Judges 4:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, now that Ehud was dead.
God knew, when the Israelites failed to drive out the Canaanites as He said, that the Israelites were still struggling with growth and maturity in their relationship with Him. So he used the Canaanites’ presence to increase the Israelites’s awareness of their need for Him. He used all things (to paraphrase Romans 8:28) for their good and His glory.
Judges 4:2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan….
The bottom line is that God loved the Israelites fiercely. They were His chosen people. They certainly weren’t perfect. They struggled often in their faithfulness to God. But He used even their bad decisions to draw them closer to Him.
Judges 4:3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reminder that we don’t have to be perfect to be Yours. It is so easy to beat ourselves up when we fail, so easy to throw our hands up in defeat when we once again make a mess of things. Thank You for loving us so much that You use even our messes to bring us closer to You. Amen.
Judges 4:23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.