Originally posted: 10/13/2019

Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals,” (10:10).

The sons of Israel are at it again. Like the hopeless addict trapped in the never-ending cycle of addiction… unrestrained and incapable, continually relapsing, unable to break the cyclical bondage of their deadly desires.

Like the addict, there must be an intervention. However the only One Who has power to break the cycle, their only Hope for deliverance… they had Forsaken.

Consider Him Forsaken

• He was Forsaken… as they did evil in His sight and served the gods of the nations.
  • Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him, (10:6).
    

• He was Forsaken… and now they would bear out the desires of their heart.
  • The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ They afflicted and crushed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they afflicted all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. ⁹ The sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed, (10:7-9).
    

• He was Forsaken… yet they again cried out to Him in their oppression.
  • Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals,” (10:10).
    

• He was Forsaken… though He had repeatedly delivered them.
  • The Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? ¹² Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hands,” (10:11-12).

• He was Forsaken… and they were faced with the future of their own choosing, a future apart from Him.
  • “Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress,” (10:13-14).
    

• He was Forsaken… yet He could bear their misery no longer.
  • The sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.” ¹⁶ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer, (10:15-16).
    

How do we respond to Him Forsaken?

It’s heartbreaking, when we realize we are no different than the sons of Israel, caught in the addictive cycle of forsaking Him, choosing the misery of our sin rather than Him. Our only hope for deliverance from the deadly addiction is found in Him Forsaken.

Though mankind forsook Him, He sent His own Son to bear the penalty we deserve, that we might become a people fit for God.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, (2 Corinthians 5:21).

For our sin, Jesus was Forsaken by man.

He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; (Isaiah 53:3).

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him, (John 1:11).

For our sin, Jesus was Forsaken by His Father.

Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:45).

Today as we contemplate Him Forsaken, let us begin by agreeing with His Word and repenting of the areas in our lives where we have Forsaken Him to pursue our own passions rather than His righteousness.

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? (Romans 6:16).

Today, let us pray in faith, believing His Holy Spirit will empower us to live as His holy and obedient servants. May we be set free, that we would never treat Him as Forsaken.

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness, (Romans 6:17).

       Holy God, deliver us we pray; for in and of ourselves we will forsake You for our own earthly pursuits. We ask Your forgiveness for forsaking You and we ask You to empower us to live by faith in what Christ has accomplished on our behalf and in the promises of Your Holy Word; for only as we believe and appropriate Your Word of Truth are we set free to become Your holy, obedient servants.

•  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, (Romans 6:11).
•  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. ¹⁰ If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you, (Romans 8:9-11).
•  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me, (Galatians 2:20).
• For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them, (Ephesians 2:10).
• Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, ²¹ to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen, (Ephesians 3:20-21).
• for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure, (Philippians 2:13).
• Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen, (Jude 24-25).

It is only as we submit in faith to His empowering Holy Spirit that we are enabled to stand in His presence and grow to become His holy, obedient servants. As we pursue Him in His Word, His Holy Spirit will change and grow our desire for Him, that we might become the righteousness of God.

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday, (Psalm 37:4-6).

Let’s Grow Together!