02/09/2013 - WHEN CHILDREN ARE DEFILED

• 
• 
• 
• 

Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds.

Psalm 106.39

Shame on the children of Israel! God’s strong hand took them out of Egypt—like in the movies—and his glory was seen as never before. But this did not persuade the Israelites to turn away from sin; later, when the descendants of the former slaves took possession of the Promised Land, they were gradually defiled by their own works and dishonored the Lord God, who had treated them with so much kindness. They fell because they were not standing firm in God’s promises.

It all started when Israel, at the moment that they took possession of Canaan, failed to exterminate the people who lived there. For centuries the Lord had struggled with those nations that did not want to listen to him. So one day he said: “Enough!”. The Lord had given the land to his people so that they would be successful, and instructed them to exterminate all evil inhabitants. But they did not follow the instructions and strayed from God’s path.

The Israelites became associated with those people and ended up doing the same things they did. So the Lord ran out of patience. But this does not mean we must exterminate people in the physical sense; on the contrary, our battle is against spiritual forces (Ephesians 6.12). Many Christians, nevertheless, are socializing with people who are lost, and end up doing the same things they do. Christians who behave in this manner will be held accountable for their sins before the Lord and pay a high price!

Because they did not listen to God, these people still worship idols today—which has become a snare to them—and have sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons (Psalm 106.36-37). Actually, many children of Christian parents go to night clubs, do drugs and live in sexual promiscuity. Why do they do this, if it would be so much better for them to obey the Lord God? By allowing this, the parents are sacrificing their children to the demons, and some of them are completely lost—unfortunately, some of them end up dying very young. Many parents are deceived in such a way that they are unable to see the truth. What a heritage we are leaving to the next generation!

Brethren, this is the age of unbridled selfishness. The gospel is being contaminated with the blood of the children. Too few people seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6.33). In most cases, people are joining the devil due to the bad things they do to one another. Our generation is in real danger, as it was in the past.

The Israelites did not heed the voice of God, since they were enveloped by the spirit of lust. Many people are walking down the path of error, because they want to become rich and famous. But he who does not take care of the Lord’s heritage (Psalm 127.3) is worse than non-believers.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares