BACKSLIDING ISRAEL

 

Before Joshua died he entered the children of Israel into a covenant to serve God who brought them out of the ‘house of bondage’. The last chapter of the book of Joshua records the people promising four times that they would not abandon their God, that they would serve Him and obey His voice (Joshua 24:16,18,21,22,23).

The covenant came with three warnings as they were about to enter the promised land of the Canaanites: 1. Beware of social intercourse with them (Joshua 23:7; 2. Refrain from worshipping their false gods (vv 7-11); and 3. Avoid intermarriage with hem (v 12). Yet this is exactly what happened.

It only took one act of disobedience to lead the whole nation into centuries of spiritual decline, and this was it:  Israel failed to drive out all the heathen inhabitants of their promised land. Numerous unconquered cities remained (Judges 1:27-36). The tribe of Judah blamed the Philistines which introduced chariots of iron (Judges 1:19) but the real reason was that they had lost the power of the Lord through their lack of faith and their disobedience.

The people wept when an angel of the Lord came to them and confronted them about their failure to obey. He told them the Lord will not drive these inhabitants out for them but that they shall be as ‘thorns in their sides and their gods shall be a snare unto them’ as punishment (Judges 2:3,4; 21-23). It brings to remembrance the Lamanites whom the Lord said to Nephi would be ‘a scourge’ to his people to ‘stir them up in remembrance of Him’ and if they will not remember Him, they shall be the means to their destruction (2 Nephi 5:25).

When Joshua and the leaders of Israel who served under him died, the national spirit of Israel also died. There arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor what He had done for them (Judges 2:10,12). The covenant was soon broken and the vicious cycle of apostasy and repentance was born. How could Israel forget within one generation the God whom they worshipped? This is the period of time in ancient history where the inexhaustible mercy of Jehovah begins to show in earnest.

As the new generation intermarried and turned to idolatry of the Canaanites, ‘the hand of the Lord was against them for evil as He had sworn He would do’ (Judges 2:11-15; 3:6,7) but nevertheless, there was always mercy in the hope that they would return to Him. As they fell into the hands of the oppressors, the Lord would raise up judges to deliver them but once delivered, they would return to their former ways and corrupted themselves even more than before (v 16-19). It makes you want to weep…..

And this is the interesting part. They did not cry to the false gods they worshipped to deliver them but they cried to Jehovah (Judges 3:9). They knew full well who the real God was. So aggrieved was the Saviour about their backsliding and idolatry that He referred to their worship of false gods as ‘harlots with many lovers’ (Hosea 2:5; Jeremiah 3:1). This is heartbreaking as the Saviour always referred to His relationship with Israel as marriage.

He is the Bridegroom who is coming to take us as His bride in the everlasting covenant of love. May we always remember that and forsake the lovers of the world we hold onto today. We can do better than Israel of old.

As Israel, we have trodden worldly paths

That have left us battered, scarred,

And parched in search of love.

Our lovers were many but

Our hearts were empty.

At long last

We embrace the love that lasts,

We prepare for the wedding feast

And abandon our treacherous past.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Sending Forth the Bride by Danny Hahlbohm)

BUILT ON LOVE

 

I awoke early this morning with thoughts of the Second Coming. I reflected on how much warning to prepare we are getting from the Church leaders.  It occurred to me that some of us are prepared even now and are anxious to meet the Saviour while some of us will be desperately rushing about to ‘take up our cross and follow Him’ in hopes that our ‘death-bed repentance’ will consider us prepared.

To take up one’s cross means to forsake the world, deny yourself all ungodliness and every worldly lust and to keep His commandments (JST Matthew 16:25-29). I wonder if this can be done effectively in one day, one week, one year even. It’s like that silly question we are asked in Sunday School sometimes: “If you knew that Jesus was coming tomorrow, what would you do today?” 

What could you do today??? Nothing!!! What could you possibly accomplish in one day that would make up for years of not doing it??? It takes time for a man to evolve into who he should be and even longer to become like Christ….and this is what the aim is, that ‘when He appears we shall be like Him’ (Moroni 7:48).

To become like the Saviour, it is imperative that we get to know Him. Consider the parable of the Ten Virgins. The five foolish virgins ran off to buy oil for their lamps at the very last minute before the bridegroom came. They considered that only the oil was needed for entrance to the feast. In reality, there was much more….. they were meeting the bridegroom who said to them: “Ye know me not” (JST Matthew 25:11 or Matthew 25:12, footnote a)….and if you don’t know me, how can you be with me???

Elder Bednar outlined what is needful for us to come to know the Saviour: 1. Exercising Faith In Him; 2. Following Him; 3. Serving Him; 4. Believing Him (“If Ye Had Known Me” October GC 2016)

I have pondered on the requirements for the entrance to the wedding feast and wondered what would be at the root of them. I think it has to do with the Saviour comparing His coming to  marriage. What is marriage built upon? Love.

“He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me…..if a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:21-23)

Everything Elder Bednar suggested would develop in us love for Christ. How long do you think it would take us to accomplish that? A week, a month, a year? How about one day???

He will come and He will expect the bride to be ready….and He will know who loves Him…..for God will not be mocked…..

I would gladly give you some oil

Your empty lamp to fill,

If you could glean the sweat

From my furrowed brow

As I worked on the oil press

So diligently until now.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Filling Her Lamp by Dan Burr)

A HOLY PLACE

 

 

What would your answer be if someone asked you what you would do to prepare, if you knew the Saviour was coming tomorrow? I know what it should be: NOTHING! What could you possibly do in one day to make up for years of not doing it?

Consider what Elder Dallin H. Oaks said we should be doing in preparation for the Saviour’s return: “Are we following the Lord’s command, ‘Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly’? (D&C 87:8).

“What are those ‘holy places’? Surely they include the temple and its covenants faithfully kept. Surely they include a home where children are treasured and parents are respected. Surely the holy places include our posts of duty assigned by priesthood authority, including missions and callings faithfully fulfilled in branches, wards, and stakes” (in Conference Report, April 2004, 7-8 or Ensign May 2004, 9-10)

How many of the things he has mentioned could we cram into one day? Could keeping the temple covenants for one day obliterate years of neglect? Could loving and respecting our children and parents for one day wipe away all the impatience, intolerance, anger, abuse, disobedience or animosity that we might have been inflicting on each other for a prolonged time? How about fulfilling a mission in one day or faithfully fulfilling a calling?

In the abovementioned talk, Elder Oaks says that “we need to make both temporal and spiritual preparations for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming”. He also said that the preparation most likely to be neglected is the spiritual one. The Book of Mormon teaches us the importance of this.

Sixteen years after the signs of the Saviour’s birth, the Nephites faced a huge threat of extinction by the Gadianton robbers. The governor of this band, Giddianhi, made a lofty demand of the governor of the land, Lachoneous, that the Nephites surrender all their lands. Lachoneous refused and made elaborate preparations for defense arming his people to the teeth (3 Nephi 3:13,14).

 By all accounts they should all have felt incredibly secure. But lucky for them Lachoneous was a God-fearing man and he warned his people that no matter how much physical protection they had, if they did not repent and turn to God, they will in no way be delivered out of the hands of Gadiantons (v 15). So powerful was this man that great fear came upon the people and they did all in their might to do exactly as he said (v 25).

Two other things most worthy of mention are these: 1. They appointed as the chief captain of their army someone who had the spirit of revelation and was a ‘great prophet among them’ and; 2. They gathered themselves together in ‘one land, and one body’ (v 19, 25). In other words, they were united and they had a prophet at their head. Does it remind you of the Church? Because it should.

When the most perilous times come, we will not want to be found in the world, but the most important holy place, in the Church, following the counsel of the Prophet…..only we can’t wait until the calamities strike. We need to ensure our place in the Church now and be in tune with the voice of the Prophet, now. Because after all, the calamities have already started……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Second Coming by Brent Borup)