Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.'”
When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
– Judges 2:1-5
Devotion
The Lord announces his great displeasure with the behavior of Israel. This event marks a significant change in their relationship with God. At Mount Sanai God had made a sacred and binding agreement, called a covenant, with the Israelites. God’s promise was to make Israel a special nation, to bless them and protect them if they followed him. It was then up to Israel to love God and obey his laws. But, due to the fact they disobeyed and rejected God, the agreement to protect them was no longer in effect. However, it is important to note that God wasn’t going to abandon his people forever. They would still receive God’s blessings if they repented and sincerely followed him again.
All too often we want God to fulfill his promises while not quite keeping up our part of the covenant. Before we claim God’s promises, we should ask ourselves, “Have I done my part?” When we recognize that we have done wrong, we need to ask for forgiveness by plainly admitting it to God. We can never cover up any sin without God knowing. He knows our hearts and motives all too well. He wants us to have a sincere and repentant heart. He will forgive.
The Big Question
How does it feel when you have been exposed in your own wrong doing, where there is no wiggle room? On the other side of this, how does it feel to be given another chance – to really be forgiven? Have you experienced God’s wonderful grace lately?
Try to remember a time when you totally gave God one of your problems. What was the result?
Conclude in prayer and silence, reflecting on what you’ve learned.