God Got Angry

Judges 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. It takes a lot to get God angry. He is actually slow to anger. If I were God, I wouldn't be as patient with me as He is. Here in Judges, we find that Israel has provoked God to anger. How did they do it? They forsook, or turned away from God and they followed other gods. It's almost impossible to imagine that this could happen after all that God had done for them. He had brought them so far, and they had possessed the promised land, but as the new generation grew up after Joshua was gone, God was forgotten. They began to worship the gods that were around them and God got angry. God allowed them to be defeated by their enemies, and become their servants. On the surface it seems unfair because their enemies did not serve God, but there was one big difference between Israel and their enemies. Israel knew Jehovah. They saw Him part the Red Sea. They saw Him make the bitter water sweet, and provide manna and quail in the desert. They saw Him defeat army after army and kings of many nations. They experienced the glory and holiness of God Almighty. That's why God's anger was kindled when they turned from Him to bow down before pieces of stone and wood. We too must be careful not to make idols out of the gods of this world. They are all around us, and they are worshipped by the masses. But we have seen the handiwork of God. We have seen the power of forgiveness and the transformation that redemption brings into the heart of a believer. Let's not be too quick to judge the Israelites lest we find ourselves in the same place. Let's run back to the Father and have our passion renewed so that He might be Lord of our heart.