And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
Judges 3:7, ESV
Throughout the book of Judges, you will find these words repeated. It happens prior to this instance and continues throughout. God would save them from calamity by sending a judge. The people would get better and then would fall into even worse habits after the judge passed. We need boundaries, and we need to have people enforce those boundaries. It may not be that we are truly unable to follow the rules, but in many of them, we make a choice to do contrary to them. Think about the speed limit. Growing up, I learned of the “five-mile fudge.” This is the idea that if we stay within a five-mile range of the speed limit, then we will be given grace and won’t be pulled over. Though many law enforcement officials may give that grace, it isn’t a requirement, and if you are found going over the speed limit by even one mile per hour, you can be ticketed. God’s grace is the same for us. We like to play with God’s grace and act as though we are given a range in which we can fudge things a little, but in all reality, if we just break it a little, we are found to have broken it completely. There is no such thing as a white lie. If you take a taster grape in the grocery store, it is still stealing. If we partake a little, we are guilty of the whole. Thankfully, God’s mercy remained with His chosen people and extended to us as He sent us Jesus Christ to free us from our sins. He hears our cries even when the suffering we feel is because we have been unfaithful. He brings us forgiveness because that is who our God is. He doesn’t make our wrongs OK, but He forgives us and restores us to Himself, seeking to keep us from doing the same wrongs again. His desire is that we know His peace and will leave behind the idols that keep ensnaring us, and our hearts turn away from evil and turn to Him and His good.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.