Israel's Pragmatism

After a reminder of the details of Israel's history during the days of Joshua and his death, the recitation begins of the breakdown that followed because of the next generation 'who did not know the Lord.'

The cycle that will be repeated throughout the history will include their sin, servitude, supplication and salvation. The people sin, God puts them in slavery to their enemies, they beg for forgiveness and deliverance and God raises up a judge to deliver them. Sadly with the pressure off they then repeat the cycle all over again throughout this period of almost 350 years.

Adapting and adjusting to the world around them was not spiritually good for the nation of Israel although the concessions seemed to have made life more comfortable.

Two lessons can be learned from studying this historical account of God's people that are applicable to us -

1. Spiritual and theological apostasy is a subtle process. Being pragmatic with the world will lead to spiritual compromise and corruption.

2. Enemies not dealt with may come back to take control over us. The pressure from the influences of all that is in the world that opposes God is relentlesss and even a small concession can quickly spread and become corruptive.