Faith Believing Obedience

"In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."
-Judges 17:6

One of the problems the children of Israel had was going back and forth from monotheism(belief in one God) to polytheism(belief in more than one god). Though the God of Israel was with them and met with them, and provided, and directed, and loved His children, they still rebelled. It's easy for us to read this today and think how stupid were these people?! We can clearly see God among His people, lavishing them with love, yet, for some reason they would sacrifice to other gods, and worship idols, and forget about the God who brought them out of bondage and slavery. But, I ask you, are we any different? Selah.
Was the children of Israel's problem a faith problem? Or was it more of an obedience problem? It was both. It's not that they didn't believe in God, but they didn't want to obey. I heard this analogy given recently. Imagine your parents are divorcing and you as the child are given the choice of who to go with. Mom is not so strict, no boundaries really, or there is Dad, who is strict, and expects A LOT out of you, he sets boundaries, and has tons of rules. Who would you pick? This is what the nation of Israel, and even us today must answer. We are born with free will, and we can choose to serve gods and live "freely" with no rules, or boundaries, or, we can choose to serve the ONE TRUE GOD and live freely in Him.
When we come to the end of the book of Joshua, Israel has entered the land of Cannan, they have conquered Jericho, they have fought many battles, witnessed the sun and moon stand still, they have their land, and so now Joshua is giving them their final orders before he dies. Joshua knew the people of Israel and their constantly turning to idolatry, in his final speech he say's:

14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people replied, “We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. 17 For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. 18 It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
19 Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”
21 But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22 “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”
23 “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord.

The people had to decide whether they would obey the Lord, who had proven Himself to them, or obey the local gods; man made idols. It's easy to slip into a quiet rebellion-going about life our own way. But there comes a time when we must choose who and what controls us. God or man made idols. Once we choose to be controlled by God's Spirit reaffirm your choice everyday.
Idol worshiping in a since can become easier for us, and no doubt easy for the children of Israel, it was tangible! They could see it. Seeing isn't always believe as the world philosophies suggest. There are times we have to believe in order to see. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. And it is impossible to please God without faith(Hebrews 11:1,6).
It is our faith that waivers and causes us not to obey. Why aren't Christians living in obedience to God? Because of their unbelief. God is calling us to FULL FAITH found in Him. It is that commodity which allows a man, because of he believes so strongly in a powerful God, to cut himself off from everything in his life to obey that which God tells him to do, no matter what the apparent circumstances or conditions might be. Faith has 2 elements: -being convinced of the truth, certain of reality, and evidence of unseen things; -believing, hoping in, embracing and seizing truth. True faith at its highest point is courageous. The courage to conquer and struggle, continue in suffering, and count on salvation.
And so all through the rest of the Old Testament idolatry continued through all the generations. King or not on the throne the people did what was right in their own eyes. Today, we do have a King, and His name is Jesus. He calls us to live a life of faith believing obedience. Faith willingly obeys. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by listening to the Word of God. Do we believe it? It doesn't matter how much or how long you study it, if you don't believe it.
We all need to come to a point in our lives where we tear down the idols in our lives, and believe...really believe in King Jesus. We cannot do whatever we see right in our eyes. God did not speak for 400 years between the book of Malachi and Matthew, why? I think because of idolatry. There does come a point where God will leave us in our sin because we have free will (Romans 1:28-32).

Oh, worship the King, all glorious above.
Oh, gratefully sing his power and his love;
Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In you do we trust, nor find you to fail;
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
Our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend!

O measureless Might, ineffable Love,
While angels delight to hymn you above.
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall sing to your praise.

Oh Father, to you alone do we worship! Our King, and Redeemer. May we tear down the idols in our lives, and choose You! You are all we need. Thank you for being our loving Father who desires we not be apart of this world, because you chose us Father. You desire for us to be wrapped up in You. You are God alone. Thank you for the rules you set for us to follow in Your Word. How can we follow them if we do not read it? How can we follow them if we do not believe?! Help our unbelief, Father. We are but dust, we cannot understand You. I desire to hear from You, constantly. I cannot imagine not hearing from You for a day. Thank you for always speaking to me. I love you so much. Thank you for this word you have given me today, and that you allow me to share it with others. Thank you for making strong in my weakness so that others can only see you. In Jesus' name. Amen.