The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight. They worshiped the Baals and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord, for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreths. Judges 2:11-13 HCSB
It seems that we live in very evil times. Louisville, Kentucky had over 100 murders last year and Chicago, Illinois is known as the murder capital of the United States with over 400 murders last year. Crime is up in just about every area. More and more children do not respect their parents, much less their teachers at school. There seems to be more friction between political parties and even threats towards those who do not hold the same views.
The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight. In Joshua 24:16 the Israelites promised to follow God alone but they turned away from God and began to worship Baal, a weather and fertility god. They bowed down and worshiped the gods of the Canaanites, the people that God had commanded the Israelites to completely destroy (see Numbers 33:55-56). The Canaanites influenced the Israelites to abandon the one true God. God knew that the Canaanites would have a negative influence on the Israelites and therefore had commanded that the inhabitants of the land and all of their false gods and idolsbe destroyed.
Challenge: How have you failed to keep your word to God? How have you done evil in the eyes of the Lord? How have you infuriated the Lord? Pray for forgiveness and recommit your life to serving the one and only God of the universe. Don't be led astray by evil people around you. Do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
Read The Bible Through In Two Years: Genesis 19:1-38; Matthew 12:1-21