Good Men Bring A Temporary Rescue

God had selected Abraham from the huge mass of people that He created, to be the father of His chosen people. He made a promise to him, that his descendants would be countless and that they would bless the nations of the world. God would go on to bless Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to such a great degree that it couldn’t be contained, and they began to really stand out in a crowd. They stood out so much that the Pharoah of Egypt decided to subjugate and oppress them in an effort to contain them. He sorely underestimated the divine blessing that they carried. They needed deliverance and God sent them one of their own to bring them out of Egypt and take them to their promise land. Moses was faithful throughout his life, in bringing 6 million Israelites to the cusp of their blessing.

Joshua then continued from where Moses left off, by taking the people into Canaan and taking possession of the land for themselves. Moses and Joshua didn’t have it easy, as it was not easy to lead men and women who had adopted heathen ways in Egypt and had a minuscule understanding of the God of their fathers. Idolatry and rebellion seemed to be deeply entrenched in them so much so, that God waited till an entire generation died out, before leading a new generation into the land He had promised to them. After Joshua’s time, it was unfortunate but there arose a generation that knew nothing of the God of their forefathers. They didn’t know of His mighty acts of power on behalf of His people. So, they constantly oscillated between a state of unbelief and temporary trust in God.

So, God in His sovereignty allowed enemy armies to come and ravage the land and oppress His people. When the people couldn’t bear it and would cry out to Him, He would relent and send them a deliverer. These deliverers didn’t just bring victory over the enemy, they also served as judges who oversaw the people’s social and spiritual needs. This was not a permanent fix as the people were quick to forget about God when a judge died. It’s tiring to just read of the ups and downs in the spiritual lives of these people and yet they are not very different from us!

Thought:

No human can fill the God-shaped void in each of our lives.