Oops!
… I did it again.
I played with your heart.
Got lost in the game.
Oh, baby; baby.
Oops!
… You think I’m in love.
That I’m sent from above…
I’m not that innocent.
I was reading the story of Israel’s continued disobedience in Judges 10:6-18 and the immortal words of Brittany Spears popped into my head, “Oops!… I did it again.” I didn’t know the words, just the title, so I googled the song and found the lyrics and a theological parallel to our text. I think we are a lot like Brittany, we are not that innocent. We play with God’s heart. He loves us, He cherishes us, that much is clear as we look at the cross. We like to look at God’s Word from our point of view. What we can and cannot do. If we don’t like one of the commands, we just justify it away and change it to fit our needs. In Judges 10:6, we see that oops! … The Israelites did it again. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. In Judges 10:7, we see that God’s anger was kindled against them. People claim a text like this shows God’s wrath and meanness. I see His grace. God is angry because we have damaged our relationship with Him. Think about it from God’s point of view. His anger rises from our disobedience. How many times would you women folk listen to your man say, “Oops!… I did it again,” I cheated on you honey? I am sure all of you women will say thats Ok, I love you and there is no problem (just to be clear, I am being sarcastic). There is a problem! Our disobedience to God deserves an angry response. God is Holy and our cheating on Him is not acceptable because it breaks our relationship with Him. It was not acceptable for Israel, nor, for us. Brittany is right, we are not that innocent. At least, I know I am not. I see the grace and innocence of God that He sends His innocent Son to die for us!
By the way, I can’t believe I made a theological argument using Brittany Spears.