Why couldn't they just listen?

This morning as I read through Deuteronomy, I couldn't escape the feeling I have when watching a movie for the second or third time. A movie like Mystic River, for example, where someone makes a huge, fatal, tragic mistake in judgement. You just want them to choose the right thing, to wait one more day to make their decision. But of course, the movie always ends the same. Sean Penn always ends up killing the wrong guy.

And, in Israel's case, they always end up not listening to God's commands. They always make that huge, fatal, tragic mistake in judgement. But somehow, when I read Deuteronomy, I still will those Israelites to just do what He says, wipe out all the Canaanites, destroy the plunder, take down the Asherah poles. But the ending is always the same. They disobey, and end up in exile.

Then I think, wow, I'm an Israelite. I have God's commands, clear as day in His Word and also the Holy Spirit speaking to my conscience, and yet I do my own thing. I make my own decisions, think I know better than He does what will make me truly happy. And I end up regretting my huge, fatal, tragic misjudgements.

But the good news in all this is that even when I think my own way is best, He can still make good out of it. My humble confessions and total surrender to Him allow Him to work with my blunders to make good things happen. And hopefully my memory is long enough to remember to just listen to Him next time. It makes things so much easier.