Thursday; May 31

          A few weeks ago I was doing some preparation on a series of lessons from the Old Testament book of Judges when I came across this passage, “Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly).”.  (Judges 3:1-2)  If you have ever studies “Judges” you are probably familiar with the cyclical nature of the nature of Israel during these times: Israel sins, God sends an oppressive nation, the Israelites repent, God sends a deliver (judge) and the Israelites live in peace (for a while).  Yet, there seems to be another reason for the conflict in the land – for the Israelites to be successful in carving out their place in the Promised Land, they were going to have to fight for it.  They had been slaves and nomads for the decades preceding this time period, so they needed to be tested and tempered for the job that lay ahead of them.
          As I thought about this point in God’s people’s history I got to wondering if we aren’t experiencing something similar in our lives?  Honestly, in our nation, we have had it pretty good for a long time.  Sure, every-once-in-a-while someone will feel some persecution, but as a whole, we live in religious peace.  Have we become soft?  Are we so used to the peace of the religious world that we are ineffective in the war with satan?  Are certain anti-spiritual forces testing our resolve and preparing us to do battle with evil? 
          The Israelites struggled with God’s lessons.  Let’s remain vigilant in what He is trying to do in us and for us.  Who knows when and where the next spiritual battle will be waged so let’s be prepared to be God’s fighting force!
          Think About It!

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