WEDNESDAY January 18, 2017
People of Apostasy
Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! - Joshua 24:14
In understanding the book of Nehemiah, we must continue to survey the Old Testament. The book of Joshua is where God demonstrates to us through Joshua, a type of Jesus Christ. Joshua was Moses’ servant; Jesus became a Servant to us (Mark 10:45). But also in the book of Joshua we see Jesus as the Commander of the Army of the Lord (Joshua 5). He was with Joshua as he entered into battle in the Promised Land.
Joshua, as a leader to God’s people, established a life of obedience and set a good model and example for them to follow. Joshua, near the end of his life, gave the people a strong charge (Joshua 24:15), they must choose who they were going to serve, the false gods or the Lord. But as one generation passed; another generation came:
When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel (Judges 2:10).
The reason for the children of Israel’s apostasy was a lack of knowledge about the Lord. The great grandparents and grandparents faithfully taught the children of Israel the history and works of the Lord. But the parents of the next generation failed. They neglected to do what God told them in Deuteronomy 6-8. The Word of God became so watered down after each generation, until there was nothing left. As a result, the people became ignorant of the Lord and easily fell into apostasy––they abandoned the Lord. This was the reason why Israel came under God’s judgment.
You can recognize if you are slipping into apostasy when you begin to think like that apostate generation.
…everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
~Judges 21:25~
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