Whether it is not to eat in their bedroom, to empty the dishwasher so the dirty dishes don’t pile up, or to fold and put away their clothes when they come out of the dryer, as parents we communicate our expectations to our children. As often as we remind them, it isn’t long before we see clean clothes in a pile on the floor…again; or a mass of dirty dishes appearing in the sink…again. After repeated instructs, there is still evidence of a bowl of Peanut Butter Panic being eaten in someone’s bedroom…again. It’s frustrating as a parent to see your children ignore what you’ve instructed them to do over and over again.
As frustrating as it is to continually find half-drank bottles of water around the house, think of what God was going through with the Israelites. This morning in my devotions I was in chapter 10 in the book of Judges. Verse 6 stuck out. It reads: “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
Again.
The book of Judges documents Israel going through cycles of ignoring God, the resulting bondage, crying out to God and then God’s deliverance only to start it all over again. What makes this so devastating is that they weren’t just repeatedly ignoring God. They were worshiping and sacrificing to man-made gods pertaining to wealth, fertility, pleasure and others foreign to the God that has delivered them time and time again.
So I ask you, are we that different? Granted, we are not praying to something as ridiculous as the god of a good harvest or the goddess of clear skies. But I would venture to say that many of us have something (or someone) that we’re repeatedly putting in line before our King. Something that we’re convicted of doing, we then seek forgiveness, experience freedom and then do it again. I can easily look back on my life and see instances like that.
In all honesty, I’ll get over a pile of clothes temporarily on the bed. An ice cream bowl on a desk isn’t the end of the world. But placing false gods or idols in place of my Savior once, let alone repeatedly? We can’t allow that to happen to us…or our children.
Holy Father, forgive us for those times when we’ve continually repeated evil in Your eyes; for those times when we’ve lost sight of the times You have delivered us. As we live with the Holy Spirit in us may we step confidently in constant remembrance of Your goodness. I pray that we do not forget the Ebenezer stones that have been placed along our journeys showcasing Your rescue of us. Father, for those of us who have been blessed with the gift of children, I boldly pray that we would be an open book declaring Your good deeds to them so they may grow in an abundant knowledge of You as well. Thank you, merciful Father.
