My son, fear the Lord and the king,
Proverbs 24:21-22
and do not join with those who do otherwise,
for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
God wants His people to remain faithful to Him no matter what. In fact, the very first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me”. Yet, if we look throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, God’s people betray and leave Him time and again.
Imagine God’s heartbreak as He makes a covenant, a promise, with His chosen people and then watch as they break the faith. When that happens, God wants them to repent and turn back, but He must carry out judgement. In Exodus 32, the Israelites make a golden calf idol while God is giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, just as they left Egypt and saw God work miracles through Moses. God judges those who betrayed by putting them to death.
After the next generation repented and entered into Canaan, they begin to worship foreign gods again. They are taken over by the kingdoms in that area (read Joshua and Judges). When King Solomon comes along and begins to marry foreign wives and worship their gods (and building them temples), that’s the last straw. God allows the Kingdom of Israel to be split into two and taken over by Assyria and Babylon.
Why do God’s people keep betraying?
It’s because of sin. God’s people didn’t fear the Lord as they should, and took His commandments lightly. They joined with those who did not worship God. How do you think God felt?
Imagine you were married (or in a relationship), and your partner (spouse) cheated on you, and you. After you found out what they had done, how would you feel? What would you do?
Or imagine someone you work closely with conspired against you behind your back to get you fired. How would you feel?
God warns His people of those who would lead His people astray many times in the Old and New Testaments. He wants us to have an unchanging faith and stand up for the truth of His Word. Earlier verses in Proverbs 24 say this,
A wise man is full of strength,
Proverbs 24:5-6
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
If we are wise with God’s Word, we are strong and can win in the face of adversity and remain faithful. But if we lose, then it shows we are not as strong as we think we are.
If you faint in the day of adversity,
Proverbs 24:10
your strength is small.
We are called to be strong and courageous as God told Joshua. We are not to join with those who would seek to bring down God’s people, but instead fight back with the armor of God (His Word, Ephesians 6:10-18).
So, let us be wise, faithful, and true to God’s Word. I pray we all can take these words to heart.
Peace
Hope and Peace for God 