1 Chronicles 5:20 and 25-26 - They were helped in
fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them,
because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered
their prayers, because they trusted in him….
But they were unfaithful to the God of their
fathers and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of
the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the
half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor,
Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.
The tribes of Ruben…Gad….and the half tribe of Manasseh…had
banded together on the east bank of the Jordan River. They had requested that this piece of land be
divided between them….seeing it would be a great place for them to herd their
sheep. But the land was not without habitation and so these men found
themselves fighting against great groups of people to keep their inheritance.
When they called out to God to help them…he simply went into
battle with them and gave them victory. They divided the abundant loot and
spoils of war among them…and praised him for his mighty power to help them in
battle. The trust they had in God…and the heart to ask for his help increased
their territories and enlarged their pocketbooks.
But when they forgot God…and let the foreign Gods of the nations
they had destroyed seep back into their daily routines….God raised up nations
to capture them. The captivity brought
harsh judgment upon their choices to abandon God…and worship the false Gods of
other nations. God had to prove to them
that he was still in control…and that they had abandoned the one God that could
help them.
It is a lesson to me that our love for God needs to be
consistent. We can’t love him on Sunday…and
leave him at the back door when we exit….so we can do whatever we want the rest
of the week. We are supposed to carry God’s love with us out that door…even lock
it up tight in our heart…so it can help us make godly decisions every moment of
every day.
The world is just like the land the tribes of Rueben….Gad…and
half of Manasseh faced. Satan has placed
a trap at every corner…especially designed to draw our hearts way from the one
person who can help us overcome anything. If we remember the words that God gave to
Moses in Deuteronomy 4:29….. “But if from there you seek the
LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” …that trap satan set for us will be recognized….and
we will make a choice for God...and escape
his judgment on our bad choices.
Father…I thank you for the reminder that you want to be my
God 24/7. Help me to be consistent in my
offering of love for you…not just when it is convenient …or when other people
are looking. Show me how to carry your love in my heart all the time…and lock
its truths in my soul to use when satan sets a trap meant to pull me away from
you. Build in me a trust that can not be
separated by anything that satan can tempt me with. Amen.
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