Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Sep 10th, 2011 The Saturday Morning Post By Camille Stahl

 

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Judges 2:1-12
And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you;
but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the
LORD to anger. 

  I would like to focus on verse 10, where it says: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. Unanswered
prayers of slavery, hunger, hard bondage misery for 400 years. Praying for freedom……. BUT!! they forgot to teach their children about the Lord and the great things He had done for them. The people got caught up in the world and forgot about God. Remember, God made a covenant with Israel and told them that He would never break it (verse 1).  God
also warned them,

Deuteronomy 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. Deu 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. Deu 4:25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye
shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or
the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to
anger:

 I watch a young mother holding her little baby in her arms, looking down at him with so much love. I think to myself, will this mom tell her son about God? Will she share the blessings she’s experienced in her life? What chance does a child have if they are not taught about the Love of God? How could that innocent baby grow up so wrong to provoke God to anger?  Look at the difference in the life of Moses.

Exodus 2:2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that
he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. Exodus 2:3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. Exodus 2:4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.  Exodus 2:5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. Exodus 2:6 And when she had opened it,
she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is
one of the Hebrews’ children. Exodus 2:7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? Exodus
2:8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. Exodus 2:9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and
nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

 Moses’ mom not only nursed him, she taught him about Jehovah God. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s house. No doubt he learned the “Egyptian Ways”, but he did God’s will, I believe, because his mother taught him to do so. 

The devil is after you. The devil is after our children.

1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,  seeking whom he may devour: 

We serve a great God who loves us very much. Lets be about the Fathers business and be an example to not only our children, but to others as well.

 God Bless.