4/18

Judges 2:2

²and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.'窶。ut you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?

In spite of the earnest desire of the Israelites to obey and live in the blessing of the Lord, where there were difficult places to conquer, they allowed the Canaanites to remain among them. They did not destroy the altars of the false gods when they subjugated an area. Instead of driving them out, they used those people that remained as laborers and taxed them.

The angel of the Lord warned that because they had done this, the Canaanites would be thorns in their sides and their gods would become a snare to them. The Israelites lifted up their voices and wept. The consequences of disobedience are still with them to this day. It eventually resulted in their exile to a foreign land.

It isn't as if they didn't know God's will. It was made very plain to them by Moses and Joshua. They found some excuse to compromise. Compromise is disobedience. It may sound reasonable, and even good. Some today would say it was the right thing to do. Disobedience to God is never right. He is the standard for truth, righteousness, and justice. It was more destructive in the long run to disobey God by having mercy on those that were under God's judgment.

We face the same thing today when we disobey the Holy Spirit's voice and help someone in need. Certainly as a general rule we should help the needy, but there are times when someone is under the Lord's discipline and with our good intentions we can interfere with God's will. Listen to the Holy Spirit.

Consider: What seems like a kind thing may actually make things worse. God knows the whole story. Listen to the Holy Spirit and obey His voice.