The ass who was never satisfied

The Ass and His Masters

An Ass, belonging to an herb-seller (gardener) who gave him too little food and too much work made a petition to Jupiter (a pagan god) to be released from his present service and provided with another master. Jupiter, after warning him that he would repent his request, caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly afterwards, finding that he had heavier loads to carry and harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another change of master. Jupiter, telling him that it would be the last time that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to a tanner. The Ass found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting his master’s occupation, said, groaning: “It would have been better for me to have been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other of my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who will even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him.” He that finds discontentment in one place is not likely to find happiness in another.

The Bible tells us that the Israelites were never content and have been ungrateful to God. Time and time again, they easily forget what God has done for them and against their oppressors.

Let’s look at the Book of Judges Chapter 10:6 – 11:3

Someone wrote, “Most people mess up something good by looking for something better just to end up with something worse.” Have you find yourself looking for greener pastures?

The Israelites has a history of always looking for greener pasture even though God has told them to stay away from the idols and beliefs of the nations surrounding them. In verse 6, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines.” 

We see here the word “again” which means that the Israelites have been serving idols (or the pagan gods) over and over again! What’s an idol?

• An idol is anything that we think is more important than God. What are they?
• It could be a person, money or any kinds of activity.
• Look back in your life now, what are the things that value over God. Have you glorify the creation over the Creator?

Regret and Repentance

In verse 10, “Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, ‘We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.’”

Because of the pain and suffering that the Israelites have experienced, they prayed to God once again. They regretted what they had done. They are now in agony!

• They felt bad about abandoning God and they experienced the consequences of their sin.
• Similar to the Ass or the donkey on the fable, regret happens when you suffer and you want to get out of it.

In your current situation, what are the things that you regret, the things that give you anguish or dissatisfaction?

The differences:

• Regret
  • Regret is a negative emotion that brings a person into downward spiral because of dwelling in it. You get drown into self-contemplation.
  • Regret is when a person continuously thinks about his/her mistakes.
  • Regret leaves a person in a state of anxiety, anger, hatred and depression.
  • It is a negative emotion and the donkey, a person who regrets would normally do the same mistakes over and over again.
• Repent
  • It is a positive emotion that compels a person to change the direction of his/her life. It’s a complete turn around. Like this morning, I my wife and I went north and after this service, we will go south.
  • Repentance is when a person who made a mistake and realizes what he has done and then seeks forgiveness for his actions.
  • Repentance is when a person takes a stand and resolve that he would never do it again.
  • Repentance affects our entire being and in the context of the Bible, affects our eternal life.

So, regret will never give us solution but would bring us dissolution, while repentance transforms our lives and gives us entrance to a new life.

God’s mercy and grace

Judges 10:10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”

11 The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites[c] oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13 But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” 16 Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

The Israelites regretted what they had done and prayed to God. The latter part of verse 16 described what God felt, And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer – God could Not bear the misery of the people – Then and Now.

Easter is a season to remember that God saw our misery against the evil one. He saw that we cannot attain our freedom on our own and that’s why He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to bear our sins on the cross so that whoever believe in Him and confess that He is our Lord and Savior will have an everlasting life with Him.

Instead of repenting, the Israelites regretted what they have done. However, because of God’s mercy and grace, He provided the Israelites a Judge and for us, a deliverer – Jesus, who released us from our captivity.

Judges 11:1-3, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.”

• Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute. The mother of Jesus was accused of being unfaithful to her fiancé when she got pregnant before marriage.
• Jepthah was driven away from his family, Jesus left heaven and came to earth.
• Jephthah surrounded himself with scoundrels, Jesus disciples were considered uneducated.
• God sent a judge, Jephthah to save the Israelites; God sent His one and only Son to save the world.
• The world says you are not worthy; the Word of God says you are worthy through Jesus Christ.
• The world says regret but the Word of God says repent.
• The world says you’re not a child of God; the Bible says, we become children of God.

The Bible says that the devil use and abuse people on this earth and afterwards, the people who do not repent and receive Jesus Christ in their hearts, would experience the eternal punishment. Similar to the fable where the ass said, “who even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him.”

The Israelites regretted for their ongoing prostitutions to other gods or idols but did not repent. They were sorrowful for their past actions but did not make a complete change in their faith and trust in God.

Christ suffered and died on the cross and later rose again and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Those who put their faith in Him and make Him their Lord and Savior would live forever with Him.

Holy Friday is a reminder of the saving grace, the crucifixion, burial and on Easter Sunday – the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He left heaven and came to earth to save all of us from the eternal punishment. He is now offering you the eternal life.

Romans 3:22-24, This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

You can choose to regret or to repent. Do not fall into negative and destructive effects of regret but choose the victorious life through repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you regretted in the past, now is the time to repent to receive liberty and receive the free gift that God has for you. I invite to come and receive the liberty and a victorious life in Christ.

Contact me by Responding or Commenting to this Blog to find out more about the Saving Grace that God is extending to humanity.

God bless,

Merlin