The Repentance of Israel

Samuel Colgate, the founder of the Colgate business empire, was a devout Christian, and he told of an incident that took place in the church he attended. During an evangelistic service, an invitation ... More

Repentance

Under heavy persecution from the Ammonites, the tribes of Israel began to pray for grace and confessing their wrong doings (v. 10). They put away all the foreign idols to serve the Lord. The Lord spoke sternly to His people (vv. 11-14). He reminded them of how He had granted them seven great national deliverances in reply to their appeals and yet they had not remained true to Him. He said that mercy must yield to judgment.

Would the Almighty give them another chance?  The people prayed and got rid of their pagan deities (v. 15). The longsuffering of God was again revealed as a battle line was drawn in Gilead against the enemy (vv.16-18). This invasion of the Ammonites was presumably at the end of the eighteen-year oppression. The people of the Israelite tribes assembled themselves together, with possibly a new morale and a will to resist following their repentance and return to the Lord. God again showed His compassion to the Israelites and directed His indignation toward their enemies.

Application

Why do people so often wait for a crisis before turning to God? I must continually be asking myself if I have turned over every area of my life to His control.

Judges 10:10-18 (English Standard Version)


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