Reaping What We Sow

# 70 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 4:18b “ And he had judged Israel forty years. Eli had served as priest and judge for Israel in the city of Shiloh for 40 years. But now, the glory days of Shiloh have ended. God wants us to learn the lessons of Shiloh and tells us in Jer 7:12 "But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. This wickedness and subsequent judgment of God is detailed for us in the 78th Psalm beginning at v58. The people had provoked God by chasing after other idols. And so He “forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,” “delivering His strength into captivity.” (Allowed the Philistines to capture the ark.) But there was more as we read in v 62-64, “ He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance. 63 The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage. 64 Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.” War became the lot of the Israelites. Their young men struck down in the prime of their youth. Maidens not given to marriage because of the shortage of men. Priests, (specifically Hophni and Phineas killed by the sword) and widows burned out in lamenting. Every time I read this Psalm, I think of what's going on in America today. We have a different kind of war that is consuming our young men and leaving our maidens single. It's a different kind of fire that is consuming our young people. It's called sexual lust and shows up in the sin of fornication. A recent survey reported that of first births from 2006-2010, 46% were to unmarried women. That's a lot of single maidens. Could it be that God is judging us again? Could it be that He is stepping back and simply allowing us to reap what we sow? Repent! Return to God and seek to serve Him and Him alone.