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Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time
Devotional: December 6th

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“When Ephraim spoke, men trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.” (NIV)

There is tremendous forcefulness and authority in the words of a righteous man. When he speaks, he has impact on the lives of others. His words carry weight. Men look up to him as one who deserves respect and obedience.

But if that same man falls into sin, he loses all that positive influence on Others. The authoritative tone with which he spoke is dissipated. People no longer look to him for counsel. If he attempts to give it, they are apt to look at him with a jaundiced eye and say, “Physician, heal thyself” or “First take the beam out of your own eye; then you’ll be able to remove the mote from mine.” His lips are sealed.

This emphasizes the importance of maintaining a consistent testimony right to the end. It is important to begin .well but that is not enough. If we let down our guards in the closing stretch, the glory of earlier days will be obscured in the mists of dishonor.

“When Ephraim spoke men trembled.” Williams comments, “When Ephraim walked with God, as in the days of Joshua, he spoke with authority and people trembled, and so he had a position of dignity and power. But he turned to idolatry and died spiritually… The Christian has moral power and dignity so long as his heart is wholly governed by Christ and free from idolatry.”

Gideon is another case in point. The Lord was with this mighty man of valor. With an army of 300 men he defeated the Midianites, 135,000 strong. When the men of Israel wanted to make him king, he wisely refused, because he realized that Jehovah was the rightful King.

But having gained illustrious victories and having successfully resisted great temptations, he caved in on what we might think was a minor matter. He asked his soldiers to give him the gold earrings they had taken as prey from the Ishmaelites. With these earrings, he made an ephod, which became an idol to the people of Israel, and a snare to Gideon and his family.

Of course, we know that when we fail, we can go to God in confession and find forgiveness. We know that He can even restore the years that the locusts have eaten, that is, He can enable us to make up for wasted time. But no one will deny that it is better to avoid a fall altogether than to recover from it, better not to smash our testimony than to try to glue the pieces back together again. Andrew Sonar’s father used to say to him, “Andrew, pray that we both may wear well to the end!” So let us pray that we might finish our course with joy!

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