Judges 2:14-15: God's Wrath Upon The Sin Of Idolatry
“And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.” - Judges 2:14-15 (KJV)
God's response to Israel's forsaking of Him is no surprise; He specifically promised that He would do this in the covenant He made with Israel, which was characterized by blessings for obedience and cursing for disobedience as we saw in The Book of Leviticus, Chapter 26, and The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28.
We serve God under the terms of a different covenant, a better covenant as we see in The Book of Hebrews:
“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” - Hebrews 8:6 (KJV)
When we forsake God, and are not abiding in Jesus Christ, things may, and often do, go badly for us, but not because God has actively set His hand against us as He did to Israel under the Old Covenant. When we are not abiding in Jesus, and things go badly for us, it is simply because our actions have consequences, and we reap the bitter fruit of not keeping ourselves in the love of God as we are reminded in The Book of Jude:
“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” - Jude 21 (KJV)
For us, God doesn't need to set His hand against us; we usually hurt ourselves badly enough. “He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them.” The purpose of all this, was so that when Israel was “greatly distressed,” they would turn their hearts back to Lord. God's goal wasn't punishment, but repentance.
Therefore, we can ask: is this a manifestation of God's love or hate for Israel? It is, of course, His love; the worst judgment God can bring upon a person is to leave them alone, to stop trying to bring them to repentance.
We see the same principle in the relationship between parents and children; though children often wish their parents would just leave them alone, it is really their worst fear that no one would love them enough to correct them.
Christian brothers and sisters, remember, when God corrects us, it is to put us back on the straight and narrow, and we should thank Him for His correction!
God bless!
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