Old Testament Scripture Reading: (Judges 2:6 – 13 KJV)
Jdg 2:6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
Jdg 2:7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
Jdg 2:8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
Jdg 2:9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
Jdg 2:10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
Jdg 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
Jdg 2:12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
Jdg 2:13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
New Testament Scripture Reading: ( Romans 1:18 – 25 NASB)
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Transforming Power Statements:
1) When there was good godly leadership, the people were prone to walk more closely with God and after there was not, chaos and ungodliness set in and there were no limits to the evil things that people would do, this can be seen over in the Bible, and even in our present-day culture as a result of rejecting God from the center of the culture which creates a vacuum that produces evil of every stripe!
2) Throughout the history of the Church this same pattern has occurred over and over again, and it can easily be seen by the increase of violence within the culture as we see each day, and such behavior shall be on the rise as a result; but we the people of the most High God must use this knowledge as fuel to produce “Love that overcomes hate”.
3) The complete victory of God, which is given to us by faith through His Holy Word, The Bible, as well as His Holy Spirit’s onboard guidance, must be transformed into fuel to overcome hate, ignorance, and selfishness that exudes from our fallen unredeemed culture, whom God has commissioned us to reach with His Gospel the only antidote to heal these evil conditions.