I got annoyed with my friend and said hurtful things to her when something hadn’t gone well. Then I ignored the Holy Spirit as He reminded me to be kind and gentle. Was my pride and anger worth the pain I was causing? No way! But by the time I said sorry, I’d caused a lot of hurt. I’d ignored God and lived like I could do exactly what I wanted.

The Israelites had that kind of attitude problem. After the death of Moses, Joshua led them into the promised land. But Joshua died, and over a few years, the people moved on. The Israelites forgot God and what He’d done (V.10). They ignored godly leadership and did whatever they wanted (VV.11-15).

Things improved when God “raised up judges” (V.16), who were a bit like kings. But when each judge died, the Israelites ignored God again. Living just for themselves meant they suffered through a lot of pain because of their bad choices (VV.19-22).

But that doesn’t have to be the story of our lives. We can choose to live for God! We were made to follow Jesus because He is our living Judge and King of kings.

By: Xochitl Dixon

To Pray About . . .

Jesus, please help us remember that You are our living King of Kings, Almighty and worthy of our love and trust.