In that time of ancient history, the era of the Judges, it was not unusual for a conquering king to require his new subjects to either worship his own god (or gods) or suffer the penalty of death. In our time, that's a very hard thing to understand. Most of today's world lives in religious tolerance. But if we understand where these ancient people were coming from perhaps we can understand why they believed the way they did. Primarily, the ancients truly believed if their gods were slighted it would bring misfortune, perhaps even death on a grand scale, to their nation. We can find documentation from Babylon, the city of Ur, several other civilizations, and especially Rome. There is a plethora of evidence, both textual and physical, confirming such. A Google search will produce thousands of hits. It's important to us to understand this concept. We, of the western world, have let our nations become inundated with atheists and agnostics. We have given up our national allegiance to our heavenly father to not hurt the feelings of the people who do not believe in a Divine Creator. Of course we would not wish to discriminate against the non religious population. However, so many polls show that they are the minority; not the majority. How is it they have been able to change our laws, our school systems, our text books and our overall philosophy of life? The sense of community has been a part of humanity since man appeared on the earth. The reason for the early culture's requirement of following and honoring a specific deity is still applicable today. The United States of America was founded as a Christian nation. Our school system in the past century has taught us and our children that our heavenly God is dead, and we are the true gods. Such an idea is absolutely in dire contrast to the traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs of the western world and much of the eastern nations, as well. It's easy for those who have a personal relationship with God to know, He exists.