When The Undefeated Got Defeated…

Lamentations 4:12
The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.

Lamentations 4:13
But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous.

God ensured that Israel was never defeated by any invading force. All enemies of Israel were defeated the moment they attempted to invade Israel. Even their secret plans in their bedrooms were known in Israel because God revealed them to Israelites, 2 Kings 6:12. Therefore all Kings of the earth feared and envied Israel. After many years it was common knowledge that Israel cannot be invaded and can never be defeated. Our text today tells us that Kings and people of the earth knew that no enemy could ever enter the gates of Jerusalem. Israel was the ever undefeated nation.

However, our text today also tells us that while in the past Israel was undefeated and revered, what was thought couldn’t happen, happened. The Bible tells us that the undefeated were defeated. The Bible doesn’t let us guess why they were defeated. The Bible goes straight to the point. They were defeated because of sin. The undefeated was defeated because of sin.

We can be defeated as Job was defeated as a temptation that God allowed came to his life. Not all misfortunes are because of the direct sins of an individual. However it is also true that majority of what we suffer is what we deserve because of our sinfulness. The undefeated was defeated because of sin.

Be careful about sin, what you have been prevented by God from experiencing can happen if you let sin into your life. Sin made Israelites experience defeat that they had never experienced. Today we have been prevented from illness, from broken families, from heartache, from job loss, from rejection, from being haunted, from a mental breakdown, etc. But sin can cause all these things to happen. It may be known all over that we are health-conscious people who are very healthy, but sin can expose us to sicknesses we were never associated with. The undefeated was defeated because of sin.

We have been known for quality. We have been known for a timely delivery. We have been known for good music. We have been known to be honest, full of integrity, and straightforward. We have been known to be excellent at this or that. We have been known as Bible-based. We have been known as believers in God. We have been known as prayerful. We have been known for having a clear understanding of prophecies. But all these can change if we let sin into our midst. The undefeated was defeated because of sin.

Our goods are the best. Our services are the best. Our reputation is good and goes ahead of us. We have the goodwill of many people. Our network is strong. We are connected and safe. But all these can change if we let sin in our lives. Israel had a reputation that they and all nations and peoples knew that it can’t change. But when sin came in, the impossible happened. The undefeated was defeated because of sin.

However, a close study of our text tells you that it was not just sin, but the sin of her leaders. The sin of her prophets and priests. Sins of leaders can cause a country, a county, a community, a society, or even an organization to suffer what no one ever thought it could suffer. An island of peace could easily become a battle zone of horrible bloodshed. A stable economy could easily become a poverty-ridden backward state. Sins of leaders… sins of religious leaders… very dangerous for everybody including the leaders themselves. Sins of leaders can cause the impossible to happen. Sins of leaders can cause the undefeated to be defeated.

When religious leaders sin, it is terrible and it offends God in a big way. When people who accepted God’s call to promote love, peace, and unity are now haters, hating and unforgiving, God gets offended. The unknown defeat becomes a possibility. When the moral crusader becomes immoral. When the symbol of integrity has a shade of corruption. When the commissioned uniter of all people becomes a tribal or racial chief, dividing people, God gets offended. The sins of religious leaders caused undefeated Israel to be defeated.

However, the text ends by saying the problem was not just the sins of religious leaders, it was that they shed the blood of the righteous. The righteous are righteous according to God and not themselves or their friends. God is not blind to the harm done to innocent people. People observing and inquiring can be fooled, but not God. God knows who is righteous and who is not. When harm comes to the righteous, God gets concerned and comes to their rescue. He may delay, but he does show up eventually. When that innocent blood is shed by religious leaders, God waits for confession and repentance, if none comes, He withdraws His promises and now the never imagined defeat happens. That is how the undefeated was defeated!

Sin harms all of us by exposing us and our families to the wrath of God through His withdrawal from our lives. Sin will make the worst that had never happened to happen to us and to that and those who belong to us. Sin among leaders is terrible, it exposes the systems that they lead to inevitable crushing failure and disaster. Sin among religious leaders is a total betrayal of their call to serve God and it attracts untellable consequences. Sin among religious leaders of harming the righteous is the climax of evil that causes God to move in wrath and cause the undefeated to be defeated. The good news is that all sins when confessed and repented are forgivable.

May God save me from the sins that could bring disaster to me, my family, my properties, and those that I lead. May I ever be conscious of my wickedness and need of a Saviour. May I be ever repentant. May I never be too proud to accept wrongdoing. May I never delay repenting until the unknown defeat happens. May I remain under God’s protection and favor, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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