ALETHEIA: THE GODLY & THE GODLESS

Fixed it!!!

Looking back at history, the following is true during times of war:

Hard times create strong men,

Strong men create good times,

Good times create weak men,

Weak men create hard times.

However, this logic goes much farther & is more profound than times of war nationally & globally in the 19th & 20th centuries. The cycle of sin goes back to the book of Genesis but is most prominent in the book of Joshua & Judges. The themes in these books provide clarity on why people act the way they do today.

The book of Joshua emphasizes the goodness of God & His blessings for Israel because they remained steadfast in their faith & obedient to what the Lord commanded them to do. The book of Judges depicts the complete opposite. Israel forsakes the Lord & falls into disobedience & idolatry. These two books laid next to one another show us how even today, Yahweh (God) is taken for granted repeatedly.

This cycle starts with godly people who revere the Lord & desire to worship Him in love & obedience. God blesses these people & delivers them from the oppression of their enemies with the commands to continue living according to the Law & to give God glory for the things they have because of their love for Him. By doing so, generations would know of the goodness of the Lord. However, over time, these teachings fall on deaf ears & godlessness ensues in their hearts instead of a longing for God.

God never fails to deliver & save us from the hands of the evil one when we repent & turn from our wicked ways (Jdgs 2:18). However, when we refuse to do what is right, God removes His hedge of protection over us (Job 1:9-10). By doing so, He is not inflicting pain on us; He is simply removing His protection from us so that we become aware of the consequences of our sin. It's only then that we realize our deep need for the Lord & His mercy.

Today, the godless are formed because the government coddles individuals in broken systems that affirm them in their sin (Jdgs 21:25) to the extent that they are rewarded for it. Not only does this prevent them from realizing the error of their ways, but it keeps them from finding a real solution to it: the Lord.