Scripture Read: Judges 2:16-19 Then the Lord
raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.
Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other
gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way
in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. When
the Lord raised up judges for
them, the Lord was with the judge
and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge;
for the Lord was moved to pity by
their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and
act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them
and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn
ways.
Application: Here
is where we see what happens to individuals when they fail to center their life
in a relationship with their Maker. Instead, they opt to keep God in their life
but only at a distance. What happens is what I call the "pendulum
effect"! Their life swings from extreme to extreme. It's like living your
life on a roller coaster. Your "highs" are higher and your "
lows" are lower.
Here the nation of
Israel, only because of the mercy of God, is supplied with leaders (Judges)
that are given supernatural abilities to deliver the people from their enemies,
but instead of pitching a tent and remaining there, they return to their
idolatry and are conquered and enslaved again! The proper place for a child of
God is always one of balance. Where God is at the center of our life and
everything else is kept in order by Him. Balance has always been the problem,
even in the church. Just consider the first century church. Paul had to chastise
both the church at Galatia, for legalism and sanctification through works, and
the church at Corinth for carnality. Throughout the church age balance has
continued to be a problem. We moved from the Puritan
church, all the way to the health, wealth and prosperity church!
So what are we to
do? I believe the answer is another kind of balancing act. We are not to
forsake the Body of Christ; fellowshipping in community is essential for all
believers. However, when it comes to where Christ is in your life, only YOU can
control that, you cannot follow the movement, what’s popular or
even follow the leader…blindly! Godly leadership is a blessing and when it is
moving in God’s direction we should follow, but that never means we do
not continue to examine what is taught or said in light of scripture. Our
example is set for us in:
Acts
17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they
received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see
whether these things were so.
If these folks examined what Paul said, we had better be good stewards and
evaluate everyone based on what scripture states, not on what some new book
claims or what is the newest doctrinal flavor of the month. Father, let our
guide be Your Word!
Meditation Questions:
Whenever you hear something that sounds “new” or “deeper” what do you do with
that information? What happens when you hear a teacher state something as fact,
yet there is no scriptural support for it? What does your answer show you? When
we say that Scripture is the final authority, what do we mean? Do you believe
that truth can come from only scripture? What is the difference in being the
“source” of truth versus the “validation” of truth?
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