Worship

 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him.
Judges 10:6 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jdg.10.6.ESV

'Ah, those primitive Israelites!' we might assume, worshipping their obsolete Canaanite gods. We might be tempted to distance ourselves from such paganism. Yet we could always do with a bit of soul searching.

The gods of our age might not necessarily be literal false gods. Yet they may be the idols of society around us. We could be worshipping things like money, sex and power.

The God who carried Israel from Egypt and brought them into the promised land is worthy of all worship. The God who delivers us from sin and will bring us to the new creation deserves all our praise. God forbid that we should forsake Him.

If we do forsake Him and start to feel the miserable consequences of our rebellion, we must cry out to Him for mercy. Maybe He will answer us with deliverance. Our salvation depends on His unfailing love, not upon our performance.

'God, forbid that we should do evil against You. If we do, please have mercy upon us by the blood of Christ, in whose name we pray, amen'

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