June 24, 2023
What does it say?
Israel went through cycles of disobedience, slavery, cries of repentance, deliverance, and peace. God’s deliverance came in the form of a judge who delivered Israel.
What does it mean?
Israel seemed to live out the now-commonly-quoted warning that “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” The same cycle of sin showed up time after time. When things were calm and peaceful in the land, Israel would drift away from their commitment to God and worship other gods instead. Rather than thanking and worshiping the God Who blessed them, they grew ungrateful and bored, seeking fulfillment in the false gods of their neighbors. God demonstrated His frustration with the Israelites, but also His mercy and patience.
How should I respond?
God is genuinely saddened and angry when His people sin. However, today’s passage teaches us that no matter how badly we mess up or how far we stray, our Father is waiting for us to return (Luke 15:11-24). What sin do you seem to repeat in a cycle? Are you trying to find fulfillment in something or someone other than the Lord? The first step to breaking the cycle is to get things right with God in prayer, accept His forgiveness, and forgive yourself. What guardrails do you need to establish to avoid falling back into the cycle? Learning from your own history will keep you from repeating it.