Ignoring the Solution for Decades

Scripture: So the Lord let them be conquered by King Jabin of Hazor, in Canaan. The commander-in-chief of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoiim. He had nine hundred iron chariots and made life unbearable for the Israelis for twenty years. But finally they begged the Lord for help. Judges 4:2-3

Observation: Israel sins some more, is conquered by a king of Canaan, and exists under this foreign occupation until the call upon the Lord again. This "unbearable" time when they failed to call upon the Lord lasted ... 20 years!

Israel has been told - and in fact has already seen in three previous cycles - how they are protected when they honor Yahweh, then defeated when they fail and turn to other gods, then saved again when they return to Yahweh. Yet here, we see the fail-and-return part of the cycle require almost a generation. There are adults who will be part of the coming battle against Sisera who have never known a time in their life when the Canaan king wasn't oppressing's them. They know that there is a way out of this ... honor God. However, they fail to do this for two decades.

Application: There is data that proves those who believe in Jesus have more hope, more joy, and more peace than those who don't. Not a total amount of these things, but more. So we sit in a time in human history when so many people need hope and joy and peace ... and there is almost no talk about Jesus as the solution.

I can talk all I want about the work of satan in doing this, but the truth is that mankind is in full collaboration. This is our nature. Not only is God a last resort we seek in times of trouble, but sometimes he is the resort we turn to long after the "last" resort was pursued years before.

Israel - the chosen people whom have been rescued over and over through tremendous miracles reinforced into their cultural psyche of centuries - didn't even try to seek God's help for decades. Today, the United States - a people blessed with the greatest natural and economic riches ever conceived in human history, and with its own history of miraculous salvation required at every turn to bring this nation into its current state - doesn't just fail to return to God, but now actively rejects God and even actively rejects the idea that our nation was ever dominated by a culture of Christian faith throughout all aspects of society.

How long until we return to God? Decades? Ever? We know we desire peace, hope, joy. Why won't we simply seek it in the most obvious and time-proven way?

Prayer: Lord, we need the revival of our communities, towns, cities, regions, states, and nation. It is daunting to think of the evil inertia at work in our country. This is a challenge only you can overcome. May it be your will to do so. Amen.