In reading the first chapter of the Book of Judges today it occurred to me how often the writer tells us that Israel was successful but not obedient to the commands of God. They were commanded to exterminate the inhabitants of the land (as to the “why” that can be another article) but instead we are told in verse 27: “When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely” (ESV). This had a number of unpleasant implications for the nation. First of all, they would suffer because they failed to acquire strategic locations that would cause them all kinds of military problems in the future. But much more serious was the spiritual failure. They would follow the gods of the people of the land and turn away from following the one true God. It was an apparent success but a spiritual disaster! The disobedience seemed to be “minor” at the time but later it would prove their undoing. How easy it is in the Christian life to be successful but not obedient. We can have all the marks of success and yet be a failure in the eyes of God. This is true for individual believers as well as for glitzy church enterprises. Let us be dilegent to be faithful to follow the commands of Christ. When we are obedient, we are successful.
