Topical Bible: Protection: Withdrawn from The: Backsliding

◄ Protection: Withdrawn from The: Backsliding ►

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In the biblical context, protection is often understood as the divine safeguarding and preservation provided by God to His people. However, this protection is not unconditional; it is closely tied to the faithfulness and obedience of the believer. When individuals or nations turn away from God, a state often referred to as "backsliding," they may find themselves outside the protective covering that God offers.

Definition of Backsliding

Backsliding refers to the act of turning away from God and His commandments after having once followed Him. It is a spiritual decline where an individual or group reverts to sinful behaviors and attitudes, abandoning their previous commitment to God. This concept is frequently addressed in the Old Testament, particularly in the prophetic books, where Israel's repeated unfaithfulness to God is highlighted.

Biblical Instances of Withdrawn Protection

1. Israel's Rebellion: The nation of Israel serves as a primary example of backsliding and the subsequent withdrawal of divine protection. In the book of Jeremiah, God laments Israel's unfaithfulness: "Your own wickedness will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear of Me" (Jeremiah 2:19). Here, the consequences of Israel's backsliding are evident as they face discipline and loss of protection.

2. Judah's Unfaithfulness: Similarly, the kingdom of Judah experienced the withdrawal of God's protection due to their persistent idolatry and disobedience. The prophet Isaiah warns, "Woe to the rebellious children, declares the LORD, who carry out a plan that is not Mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, heaping sin upon sin" (Isaiah 30:1). Judah's reliance on foreign alliances instead of God led to their vulnerability and eventual downfall.

3. Samson's Downfall: The account of Samson illustrates personal backsliding and its consequences. Despite being set apart as a Nazirite, Samson's repeated disobedience and indulgence in sin led to the loss of his strength and protection. Judges 16:20 recounts the moment of realization: "But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him" . Samson's backsliding resulted in the withdrawal of God's protective presence.

Consequences of Withdrawn Protection

The withdrawal of divine protection due to backsliding often results in exposure to various forms of danger and adversity. This can manifest as physical threats, such as enemy invasions or personal calamities, as well as spiritual consequences, including a sense of separation from God and a loss of peace and security.

Call to Repentance and Restoration

Despite the severe consequences of backsliding, the Bible consistently offers a message of hope and restoration. God, in His mercy, calls His people to repentance, promising to restore His protection and favor upon their return to Him. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God declares, "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land" . This verse underscores the possibility of renewed protection through genuine repentance and a return to faithfulness.

Conclusion

The biblical narrative emphasizes that while God's protection is a profound blessing, it is contingent upon the faithfulness of His people. Backsliding, characterized by a departure from God's ways, results in the withdrawal of this divine protection. However, the consistent call to repentance and the promise of restoration highlight God's enduring desire for a reconciled relationship with His people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Joshua 23:12,13
Else if you do in any wise go back, and join to the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Judges 10:13
Yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods: why I will deliver you no more.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Destruction of Jerusalem.
... history of that favored people was a record of backsliding and rebellion ... love and
mercy, the Jews had caused the protection of God to be withdrawn from them ...
/.../1 the destruction of jerusalem.htm

The Destruction of Jerusalem
... history of that favored people was a record of backsliding and rebellion ... love and
mercy, the Jews had caused the protection of God to be withdrawn from them ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 1 the destruction of.htm

Semi-Parasitism.
... If under the fostering care and protection of a ... account, an isolated, indolent, selfish,
and backsliding life. ... vigilant effort was at the same time withdrawn. ...
/.../drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/semi-parasitism.htm

The Call of Isaiah
... The divine protection was being removed, and the Assyrian ... temple seemed to be uplifted
or withdrawn, and he ... the messages of Jehovah to backsliding Judah would ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 25 the call of.htm

The Hebrew Prophecies.
... Under the protection, generally though not always effectual, of their ... of destruction
to the disobedient was withdrawn when the ... "I will heal their backsliding. ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter v the hebrew prophecies.htm

Still the Countess Sylvie was Silent. ...
... for Protestantism is nothing more than a backsliding from the ... my promised wife, if
she needed protection"and I ... a glance at Manuel, who had withdrawn, and was ...
/.../corelli/the master-christian/xxxiv still the countess sylvie.htm

General Index.
... Backsliding, of Israelites, 19. ... ceremonies of, 568. God's presence withdrawn from,
615. guilt of, 628. ... resort to secular power for protection, opposed by, 209. ...
/.../white/the great controversy between christ and satan /general index.htm

Beginning at Jerusalem. --Luke xxiv. 47.
... Mark 7. Jerusalem was therefore now greatly backsliding, and become the
place where truth and true religion were much defaced. It ...
/.../bunyan/jerusalem sinner saved/beginning at jerusalem luke xxiv 47.htm

The Holy War,
... and prayer against carnal security, or any other cause of backsliding, with its ... to
keep true to Shaddai the king"his countenance, his protection, and it was ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the holy war.htm

The Jerusalem Sinner Saved;
... his land' (Zechariah 9:16). But who are these? Even idolatrous Ephraim,
and backsliding Judah (verse 13). I know there is ground ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the jerusalem sinner saved.htm