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Paradise?
When the curtain opens on Gideon in Judges 6, Israel’s brutal 400-year stint of slavery in Egypt is far in the past, as are their years of wandering in the wilderness. Joshua’s military conquests from a previous century have nestled them deep in the heart of Canaan, a land “flowing with milk and honey”. They are right where Yahweh intended them to be all along: poised and positioned for His blessing.
This ... was paradise.
But Israel’s experience in Gideon’s day reveals a stunning reality: we can spoil paradise and ruin God’s abundant blessing. And the quickest, most surefire way to do it is to forget the One who gave us the blessing and victory in the first place.
Gideon and his people are suffering from this lapse in memory. They have become enthralled with the promised land and have disregarded the Promise Giver—a mind-set clearly seen in their neglect of God’s commands.
One reason the Israelites disobeyed God’s command was their fear of the “iron chariots” employed by some of their enemies (Judg. 1:19, NASB). The Israelites’ military prowess was primitive compared to the Canaanites’.
With no sophisticated weaponry, Israel had fared well only when fighting by infantry on foot, especially in the hill country where the terrain kept the enemy’s chariots from functioning effectively. Yet God had called them to claim every portion of the land—even the flatland.
Israel was making decisions based on their limited supplies instead of on the boundless resources of their God. If God had commanded their enemies’ destruction, He had also taken into account their iron chariots and had planned to equip His people for victory regardless. No weapon could stand against the power of Yahweh. If only Israel had believed that and lived according to it.
If only you and I would do the same.
The Israelites thought having access to some of the promised land was better than having to fight for all of it. So, comfortable and complacent, they chose to enjoy the relative quiet rather than risk upsetting their equilibrium by obeying God completely.
Partial obedience is always a temptation. Our shortsightedness often makes partial obedience appear to be the best, safest, most reasonable choice, but it always leads to future hardship, eventually making our lives more difficult than they need to be.
Are you partially obeying God in any area of your life?
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About this Plan
When we hear the name Gideon, most of us think about his 300 soldiers or a fleece spread beneath the evening sky. But Gideon's story is so much bigger than that. This is a story about God and His people—His love for them, as well as His strength operating in spite of, even through, their weakness.
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