The Old Testament and Apostasy

For our Old Testament reading, we have been flying through Judges, Samuel, and Kings. And one theme rises above everything else: apostasy.

In the very beginning, Adam and Eve are taught truth, and then many of their children and grandchildren fall away, going after other gods.

In the time of Noah, the Lord wipes out all of humanity except for one extended family in the flood, and again, it doesn't take very long for the surviving children to fall away.

Abraham is given truth, and all of his children are blessed. But after a couple of generations, again these children fall away.

And then comes Moses. The Lord appears to him and provides an actual Law. Perhaps this time the truth will stick? But in their journeys, the people of Moses complain and are essentially wiped out (the older ones) before they reach the Promised Land.

After Moses, Joshua leads the younger generation into the Promised Land. This whole time, they're slaying heathens and idolaters left and right. The People of the Lord prevail. Surely the people would remember their struggles and accomplishments? The pillars of fire? All the different miracles?

But then again, it doesn't take long. Even armed with the Law, the people fall away. So much for the Law!

The descendants of Moses' people go through several judges. Some righteous, and some wicked. When they are more wicked, the enemies of Israel prevail, and when they are more righteous, Israel gets their lands back, etc.

Then when Israel desires a king, they are warned: you don't want a king, because some of them will give you heavy burdens. But the people say: give us a king anyway.

Saul is the first king -- chosen by the Lord. He starts out well, but then apostatizes -- so much so that the Lord says Saul needs to be replaced.

Then the Lord chooses David. When Saul dies, David takes over, and he does well. Every now and then he makes some mistakes, but he always comes back to the Lord. He helps bring peace to the land.

Then, David's son Solomon becomes king. He's given ultimate wisdom -- such as nobody had or will ever match (so says the Bible). He reigns in righteousness -- so perhaps the people will stick with the Lord? Unfortunately, Solomon's wives turn him against the Lord, and apostasy comes back.

Up next comes a whole series of kings: Rehoboam -- who was so bad that Israel split into two kingdoms in rebellion, and Jeroboam, and many other kings that were righteous or wicked.

Hezekiah tears down all the groves of Baal and gets the people to covenant not to stray again. But as soon as Hezekiah dies, the groves come back. Seriously?

My favorite instance is Josiah, who turns to the Lord, and then one of his priests finds this scroll called the Law of Moses (pictured above). "What is this?" Josiah asks. He then tears down those Baal groves again, and tries to codify this Law. But again -- not enough. As soon as he dies, it's back to apostasy.

This keeps going on until Babylon steps in and says: "I'm just gonna capture all of you, destroy your city and your temple, and y'all gonna be sad."

And this is where we are now. We're about to see what happens to the Israelites while they're in captivity.

Part of me wonders: are we really this rotten? Is this cycle of righteousness and wickedness inevitable? Is there really any value in teaching us truth and righteousness when we're just going to throw it all away at our earliest convenience?

I know -- we all have potential. It gives me hope that if we choose to do so, we can be righteous, and help other people. However, it gives me doubt that the people as a whole can keep this up indefinitely.

But then I realize -- yes we're imperfect, but God knows what he's doing. He wouldn't keep trying to teach us truth if he didn't have a reason. I think it's because he successfully reaches the few who are listening -- and I mean -- really listening -- because it is worth it. The worth of souls is great, and if even just one person is saved, it would be worth it. And that's why despite our tendency to apostatize, God keeps reminding us.