Do Not Forget God
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Judges 8:1-35 and Psalm 30 (NIV)
(David Foo, SGM SGL)
READ:
Judges 8: 27-28, 33-34
”Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years.” (v27, 28)
”No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.” (v33, 34)
Psalm 30:11-12
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
OBSERVE:
Gideon was the fifth judge to lead the people of Israel during the era of Judges. Here we have an account of God’s people being oppressed by the Midianites. In chapter 8, we read about the complete victory that God had given to Gideon against the Midianites. In verse 28, we see that Midian was subdued and did not raise its head again. Even though God had given the Israelites victory, the people quickly turned their backs on God to worship a golden ephod made by Gideon (v27) and the Baals upon the death of Gideon (v33). What is even more astonishing is that the people did not remember the Lord their God, who had not only rescued them from all their enemies but had also given them 40 years of peace (v34).
APPLY:
As I look back on 2023, there were many situations where I knew that only God could have given me victory and delivered me from those difficult circumstances. Yet oftentimes I attributed the successes to my own strength and wisdom, forgetting that it was God who had delivered me from the difficulties. Now, looking forward to 2024, I am going to put the words of Psalm 30 into practice, to follow King David’s example of remembering God’s goodness when he obtained help and answered prayer: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy…that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.” (v11 and 12)
DO:
The beginning of 2024 is a good time to work on the following:
1) Journaling, to remember His goodness. This is so that when I look back at the end of 2024, I will not forget His goodness and deliverance in times of need.
2) Centering my life around God’s Word.
3) Participating in a discipleship band community. I need to be reminded that even as I grow older each year, I am not necessarily wiser. I am still so easily distracted and deceived by the evil one. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
PRAY:
Lord, let me take Your commandments seriously. I pray that I may love You, my God, with all my heart, strength, and my mind. Forgive me, as I am easily distracted by the world and deceived by the evil one. Yet, I know that through it all, I can always count on You for Your unwavering faithfulness and mercy to see me safely to my eternal home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
