Modifying Gods Commands

Israel failed to conquer the Canaanites; and the Lord said to them (Judges 2:1-2), Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars’".

The Israelites followed their own reasonings-just like many Priest do today, who don't preach the whole counsel of God, but modify God's Word to suit their parish and the times and the culture in which they live.

The Israelites also modified God's commands. So God said, "I will not drive out your enemies". You will not overcome sin, you will live with your problems all your life. "So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods may be your ruin" (Judges 2:3). When the sons of Israel heard this, they wept and offered sacrifices, but they didn't change.

Many Christians get all stirred up when they hear a message like this and weep and fast and pray. They will go to confession and cry as they tell of their sins, but they then walk out of the confessional and don't change.

They go back to their old ways very soon, because their leaders lead them in the wrong direction. There are few who say, "I want to know God and I want to live by the standards of God's word, not by the standards preached by my leader. God wants our priests to be like Moses and Joshua who can lead a number of people in their locality to the whole truth of God. If you want to be such a man, then don't be like the Israelites here. Be a man /woman of God who knows God.