6 Bible Verses about Backsliding, Israel Exanples

And all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of LORD, and encamped in Rephidim. And there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do ye contend with me? Why do ye challenge LORD? And the people thirsted there for water. And the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why have thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our sons and our cattle with thirst?read more.
And Moses cried to LORD, saying, What shall I do to this people? They are almost ready to stone me. And LORD said to Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with thee from the elders of Israel, and thy rod, with which thou smote the river, take in thy hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the sons of Israel, and because they challenged LORD, saying, Is LORD among us, or not?

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, Up, make gods for us, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me. And all the people broke off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.read more.
And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf. And they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw [this], he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to revel. And LORD spoke to Moses, Go, get thee down. For thy people, that thou brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made for them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of th And LORD said to Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may grow hot against them, and that I may consume them. And I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought LORD his God, and said, LORD, why does thy wrath grow hot against thy people, whom thou have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, He brought them forth for evil, to kill them on the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and relent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swore by thine own self, and said to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven. And all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your seed, and they And LORD relented of the evil which he said he would do to his people. And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of those who shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of those who cry for being overcome, but the noise of those who sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses' anger grew hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the sons of Israel drink of it. And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to thee, that thou have brought a great sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord grow hot. Thou know the people, that they are [set] on evil. For they said to me, Make gods for us, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him. And I said to them, Whoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose, (for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies,) then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on LORD's side, [come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves today to LORD, yea, every man against his son, and against his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said to the people, Ye have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to LORD, perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin. And Moses returned to LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made gods of gold for them. Yet now, if thou will forgive their sin--, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou have written. And LORD said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. And now go, lead the people to [the place] of which I have spoken to thee. Behold, my [heavenly] agent shall go before thee. Nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. And LORD smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and challenged God in the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. They also envied Moses in the camp, [and] Aaron the sanctified of LORD.read more.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. And a fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked [men]. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped a molten image. Thus they changed their glory for the likeness of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, [and] fearful things by the Red Sea. Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy. Yea, they despised the pleasant land. They did not believe his word, but murmured in their tents, and did not hearken to the voice of LORD. Therefore he swore to them, that he would overthrow them in the wilderness, and that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, and scatter them in the lands. They also joined themselves to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their doings, and the plague broke in upon them. Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, and so the plague was stayed. And that was reckoned to him for righteousness to all generations for evermore. They also angered him at the waters of Meribah, so that it went ill with Moses because of them, because they were rebellious against his spirit, and he spoke ill-advisedly with his lips.

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them that did not know LORD, nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel.read more.
And the sons of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, and served the Baalim. And they forsook LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves down to them. And they provoked LORD t And they forsook LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. And the anger of LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that despoiled them. And he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before th Wherever they went out, the hand of LORD was against them for evil, as LORD had spoken, and as LORD had sworn to them. And they were exceedingly distressed. And LORD raised up judges who saved them out of the hand of those who despoiled them. And yet they did not hearken to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods, and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of LORD. And when LORD raised up judges for them, then LORD was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For LORD regretted because of their groaning because of those who oppressed them and But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them. They did not cease from their doings, nor from their And the anger of LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, Because this nation has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not hearkened to my voice, I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died, that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of LORD to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not. So LORD left those nations, without driving them out quickly. Neither did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

They did not destroy the peoples, as LORD commanded them, but mingled themselves with the nations, and learned their works, and served their idols, which became a snare to them.read more.
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. And the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled with their works, and played the harlot in their doings. Therefore the wrath of LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the nations. And those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet there was no king like him among many nations, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin.