6 Bible Verses about Backsliding, Israel Exanples

And all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and set up camp in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink. And the people chided with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Why do ye tempt the LORD? So the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, Why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?read more.
Then Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod, with which thou didst smite the river take in thine hand and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and water shall come 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 chiding of the sons of Israel and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, Rise up, make us gods which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. Then all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron,read more.
who took them from their hands and fashioned it with a graving tool and made of it a molten calf. Then they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And seeing this, Aaron built an altar before the calf; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast unto the LORD. And they rose up early on the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play. Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go, descend; for thy people, which thou didst bring 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 themselves a molten calf and have worshipped it and have sacrificed unto it and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. The LORD further said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and for certain it is a stiffnecked people. Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot in them and consume them; and I will put thee over a great nation. Then Moses grieved before the LORD his God and said, LORD, why shall thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak and say, For evil did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains and to consume them from upon the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of the evil of thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy slaves, to whom thou didst sware by thine own self and hast said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall take it for inheritance for ever. Then the LORD repented of the evil which he said should be done unto his people. And Moses turned and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand; the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And Joshua, hearing the noise of the people as they shouted, said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he answered, It is not the voice of those that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of those that cry for being overcome, but the noise of those that sing that I hear. And it came to pass as soon as he came near unto the camp and he saw the calf and the dances, anger caused Moses to wax hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mount. And he took the calf which they had made and burnt it in the fire and ground it to powder and scattered it upon the waters and made the sons of Israel drink it. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people do unto thee that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron answered, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot; thou knowest the people that they are inclined to evil. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us, for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what is become of him. And I answered unto them, Whoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out. And when Moses saw that the people were naked (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies), Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the LORD's side? Come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, Put every man his sword by his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay each one his brother and his companion and his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. Then Moses had said, Today you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, for each one has consecrated in his son and in his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. And it came to pass on the next day that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin, but now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make reconciliation for your sin. Then Moses returned unto the LORD and said, I pray thee, for, this people who have sinned a great sin and have made themselves gods of gold, that thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me now out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD answered unto Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, this one will I blot out of my book. Therefore go now, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee; behold, my Angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day of my visitation I will visit their sin in them. And the LORD smote the people because they had made the calf, which Aaron formed.

They gave themselves over to lust in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. Then they envied Moses in the camp and Aaron the saint of the 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. They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eats grass. They forgot the God of their saving health, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things upon 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 them. And they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his word: But murmured in their tents and did not hearken unto the voice of the LORD. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also among the Gentiles, and to scatter them in the lands. They also joined themselves unto Baalpeor and ate the sacrifices for the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague broke in upon them. Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness from generation to generation for evermore. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit to rebel, and he spoke it with his lips.

And Joshua, the son of Nun, the slave of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres in the mount of Ephraim on the north side of the mount of Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them which did not know the LORD nor the work which he had done to Israel.read more.
And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baalim. And they forsook the LORD 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 unto them and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said and as the LORD had sworn unto them; and thus they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they fornicated after other gods and bowed themselves unto them; they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers had walked hearing the commandments of the LORD; but they did not do so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of that judge; for the LORD repented because of their groanings by reason of those that oppressed them and afflicted them. But when the judge was dead, then they would return, and corrupt themselves more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them and to bow down unto them; they did not diminish from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he said, Because these people transgress my covenant which I commanded their fathers and do not hearken unto my voice; neither will I drive out any longer from before them any of these Gentiles which Joshua left when he died, that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD by walking therein as their fathers kept it, or not. Therefore, the LORD left those Gentiles, without driving them out hastily; neither did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: But were mingled among the Gentiles and learned their works. And they served their idols, which were a snare unto them.read more.
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled with their own works and went a whoring with their own inventions. Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. He delivered them many times, but they rebelled at his counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.

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