FEAR NOT for March 6, 2016

Judges 6:10  "And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice."

 

BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY from David Guzik (blueletterbible.org): In verses 1 to 9, we see that "The Midianites dominated Israel... (so) the children of Israel cried out to the LORD: After the long season of humiliation, fruitless labor, poverty, and domination by an oppressive power, Israel finally cried out to the LORD. Prayer was their last resort instead of their first resource." In verse 10, "God spoke through the prophet, reminding Israel of all He did for them in the past. To face their current crisis, Israel needed a reminder of what God did before." They were "reminded of the love of God. The God loving enough to deliver from Egypt before still loved them enough to deliver them from the Midianites. [The prophet] reminded them of the power of God. The God powerful enough to deliver from Egypt before was still powerful enough to deliver them from the Midianites. 

 

Here comes the BUT: "But you have not obeyed My voice:" God sent this messenger to tell them where the real problem was. It wasn't that the Midianites were so strong, it was that Israel was so disobedient. Israel thought the problem was the Midianites but the real problem was Israel. It is human nature to blame others for problems that we cause. The message of the prophet also shows that when Israel cried out to the LORD, they didn't understand that they were the problem. [Unfortunately], their cry to God for help did not mean that they recognized or repented of their sin."

 

PERSONAL APPLICATION: The Israelites were a very disobedient people. Their God had already shown Himself to be trustworthy and mightier than their enemies, yet, they refused to follow His commands. Their disobedience always got them into trouble but, they never learned their lesson! We're exactly the same as the Israelites. God has shown us His great love, mercy, forgiveness and yet, when troubles come our way, we almost always go to Him as our last resort. Many times, we won't even recognize that it is our sin that has caused us to run into problems, in the first place. We should learn from the Israelites' experience that it is NOT wise to disregard God's desire and command for us to obey Him and His Word. Because if we are living in constant obedience to Him, there is NO reason for us to fear what man may do to us.