Any difference?

I'm reading the book of Judges right now. I'm only through the first 6 chapters, but the unmistakable cycle of the Israelites turning from God, then being redeemed by Him once again, can be clearly seen. I've often wondered, when reading the Old Testament, how the Israelites, after being blessed by God soo much and redeemed by His great Strength and Power soo many times, can simply turn from Him to worship other gods. They make a habit of it, and it is easy to criticize them for being so short-sighted and having such little faith in the ONE True God who has revealed Himself to them on numerous occassions. Thankfully, because God will not let His name be slandered or mocked, His mighty right hand always comes through to save this chosen people of His.

The Lord made it clear when He gave Moses the 10 Commandments that first and foremost, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). Secondly He said, "You shall not make for yourself an idol... You shall not bow down to [the idols] or worship them..." (Exodus 20:4-5). Besides clearly stating it, don't forget when the Lord saved Israel and displayed his love, mercy, compassion, for His chosen people. He brought them out of Egypt, out of their slavery and bondage; He parted the sea so that they could make a successful escape! This is just one of the many examples of God showing these qualities with respect to His chosen people, the Israelites. Despite these facts, they turn to worthless idols and heathen behavior time and again.

As stated before, it is easy to be the critic as we read these testimonies of old, after all, hindsight is 20/20. But herein lies my question and challenge... how is the short-sighted behavior of the Israelites any different than the children of God (the "New Israel" as we are called) today? Even committed Christ followers, those chosen of God (because "we did not chose Him but He chose us" John 15:16), have problems with chronic sin - habits or behaviors that they just can't seem to kick, even though they know full well that the acts/thoughts are sinful. It is like the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:14-25. I guess it comforts me to know that even the greatest missionary in the history of the church had this problem - that his sinful nature won at times, regardless of how many times he had tasted in the heavenly Gift (and we know that Paul tasted this Gift full well, as He actually saw the Resurrected Christ when he got knocked from his horse on his way to Damascus and became a Christian because of it - see Acts 9 or Acts 22). I would contend, therefore, that my behavior is no different than the nature of the Israelites of old. And as disgusting as it makes me feel, I am just like the Israelites of old except for one REALLY IMPORTANT FACT. That being: I have had the perfect sacrifice made on my behalf, that of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:27, 9:26-28). This is actually a REALLY BIG DEAL, because no matter how disgusting I may feel or think I am like the Israelites of old, it simply isn't true! I am a NEW creation in Christ! "The old is gone, behold, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). The blood of Jesus' sacrifice covers me and cleanses me from all sin! This is a mystery and nothing short of an ABSOLUTE MIRACLE. So, rather than ending this blog post on a negative note like I thought I was going to, I will rejoice, as Paul does at the end of his passage in Romans 7, "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Because, "If we confess our sins [Jesus] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteouness" (1 John 1:9). I swear that if the Bible didn't say that in black and white I probably wouldn't believe it since it is soo difficult to comprehend. But dang it; it's the Truth because the Bible does say it, so Hallelujah and Amen!

Do not think that this means as a follower of Jesus you are free to sin. "...do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature" (Galatians 5:13), and be aware of the fact that, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace" (Hebrews 6:4-6).... That is a whole other message, which I'll write about once I wrap my head around it (which I won't ever completely be able to do obviously, though my feeble attempts do produce fruit on occassion).