Author: admin

Our sin always has a context. We do not sin in a vacuum. When the Israelites cried out for God to deliver them from their oppression, God began by reminding them of their love relationship with Him. God had found them when they were slaves. He had freed them and led them to a land flowing with milk and honey. God had protected them and provided for all their needs. As long as they had faithfully obeyed God, they had prospered. It was not God who had forsaken His commitment to the people. It was the people who had shamefully turned their backs on the One who had done so much for them.

Sin is never merely breaking a commandment. It is rejecting Someone who loves you and has done much for you. Sin is always personal. When God began to talk with His people about their sin, He began by going back to their relationship with Him. Sin had robbed them of the intimacy they had once enjoyed. Sin had brought separation, as it always does.

At times our primary concern can be for God to alleviate the consequences of our sin. But God is focused on our relationship with Him. He will not be satisfied until it is restored to what it once was. Do you remember what your walk with God was like before you sinned? That is what God wants to restore to you once more.

Prophets usually do not enter the scene until peoples’ situation has become intolerable. The Israelites suffered seven years of divine silence. For seven years heaven stoically said nothing as the people suffered because of their sin. For seven years the people attempted everything they knew to avoid the consequences of their disloyalty. But ultimately the people had suffered enough. They finally cried out to God.

At last God sent a response. He commissioned a prophet to be His spokesman. Prophets were troublesome to many people in the Bible because they told the devastating truth. They did not compose their message. They simply delivered it. If you did not want to know what God thought, you were best to avoid prophets.

When a prophet appeared on the scene you knew you were facing a moment of decision. A prophet’s message always required a response. You could not remain neutral. The prophet delivered God’s terms. If you heeded his message, God would deliver you. If you rejected his word, your suffering might grow worse.

For many people who are struggling today, their issue is not that they do not know what they should do. Rather, it is that they do not want to hear God’s answer to their problem. We want God to implement our answer to our problems. We don’t necessarily want to hear God’s prognosis.

God has a word for you as well. Do you want to hear it?

God will continue to discipline our lives until we finally cry out to Him for deliverance. It is tragic that so many people have a high pain threshold. They continue to suffer year after year from their sin but they refuse to turn from their evil ways.

The Israelites suffered intensely for seven years before they finally cried out in desperation to God. Yet there are people who endure their bondage for far longer because they will not humble themselves and return to God.

There was no point in sending a deliverer until the people acknowledged their need of one. As long as the people assumed they could somehow handle or endure their problems, God did not send a savior. A deliverer is pointless for the one who assumes he has no need of one. Likewise, God does not rescue those who refuse to change they way they are living. The reason God saves you is so you can live in freedom.

There are many places you can call to for help. You can call on your banker, friends, counselors, and accountants. But God waits for you to cry out to Him. It is not enough to cry out. You must cry out to Him. When you finally acknowledge that only God can free you from the predicament you are in, then He is prepared to respond. Are you ready to cry out to God for your need?

It is easy to open the door to allow sin into your life. It is not as simple to remove the intrusive guest and close the door once more. The Israelites had traversed down the road of apostasy to their God. They had rejected God’s standards and given their love to other gods. The result was that they became vulnerable to their enemies. By the time they realized this; it was too late. The Midianites and their allies were now encamped across the land as numerous as locusts.

Many a person has mistakenly assumed that they could be careless with their walk with God and yet “handle” the consequences. By the time the tide of sin had swelled up to their chin, the people realized they have bitten off more than they could chew.

There is no remedy for sin and its consequences apart from God’s provision. Only He can address every consequence and free us from the bondage in which we find ourselves. What may have begun as a careless sin in one area of our life soon spreads to every corner of our existence. Before long, the enemies of our soul have invited friends and our life is captivated by the marauding hordes that rob our life of everything that is good.

If you see the floodgates of sin overrunning in your life, don’t fool yourself into assuming there is still a way for you to escape. Matters will only grow worse over time if you do not cry out to the Lord.

Sin is a liar. It promises us riches but it leaves us destitute. It entices us with pleasures but ultimately makes us miserable.

The Israelites had been lured away from God by the idol Baal. Baal was a pagan god who promised abundant harvests and lavish wealth. The Israelites were assured they would become rich, if only they compromised themselves with Baal’s standards. So they did.

Yet rather than immense wealth, pillagers came and removed every possession they had painstakingly accumulated. Because they had forsaken God for riches, God refused to let them retain their possessions. It was a cruel irony. Because the Israelites cherished what the world valued, the world lusted after their possessions and ultimately stole them.

The world covets material possessions. It cares nothing for the eternal. When we value what the world does, we will always run the risk of losing what we have. When we treasure what God prizes, no one can remove it from us.

For some Christians, their life is dominated by their efforts to hold on to what they have. They live in constant fear of losing what they have collected. And, their fears are well grounded. For when we collect worldly trinkets, we become a target for worldly treasure seekers.

Examine your life. Are you spending more energy protecting your treasures than you are investing in God’s kingdom?

There is no human solution to God’s judgment. When God chooses to discipline us, there is no escape, alleviation, or remedy. Our only response is to cry out to God in repentance.

When God allowed the Midianites to invade Israel, God’s people fled. They built caves and dens and sought to avoid their enemies. They knew there was no way they could withstand them. As Gideon would prove later, when God was on their side, no enemy could resist them. When God forsook them, any enemy could destroy them.

Tragically, some Christians live in defeat and failure for most of their lives. They expend their efforts attempting to avoid the consequences of their sin rather than turning resolutely away from their transgressions. More energy is spent enduring their punishment than is expended returning to God.

Are you presently facing the consequences of your sin? Is it not time to deal with the root cause and to be finally set free?

God has a response for every sin we commit. He is often patient in His reaction, but He will inevitably take action. Typically God allows us every opportunity to come to our senses and to return to Him. But at a certain point, God raises His voice! There comes a moment when God refuses to accept our empty promises or insincere platitudes, and He brings judgment to bear upon us.

At times God can directly punish us by sending any number of calamities upon us. But just as devastating can be when God simply removes His hand of blessing and protection from us so we experience what it is like to live apart from His providential care.

We take God’s presence for granted, until it is removed. Then we see clearly what a difference He makes in our life for good. The Israelites had enjoyed God’s favor until they assumed they would always have it. Once it was removed, however, enemies began to swarm across their borders.

God allowed Midianites to oppress His people for seven years. The number seven represents completeness. God punished His people thoroughly for their sin. What would it look like for God to punish you or your church or your nation its full and complete measure? Could you bear it? Don’t ever take God’s blessing in your life for granted! Neither should you treat God’s judgment lightly.

When the Israelites sinned, they did so “in the sight of the Lord.” Of course, there is no other place we can sin. Everything we do is in plain sight of heaven. God sees everything.

From the dawn of mankind, people have been convinced that their sinful actions were somehow concealed from their Maker. We tend to treat God as if He were merely another person. We act as if we can hide our actions from Him, just as we can covertly sin without others knowing what we are doing (at least for a time). But God is not like other people. He is God. He not only knows what we do, He is also aware of what we say and think. There is no fooling God. All of the evidence of our sin lies before Him.

There is no point in arguing our innocence before God. It is futile to claim that God is being unfair to us or overly harsh. Rather, God shows remarkable restraint in meting out punishment to us, considering He has irrefutable evidence of our apostasy ever before Him.

Before you continue about your day, consider the fact that whatever you do today will be fully in the sight of God. Live accordingly.

Sadly, there is always another “then” with the people of God. Despite all that God does for them, inevitably they choose to turn their backs on Him to pursue their own sinful ways. Throughout history, God’s people have followed an identical pattern. They always eventually departed from Him. God then brought judgment upon them. In response, the people finally cried out in repentance for their sin. In response God delivered them and blessed them once more. But invariably there was always another “then.” And the cycle repeated itself.

Imagine how far you would be in your Christian life today if there were no more “thens” in your life. Suppose you had not been distracted or sidetracked from God’s will, but had, instead, remained relentlessly loyal to God. Just imagine.

But we, like the Israelites of old, have a troubling tendency of being disloyal to our God, despite His steadfast love toward us. Fiercely guard your heart. Strive to prevent any more departures, even momentarily, from your Lord.

At last we come to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes! Much wisdom has been shared. Many questions have been raised. Critical issues have been discussed. But, like any good writer or speaker, the author concludes by summarizing his points. Twelve chapters of Scripture are reduced to two simple commands: Fear God and keep His commandments.

At times we look for sophisticated answers to our complex questions. We assume our life’s problems are too difficult for simple solutions. But the fact is, often the most difficult problems demand the most straightforward solution.

Wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord. Unless you humble yourself before God, you will never access divine wisdom. But, true wisdom is not found in knowing, but in doing. There have been brilliant people who knew reams of information, but behaved like fools nonetheless. Their knowledge did not affect their actions.

Don’t make your Christian life more complicated than it actually is! Fear God, and obey Him. Always keep the truth before you that one day you will give a full and complete accounting for everything you have done, said or thought. Keeping that awareness before you ought to help you to live your life, wisely.