"When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was prince in Israel, but he fell into sin through Baal and died" (v. 1). This verse testifies to the fact that Israel's power and authority depended on her faithfulness to God. As long as she was faithful, her words carried power and authority. But they weakened when sin separated them from God. When Achan took the accursed things, Israel lost power and fled before their enemies (Joshua 7:1-5). Our power, authority and ultimate victory hinge on out faithfulness to God.
God told Israel that He was their God; who formed them into a nation in the land of Egypt and executed their deliverance. They had no other God or Saviour besides Him. As long as they recognized this fact and remained faithful to Him, they were blessed. But when they ate and filled, their hearts were exalted and they forgot God. Being filled should have produced gratitude to God but because of the deceitfulness of their hearts, they attributed the blessings to themselves. Hod became a stranger to them.
Let us not condemn Israel because we too are often guilty of the same sin. How many times has God blessed us and we have failed to acknowledge Him? We rather forget Him and attribute our success to other factors.
Ask God for His mercy. Count your blessings, one by one, and for each of them acknowledge that God is the source.
Ask God for mercy and forgiveness for your failure to recognize His numerous blessings.
©Scripture Union Nigeria
REMAIN BLESSED!
