“As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. They forgot the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them.” (Judges 8:33–34, NLT)
From an arithmetic test in the 1960s: “A logger cuts and sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost of production is four-fifths of that amount. What is his profit?” The teacher wanted the student to write the answer of $20.
Then, in the 1990’s, due to complaints, they had to rewrite the question to appeal to complainers. The test question now said: “A logger cuts down a beautiful forest of 100 trees in order to make a $20 profit. Write an essay explaining how you feel about this as a way to make money.” (adapted from Tony Llewellyn, Hot Sermon Illustrations, Australian Worship edition)
The first test question focused on math, as was taught in the classroom in the 1960’s. Even though math was still being taught in that classroom, the question from the 1990’s focused on the feelings of the students surrounding the environment and global warming. Math was NOT involved. They were so focused on virtue signaling, political correctness, ecology, capitalism vs. the environment, and other issues, that they were no longer doing MATH! They had forgotten that MATH was the reason for the question!
It is amazing to me how quickly people forget the important things. Their attention wanes. Their time and thoughts become occupied by a new craze, a new fad, a new gizmo, a new purchase, or a passing fancy. They forget the important values and goals of life while pursuing whatever is popular at that moment. In so doing, they don’t even realize how they are being drawn away from what really matters.
In the scripture for today, we see evidence of how people can even lose spiritual focus only to be drawn away from worshipping Almighty God. At the end of Judges chapter eight, we are informed of the death of the famous judge, Gideon. Gideon had protested the rise of Canaanite gods in the midst of Israel. Gideon tore down the idols of other gods erected in the country. He reminded the people to worship the one true God of Israel, who had freed them from bondage in Egypt. With Gideon around, the people of Israel remained faithful to God. However, when Gideon died, Israel began to fall into old, sinful ways. They “prostituted themselves by worshipping” Baal, the Canaanite deity (Judges 8:33). In doing so, the people of Israel essentially “forgot the Lord their God” (Judges 8:34). They did not remember it was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who had “rescued them from all their enemies” (Judges 8:34b).
After all God had done during the exodus, how could Israel just “forget the Lord their God”?!!! How could they casually forget things like the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the receiving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai? These great historical events had formed the foundation for the formation of Israel as a nation. These events culminated with the covenant with the Lord God! How could the people of God just conveniently forget all these incredible past manifestations of the Lord God? But they did!
Forgetting God was not only a consequence of the weak faith of Israel after Gideon’s death. Forgetting God has occurred on and off throughout history. It is mentioned dozens of times in the book of Judges alone! It happened after Joshua died (Judges 2:6-11), in the days of Othniel (Judges 3:7), and more! Even in the book of Revelation, the church of Ephesus is accused of failing to remember to be faithful to Jesus (Revelation 2:5). Why do people “forget” God? Why do people forget the most important values and issues of life?
Fourteen new recruits were brought in for training to be firefighters. They had enrolled in a class that would take weeks but would help them learn valuable skills in fighting fires. The fourteen men who made up the class were each given jobs to do around the firehouse while honing their skills. They cleaned the firetrucks, mopped down the bays, and did various other mundane jobs while learning all the techniques that kept firefighters safe.
One day, a recruit was shining the pole that the firefighters slid down from the sleeping quarters to the bay area, where the firetrucks were prepped and ready. As he worked shining the pole, a lieutenant approached him and shouted, “What are you doing recruit?”
The recruit shouted, “Shining the pole, sir!”
The lieutenant immediately replied, “NO you are not! What are you doing, recruit?”
At a loss for words, the recruit shouted back, “Shining this pole perfectly, sir!”
The lieutenant stared at the man, then told the young recruit, “Son, your job is not to shine this pole! You are to learn to be a firefighter! That is your job! Anyone can shine a pole! Not everyone can fight fires safely! Never forget that son!”
The recruit needed to be reminded that his purpose in shining the pole was not to “clean it perfectly”. It was to prepare him for fighting fires and saving lives and doing it safely!
We can get so caught up in the mundane things in life that we lose focus. We forget the most important things. Even spiritually, this happens all the time. It should never happen with God, but it does!
While Gideon was alive, the people of Israel were constantly reminded of all that God had done through Gideon. Gideon’s presence was a constant reminder of the importance of true faith. Once Gideon died, the faith of the people of Israel slowly faded away. Before too long, they were back to worshipping Baal and erecting idols.
Be careful of the human tendency to forget the most important things in life. Don’t get caught up in the mundane. Don’t let the little things set you off or cause you to wander from your goals. Don’t let worldly pursuits cloud your reason for being on this earth! Don’t wake up one day to realize that you and God are no longer on speaking terms. Don’t lose your spiritual way until one day you wake up and find that with your life ending, you no longer have a real relationship with the Almighty! Then, it may be too late!
Then, in the 1990’s, due to complaints, they had to rewrite the question to appeal to complainers. The test question now said: “A logger cuts down a beautiful forest of 100 trees in order to make a $20 profit. Write an essay explaining how you feel about this as a way to make money.” (adapted from Tony Llewellyn, Hot Sermon Illustrations, Australian Worship edition)
The first test question focused on math, as was taught in the classroom in the 1960’s. Even though math was still being taught in that classroom, the question from the 1990’s focused on the feelings of the students surrounding the environment and global warming. Math was NOT involved. They were so focused on virtue signaling, political correctness, ecology, capitalism vs. the environment, and other issues, that they were no longer doing MATH! They had forgotten that MATH was the reason for the question!
It is amazing to me how quickly people forget the important things. Their attention wanes. Their time and thoughts become occupied by a new craze, a new fad, a new gizmo, a new purchase, or a passing fancy. They forget the important values and goals of life while pursuing whatever is popular at that moment. In so doing, they don’t even realize how they are being drawn away from what really matters.
In the scripture for today, we see evidence of how people can even lose spiritual focus only to be drawn away from worshipping Almighty God. At the end of Judges chapter eight, we are informed of the death of the famous judge, Gideon. Gideon had protested the rise of Canaanite gods in the midst of Israel. Gideon tore down the idols of other gods erected in the country. He reminded the people to worship the one true God of Israel, who had freed them from bondage in Egypt. With Gideon around, the people of Israel remained faithful to God. However, when Gideon died, Israel began to fall into old, sinful ways. They “prostituted themselves by worshipping” Baal, the Canaanite deity (Judges 8:33). In doing so, the people of Israel essentially “forgot the Lord their God” (Judges 8:34). They did not remember it was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who had “rescued them from all their enemies” (Judges 8:34b).
After all God had done during the exodus, how could Israel just “forget the Lord their God”?!!! How could they casually forget things like the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the receiving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai? These great historical events had formed the foundation for the formation of Israel as a nation. These events culminated with the covenant with the Lord God! How could the people of God just conveniently forget all these incredible past manifestations of the Lord God? But they did!
Forgetting God was not only a consequence of the weak faith of Israel after Gideon’s death. Forgetting God has occurred on and off throughout history. It is mentioned dozens of times in the book of Judges alone! It happened after Joshua died (Judges 2:6-11), in the days of Othniel (Judges 3:7), and more! Even in the book of Revelation, the church of Ephesus is accused of failing to remember to be faithful to Jesus (Revelation 2:5). Why do people “forget” God? Why do people forget the most important values and issues of life?
Fourteen new recruits were brought in for training to be firefighters. They had enrolled in a class that would take weeks but would help them learn valuable skills in fighting fires. The fourteen men who made up the class were each given jobs to do around the firehouse while honing their skills. They cleaned the firetrucks, mopped down the bays, and did various other mundane jobs while learning all the techniques that kept firefighters safe.
One day, a recruit was shining the pole that the firefighters slid down from the sleeping quarters to the bay area, where the firetrucks were prepped and ready. As he worked shining the pole, a lieutenant approached him and shouted, “What are you doing recruit?”
The recruit shouted, “Shining the pole, sir!”
The lieutenant immediately replied, “NO you are not! What are you doing, recruit?”
At a loss for words, the recruit shouted back, “Shining this pole perfectly, sir!”
The lieutenant stared at the man, then told the young recruit, “Son, your job is not to shine this pole! You are to learn to be a firefighter! That is your job! Anyone can shine a pole! Not everyone can fight fires safely! Never forget that son!”
The recruit needed to be reminded that his purpose in shining the pole was not to “clean it perfectly”. It was to prepare him for fighting fires and saving lives and doing it safely!
We can get so caught up in the mundane things in life that we lose focus. We forget the most important things. Even spiritually, this happens all the time. It should never happen with God, but it does!
While Gideon was alive, the people of Israel were constantly reminded of all that God had done through Gideon. Gideon’s presence was a constant reminder of the importance of true faith. Once Gideon died, the faith of the people of Israel slowly faded away. Before too long, they were back to worshipping Baal and erecting idols.
Be careful of the human tendency to forget the most important things in life. Don’t get caught up in the mundane. Don’t let the little things set you off or cause you to wander from your goals. Don’t let worldly pursuits cloud your reason for being on this earth! Don’t wake up one day to realize that you and God are no longer on speaking terms. Don’t lose your spiritual way until one day you wake up and find that with your life ending, you no longer have a real relationship with the Almighty! Then, it may be too late!