What Are You Sparing? (Judges 1:27-36; 2:1-3)

What Are You Sparing? (Judges 1:27-36; 2:1-3)

Unlike in academics where a pass mark is established and various pass levels, like excellent, very good, fail, etc., are agreed, there is no graduated grading in obedience. There are only two possible outcomes: pass and fail. Though easy to pass if we are determined, there is only one pass mark: 100 percent. Right from Adam, God has never hidden this fact from anyone; there is no such thing as obeying Him 99 percent; the remaining 1 percent is strong enough to wipe off the 99 percent and our score is ‘fail’.

When God sent King Saul to destroy Amalek, He was serious. However, Saul reminded God that he was wiser than Him, so he spared the king of Amalek and spared the good-looking animals for ‘sacrifice’ unto the Lord. Yes, that’s correct – we tell God that we are wiser when we partially obey Him. And, how could anyone compete with God and prevail? God reminded Saul that he was nothing when He elevated him to the top and it was now time to send him back to where he belonged.

God is the greatest project manager in heaven and on earth. He has a plan that cannot be faulted. He knows when action is required and He knows when there is slack time. The critical path for each project is ever before Him, so it pains Him when He allocates a task and you refuse to do it or you partially complete it; that means that His project will fail or be delivered with extra time and extra budget. Now, the most painful failure is one that occurs when you have the capacity to succeed. God has the power to achieve His targets and every failure is a great disappointment and a destiny destroyer for His children.

In Exodus 23:31-33, God told the Israelites: “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” God is always very clear with His instructions and this is the reason we cannot hold Him faulty when He rebukes us as a result of our sins. Despite His clear instructions regarding what to do to the inhabitants of Canaan, Israel decided to not drive them out completely. In their reasoning, they needed to use some of them as laborers and collect tributes from others, so, in Judges 2:1-3, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and told them that, because of their disobedience, the people they refused to drive out will be thorns to their flesh and their gods will be a snare unto them. Is it any wonder that we have an unending suicide bombing within Israel and a continuous war between Israel and their neighbors?

Friends, we need to be careful how we handle God’s instructions. He is the only one who knows the end from the beginning and His commandments are just and perfect. We hurt ourselves and our futures and destinies when we choose to disobey Him or selectively act on His Words. So, when God says you should completely drop your habits, do you retain some? When God says that you should come out of a group, do you occasionally go there and feel that God will understand? When God says that you should give out 10 items, do you give out nine and expect God to understand that you have tried? The things we decide to spare may become thorns in our flesh in future and we can only have ourselves to blame. God deserves our total obedience and I pray that we will understand this from today. 

Have a wonderful week.
God bless you and God bless Nigeria!


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