Sun 27 Oct

When something is abandoned it does not take long before deterioration and destruction set in. When a house is abandoned it does not take long before stones are thrown through windows. It does not take long before the garden is overgrown and the weeds take over, even if you define a weed as a plant that is out of place. When a car is abandoned on the side of the road it does not take long before the wheels disappear or it is set on fire.

What happens when we abandon God? As we move through the period of Judges we gain a glimpse of what happens when God is abandoned. Just as there are tell-tale signs of a house or garden or car being abandoned there are tell-tale signs of God abandoned. Judges Two gives a glimpse of some of those signs. Let me highlight three of them.

The covenant between God and His people is discarded and no longer kept. It is the covenant with God that held the nation together, They are a privileged people whom God had graciously covenanted with and they trashed the covenant. Second, they did not pass on their knowledge of God to the extent that a whole generation came into existence not having a relationship with God. Third, they had an attitude which led to a hearing problem. They no longer listened to God’s voice.

Does any of this sound familiar? Is the world we live in any different from the period of Judges where God is abandoned?