The Beginning Of The End

The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?
And I have also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.'"
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Judges 2:1-5
God is a covenant keeper. He never reneges on His word. He will always fulfill His word as long as we remain loyal to the terms and conditions of His word. Whenever it appears to us as if God is not fulfilling His word, it is only because we might have moved away from obeying His commands or because, on His divine calendar, the time is simply not right for the full release of His promised blessings. The former was definitely the case with the Israelites. Israel forgot Yahweh when they started enjoying the blessings of the Promised Land. That was idolatry!

God was clear in laying out His case with them. His words were poignant: "I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.' "

The picture couldn't be clearer; the Israelites had incurred the wrath of God because of their refusal to keep their part of the covenant God made with them. They turned to the gods of Canaan and rejected the God who brought them out of slavery into a land flowing with milk and honey. God had no choice but to withhold the blessings of His covenant from them. He would no longer drive out the Canaanites. He would allow them and their gods to become traps to them.
Turning away from exclusively loving God is always the beginning of the end of our blessings.
It takes us to a place called Bokim. Bokim means weepers. Bokim is a place of regrets.

God's desire is not for us to become weepers because we reject Him and make all other kinds of things our god. God's desire for us is to be a blessed people of joy because we put Him first in our lives! It is very easy for our blessings to replace the "Blesser" -- God! That is always the beginning of the end. When we allow our material blessings to take precedence over our relationship with the God who gave us those blessings, it is only a matter of time before everything comes tumbling down. When our Time, Talents, and Treasures become our own, and God is kicked out of those things, it is always the beginning of the end. That is not God's desire.

Would you pause and take stock of your life today? Does God really have first place in your life?
Prayer: Father, please help me to truly put you first in all things. Amen