![]() God had led the people of Israel to the Promised Land. Here are some factors that they should have considered:Ī. In other words, they weighed the alternatives and according to their own understanding decided to leave and go to Moab. While it is not impossible that they may have at least on the surface attempted to ascertain God’s will, the evidence points in the direction that this decision was made in the flesh. However, we do not see that they prayed or really considered God’s will. We see the cause for the family to leave Bethlehem as famine. It would have been a decent trip but could be completed in a few days of good-paced walking. Moab was only about 50 miles (80km) away from Bethlehem on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. Elimelech and his family fell into this same trap of making a decision based on what was right in their own eyes. And most telling, Judges in several places repeat the phrase that “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” The last few chapters of Judges depict several terrible examples of what happens when people make decisions based on their own morality and understanding rather than on God’s will.Ģ. Generally speaking, the people had a short memory for following after God. A circle of deliverance followed by disobedience and oppression repeated itself over and over. It came about in the days when the judges governed – In Israel this was a lawless time. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”ġ. James 4:13-15 – Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Numbers 14:8 – “If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us–a land which flows with milk and honey.ĭeuteronomy 23:3-6 – No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you. However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. 6 Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live. Judges 21:25 – In those days there was no king in Israel everyone did what was right in his own eyes.Įxodus 6:8 – ‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession I am the LORD.'” What was the result of this decision for the family? Considering they left because of the famine (for health reasons), was their decision effective?.How should a person ascertain God’s will?.What was their motivation to leave? Is this reasonable?. ![]() What kind of temptations might they face in this foreign country?. ![]()
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