh my friend, if you do not know Jesus as your Savior, repent and be saved.  If your sins are washed in His precious blood, rejoice!  He is ours, and we are His'. Someday we will walk the streets of glory and be with the one who loved us enough to die on Calvary's cross for our sins!

Psalm 1:4 The Ungodly Man

II.  The Ungodly Man

The ungodly man stands in stark contrast to the godly man whom has received God's blessing. 

A.  He is Different (4)

The godly man is blessed.  He is firmly rooted by the Lord and the Lord provides his needs.  He fills his life with purpose and prospers him.  He preserves him through the trials and storms of life.

• The ungodly are not so:  In the Hebrew this reads: Not so the ungodly, not so: It is a double negative and is used to emphasize the great difference between the godly man who has God's blessing and the ungodly man who does not.

B.  He is Wasting his Life.

• ...but are like the chaff:  the light waste product left over from harvesting grain.  In Scriptural terms it refers to those who do evil. The chaff was usually burned so it could not be carried by the wind back into the grain.

Isaiah 5:24 (KJV) ²⁴  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Matthew 3:12 (KJV) ¹²  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The ungodly are living a life that has no eternal value. 

• ...which the wind driveth away

Their life is without worth spiritually and they like the chaff will be burned with fire.  Death shall carry them into a fiery eternity. 

Revelation 21:8 - But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Revelation 20:14 - And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Matthew 25:46 - And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.