Day 81: Judg 9:57 - 12:15

Once again we see the lovely picture of redemption in these passages. After a couple more judges, the Children of Israel went back to their sinful ways and totally ignored God for quite a few years. It's interesting to note that they asked God for help once, but God basically told them to get help from their fancy new gods because He wasn't going to waste His time helping them out. It wasn't until they decided to burn all of their old god paraphernalia that the One True God decided to look towards them again and lift them up. Alot of times, people think that they can beg God for help with a joint in one hand holding on to all of their sinful lives with the other, but God requires us to at least make an attempt to set ourselves apart before He's willing to step in and take over. He can't share the space with anything or anyone else. It's either God's way or no way.

- Thank You so much for being a God of mercy, but not simply pointless mercy that can be taken advantage of over and over again. You always require out obedience before You are willing to take our hands and lead us out of the pit that we've gotten ourselves into. I hope that I'm never in this type of situation, but if ever I am, give me the strength and the presence of mind to get rid of all of my false gods so You can move in and take control. -