Looking Inward

It is easy to throw stones at others for goofing up what seems so obvious to us. Take the Israelites for example, God's chosen people by whom He would bless the nations. In spite of God's miraculous interventions on their behalf, the people still turned away after the gods of the surrounding nations. In Isaiah 48:5, God told the Israelites that He sent the prophets to them throughout their history so that when they were conquered and then restored, they would not give glory to their idols. Even King Solomon, who had direct interaction with God and was given incredible wisdom by Him, turned from the commandments of God and followed after false gods (I Kings 11:1-9).
How easy it is to sit in the recliner of history and look back scornfully at these people for their actions. However, do we ever stop to think about those in the future who will look back at us? While we puff ourselves up and marvel at the foolishness of others, do we then commit the same error? Isaiah 48:1-2 describes Israel as a nation that pays lip service to God, but does something entirely different with her actions. Rather than throw rocks at the nation of Israel for their rebellion, I think it would be wise to examine ourselves in light of their folly and see if their wicked way be in us.