Tag: did not keep

143. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

1 Kings 11:9   And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.

Deuteronomy 3:26    But the LORD was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again.

Deuteronomy 9:8  Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.

2 Samuel 6:7    And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Psalms 78:58-60    For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.  When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.

Psalms 90:7-8    For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.  You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Proverbs 4:23     Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.  And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,  therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me

Ben Dunson; “As the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, Moses preached to them about what God would require of his people so that they would not be exiled from the land once they had taken possession of it. Deuteronomy, in fact, is largely comprised of Moses’ sermons expressing God’s commitment to Israel, and Israel’s necessary response of faithfulness to God. Among the many things that Israel needs to know are the qualifications for its future kings, which are laid out for us in Deut 17:14-20. The king must be an Israelite (v. 15); he “must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses” (v. 16); he must “not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away” to idolatry (v. 17); he must not “acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (v. 17); and finally, he must diligently and humbly keep God’s law (v. 18). In sum, Israel’s king must avoid trusting in earthly power (symbolized by horses), idolatry, resting in wealth, and neglecting God’s commands.

“Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen” (see Deut 17:16). These large numbers are not necessarily sinful, but as Deuteronomy warns, such a large accumulation of horses will tempt Israel’s kings to trust in their own military might, rather than in the power of God to save his people.

Solomon’s love of these women violates God’s warning to his people that they should “not enter into marriage with them, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods” 

Solomon, as a king, is very different from us, but as a sinner with divided loyalties and a propensity to turn away from God, he is all too like us today. In fact, we can see in his life many of the most pressing temptations that all believers face in every age, namely, the temptations that come along with money, power, and love, as well as the idolatry that so easily takes root in our hearts.  If our hearts are not fixed on our Lord, love for other stuff, trusting in our own wealth and power will become all-consuming, and as with Solomon, will easily lead our hearts away from God so that we too become “not wholly true to the Lord [our] God”.

We must allow the word of God to correct us in the same way we allow it to encourage us. Stay in God’s word and learn from it.  Listen to it speak to your heart.  Cling to it, believe it, rely on it, and obey it with all your heart, soul and mind.  There is nothing more precious to the soul than to be in His word and then to be led by God to repent and turn away from that which is not pleasing and honoring to Him.

74. Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine

Joshua 9:3   But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

1 Chronicles 10:13-14     So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.  He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

Isaiah 30:1-2    “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

Proverbs 3:5-6     Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

James 1:5     If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

The passage from Joshua would give us some insight into how critical it is in all things to seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit.  When reading this it all seems like the Israelites did what was right.  They listened to these people and looked at the physical evidence to collaborate what they were saying and came to a conclusion.  It all seemed to add up and make sense.  But sometimes lies are spoken and the truth is far from what is being told to us and clouds what we are able to perceive.  We think we are making the right decision and following our heart in line with our understanding of God’s word.  We should understand our need, in all things great and small, to seek Holy Spirit wisdom, understanding, knowledge, awareness, and perception.  Seeking God is never wrong but not seeking Him almost always is.

History of turning away

Psalms 78:38  Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.  He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.   How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!  They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.   They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,   when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.  He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.   He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.   He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.   He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost.  He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.  He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.   He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.   He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.  Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.   He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.   And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.   He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.   Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies, but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.

How many times in scripture does it speak of the great signs God performed in Egypt before all of the peoples of both Egyptians and Israelites.  Many of these references speak not only of God’s power and might in this provision but of the lack of faith and trust of the Israelites in God after just witnessing His mighty hand at work.  How hard must it have been for those who did not think this way. Their heart, mind, and soul was truly amazed,thankful, and fully anchored in and on God, yet most of the people around them were grumbling, ungrateful, and so soon forgetting the greatness God performed before their very eyes.  How hard must it have been to stand firm and not fall into the same thinking being bombarded day after day by those around them.  God is our rock, refuge, power, strength, and protector.  He is ever present and steadfast in love.  He is the creator, author, and finisher of all there is.  Do not neglect Him and an opportunity in this life to be fully dedicated to humbly serving, following and obeying Him.