When you read the old testament, you can see a pattern happening between God and His people. God’s people sin against Him and they become oppressed by other nations because God is no longer with them. They then cry out to Him, and He is utterly merciful to a people who have previously disrespected Him, and He rescues them. They are then in a period of peace and serving God, but eventually, they gravitate back into sin and into the same cycle again.

Pattern: Sin, Oppression, Repentance, Deliverance, Peace

Firstly, we have to see that this is also us, and secondly, we need to heed the warning. We have the same nature and potential, which can lead us into the same cycle. We see similar stories in our lives where we fall into distress and trouble, and then we seek God, but when we are rescued and comfortable, we fall out with God and run back to the pleasures of the world. Is it that we must be oppressed, distressed and in crisis to see that we need God? Is it only then will we serve God, and when things are great, we turn against Him because we think we do not need Him? As Paul would say, God forbid.

Judges 2:6-23

⁶ When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. ⁷ And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. ⁹ And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. ¹⁰ And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

¹¹ And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. ¹² And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.  For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 

So, when God’s people cried because of their oppression, the LORD had mercy upon them. Even when they chose this path, they blatantly disregarded Him and His words, and they did not deserve it. God had mercy so many times upon them. And the interesting thing is that God knows the future. He knew even at this point that they would turn again away from Him but yet still He has mercy on them and saves them.

¹⁹ But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 

Judges 10:6-16

The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth….

….so that Israel was severely distressed.

And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore, I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” So, they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

Yes, it may be true that we may not outrightly go and serve other gods of the many religions around us, but we serve other things above God. We put many things first, and He becomes last on our list. He should mean the most to us, but we spend the least time with Him. Do we even know who He is? We subtly drift away by extremely small steps, and this is the slow poison that’s the worst. It is the worst because we don’t even realise how fast we have drawn away from Him before it becomes so difficult to return, headed to the path of eternal destruction.

Thankfully, our God is merciful, so it is not too late for us to choose Him above all else. Seeing this part of God’s merciful character, knowing that this is the same God we serve, and knowing that He will never change, we should celebrate His mercies. The Bible tells us that His mercies are new every morning, that it never comes to an end. His love for us never ceases. Can we even imagine a love like this, greater than any love we have or will ever have?

Lamentations 3:22-23

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;^[a]
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

So, let us take the time to really meditate on how great His mercies and love for us are. Let us have a heart that is grateful for it, and let us not grieve God and disrespect Him by stomping on that mercy by doing exactly what He says not to do.

So, let us celebrate Him, His mercies and His love, and be aware of how we choose to live. Peter says it so well here:

1 Peter 5:8-11

⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.