This week, we’ll be focusing on the period in Israel’s history we call the time of the Judges.
Before we get there, we do need to quickly fill in some gaps from where Randall concluded and when this time begins.
With regards to the overall plot line, back here with Abraham we had God call out a man as the father of nations and the one through whom His nation, and ultimately Messiah Jesus would come. Next then through Issac and Jacob, then the 12 sons of Jacob forming the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel, which make their way to Egypt during famine where they end up staying 430 years.
Recall why... when God made the covenant with Abraham:
Gen 15:13-14
And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance
The jumping to verse 16
Gen 15:16
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
So we see that God has an intricate plan and purpose to all these things. On the grand scale we’re working towards the new Eden, God’s family together without sin, perfect unity.
In this bracketed section we’re dealing with the creation of a model nation, almost like an ant farm example of what the best case scenario for mankind looks like when we’re given the driver’s seat. God has chosen the people, God has done mighty works in their sight to prove Himself to them, God has delivered them and preserved them, God has judged the lesser gods they had served to show Himself greater and above all.
So they shouldn’t have any doubt as to whom they should serve, yes? Great.
From there God gives them the Law. Not only with regards to conduct and morality, IE the ten commandments, but also for government. When they get into the land, they are going to be the vessel for judgement upon the Amorites, whose iniquity IS NOW FULL, and will inhabit this land to establish the nation itself.
What then was the ideal? What was this nation supposed to be?
Exodus 19:5-6
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation...
The idea then was for God to be their King, and they were to abide by His Law, and serve Him as a kingdom of priests, Holy and separate from the other nations. As we look at Judges, we’ll see how they fare in this endeavor.
So how to tackle this book, this era, in 40 minutes... First I want to entice you all to take the time and read through the whole thing, it really is fascinating. In fact, I’m going to read for you what Chuck Missler wrote as a summary headline for Judges.
“Fans of historical romance, military history,soap operas, conspiracy theories, spy novels, swashbuckling adventure, or political intrigue will find it all here in the Book of Judges!
But from a broader and deeper perspective, Judges is essentially the story of a deteriorating nation—and it serves as a sober warning against deterioration in our own nation, and in our own personal lives...”
Definitely worth your time to read and understand what’s happening during this time. For today though, I think we’ll focus on that last part, the ways in which it serves as a sober warning to us regarding our nation, and our own lives.
To do that, we’re going to focus on Judges chapter 2, which is itself a summary of the era. This will help illustrate some of the central themes in the period of the Judges. I wish we had time to multiple specific examples, but there’s so much here we’ll really only be able to touch one Judge specifically today.
Where we’ll begin then, is with Joshua. After the death of Moses, it was Joshua and Caleb which lead the people of Israel into the promised land to conquer it and take it as a possession as the LORD had promised.
During his life, and again right before his death, he reiterates for the people the mandate from God for the nation. They essentially have four basic responsibilities.
1. Love and obey only YHWH2. Diligently teach your children God’s laws3. Be thankful to God4. Be separate from the nations, detesting their idols and pagan worship
If you look at the last recorded speech he gave before the people, he really drives this in and the people agree to serve the LORD. Joshua 24 is the chapter which records this, which opens with his position on the choice we must all make:
Joshua 24:14-15
“Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
So how did they do? Judges 2 interjects a summary of the entire period, and introduces the concept of a “Judge.”
Judges 2:7,10-11:
And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim.
NOTE: Baalim is a plural for Baal, which singularly points to one of the fallen hosts, possibly Lucifer, but a high ranking fallen angel nonetheless; but when plural refers to the various hosts of the fallen order under his sway.
So 1 generation held fast after strong leadership, then the decay. Does that sound familiar?
Exo 1: 6,8:And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph...
We’ll table that thought and dive deeper with a specific example here in a minute.
Continuing in Judges 2, we’ll finish this chapter to get the summary and introduction to what a “judge” is. This will also provide an intriguing insight into why they failed to drive out the enemies in the land as they were initially instructed...
Judges 2:11-23
11. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
13. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
12. And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of
Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that
were
round about them, and
bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
14. 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 not any longer stand before their enemies.
15. Whithersoever 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 they were greatly distressed.
16. Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those
that spoiled them.
17. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a
whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the
way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD;
but
they
did not so.
18. 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 the judge: for it repented the
LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
19. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead,
that
they returned, and
corrupted
themselves
more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to
bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
20. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this
people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not
hearkened unto my voice;
21. I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which
Joshua left when he died:
22. That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to
walk therein, as their fathers did keep
it
or not.
23. Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither
delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
That last part is intriguing to me. AFTER Joshua died, God comments that He could foresee the people would fail, and therefore part of why they would be unsuccessful under Joshua to remove all their enemies as commanded was to keep those enemies for future punishments against the people.
Makes me wonder when looking back at our nation and our own wars. Things like operation paperclip, failing to punish those nazis which we thought might be useful and instead bringing them into our own government and institutions. Like the Amorites who should have been destroyed they too are a rot preserved for our own judgement when we fall from the way...
How about in our lives? Do we diligently purge from our houses and our hearts all that offends God and serve Him only? Or do we retain a remnant of the idols we served before and open ourselves up to bondage, even though we were supposed to be set free?
These are serious things we’re quick to ignore, and I implore every one of you to seriously examine what things need to die, that you might embrace life and service to Christ without hindrance.
Israel had great promise, as do we have even greater promise in Christ Jesus. Nonetheless, our own folly and clinging to death and her idols will undoubtedly hinder our attaining to the life that Jesus would otherwise have for us on this earth.
Choose you this day whom ye shall serve...
One last thing on this, it reminds me of something I hear a lot in the church today.
“Jesus accepts you just as you are.”
We should be careful with that statement. YES, COME to the cross as you are, COME to Jesus broken and sinful. Jesus is the only remedy for our fallen state.
This is VERY different than BE as you are. A critical component of salvation in Jesus is repentance. That means turning from who you were and becoming a new creation in Christ.
If you profess Christ, but look like the person you were before, you have a serious problem. You do not bear the fruit of repentance. Randall and I were talking about this, and he brought up a reference to the military.
You go to boot camp a civilian, but you leave a soldier. One is not like the other. A transformation takes place.
Likewise, you should not be like you were before encountering Jesus. You are called to submit to Him and His authority in your life. He is your LORD, your owner, your King.
So, Christian, are YOU like the common American, a rugged individualist? Or are you radically transformed, being conformed in the image of Christ, to be a soldier for the gospel of Jesus?
Last thing on this, like our military, which has been lowering entry standards to allow more people to be “acceptable,” I think the church is guilty of offering “cheap grace” to people so they can fill the pews.
Our military breaks down when it fails to uphold the proper standards of what it takes to be soldier, and our churches are breaking down and loosing the culture because we too fail to uphold Jesus’s standards.
Insert smooth transition here... Moving on...
The general plotline of the book is a repeating cycle of Israel rebelling against God, God disciplining them, Israel repenting, then God raising up a judge to deliver them from bondage. Rinse and repeat.
Depending on how you count, you get 12-15 judges in what Paul tells us was a period of about 450 years in Acts 13. The discrepancy in the number comes down to what people consider a judge. 12 if you count those God appointed, more if you count other leaders during the period.
So what do we mean by judge then? Remember the nation was to be a nation of priests, with God as their sovereign ruler. What we think of as a “judge,” someone who administers justice or determines guilt vs innocence is insufficient for what is meant here. What we translate as “judge” should best be understood more broadly as an appointed leader whose purpose is to deliver the people from bondage and reinvigorate the people back to serving God and towards His ways.
The problem they faced, however, is another problem we’re all too familiar with today. Multiple places in the book of Judges we read (Judges 21:25 as an example)
Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
No king... I don’t think this is just commenting on the lack of a monarchy, but remember who was supposed to be their King? YHWH.
They did not worship YHWH nor serve Him nor keep His laws. They had dethroned God in their hearts and lives.
The result, is subjective morality. “Your truth” if you will. Subjective morality inevitably means failing on all four of their basic responsibilities.
On the subject of truth, make no mistake, Truth has a capitol T. There’s no such thing as “your truth” or “my truth.” There is only THE TRUTH.
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.
All paths do NOT lead to God, all gods are not equal, there is no variability in what is true. There is ONE God, YHWH. One path to Him, Jesus.
Regarding truth, I like to think of it this way. God cannot lie. God knows everything. IF you could sit down and ask God anything, the answer He’d give you is true. Therefore, since you could hypothetically ask Him anything, there is a definitive RIGHT answer to every question.
The challenge for us, is knowing that answer. In God’s Word we get many answers. But there are some things left as mysteries. In those areas we strive together in unity to understand the best we can, but should be careful not to make our opinions become divisive wedges thrust between us.
Where we find clear answers though, we need to be steadfast and firm in asserting these true things.
Gender, Marriage and Sexual immorality
To name a few... THESE are NOT up for debate, Christian. Despite how confused and dark our world may be, we have the light to offer as a remedy, but it only works to heal the nation if we let that light shine and not smother it.
So I’m not misunderstood: Boldy proclaim the truth and be unrelenting with regards to morality and the right way to live. Love all people, yes, but know that love does not equal affirming people in their delusions. Love requires truth.
We’ve all seen this graphic depiction in film, someone hit with shrapnel and that piece sticking out. Surely they are suffering, but the fear is removing the shrapnel only makes the situation worse. Maybe true if you’re not ready to do surgery, and yes, the removal will be painful, but ultimately that person needs to have it removed and to be sewn up and put back together.
Likewise, the sin we see in the people around us and in ourselves must be confronted and removed. The truth hurts sometimes, but ultimately the lies need to be removed so that Jesus can come in and like a skilled surgeon sew that person up and make them whole.
We’re doing nobody any favors by passing by and ignoring the shrapnel sticking out of them. Our King has called us to action, and we need to be on the battlefield attending to the wounded.
So how did we get here?
How did we get so weak with our delivery of the Gospel, failing to properly emphasize what it means for Jesus to be LORD?
How did allow subjective morality to become so pervasive?
How have we allowed the worship of Baalim to make its way into our churches under the guise of true worship of YHWH, and of Jesus?
Puts to mind Gideon. The people had again fallen away, and God delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. At this point, God raises up Gideon as a judge to deliver the people. Judges chapters 6, 7, and 8 outline this story.
If we look at the end of Gideon’s conquest of the Midianites, we see the people’s response.
Judges 8:22-23
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
The people are asking for a central leader, a King. Gideon rightly points out that this defies God’s plan for Israel, and reiterates that God is their King.
The people of Israel were suffering from something I see today in our culture, and surely it is a problem with humanity.
People refuse to take personal responsibility. To allow God, or in our day Jesus to be our King, our LORD, means we’re personally accountable for our lives. This is inevitably true, but people don’t like that. They would rather a strong leader be appointed over them so that they can blame all their problems on the leader, and not take responsibility for themselves.
This also means they can demand of that leader to be their provision, so they can be lazy and serve their flesh, rather than the LORD.
Our government, unlike Gideon, has happily taken that role. It has usurped it’s constitutional limitations and taken a strong hand it wasn’t supposed to regrading leadership, as well as offered welfare, medicare, medicade, social security, all systems which remove from people their personal responsibility so they can be lazy and serve their flesh, rather than God.
But you can’t say that... people get mad when you burn their golden calf... when you tell them they need to stop worshiping Baalim, worshiping themselves and their pleasures, and instead worship YHWH alone.
You might say, but what about people with disabilities, diseases, who can’t work??? Where’s the CHURCH!!??
The truth is, the church has abdicated it’s responsibility. It should be the church which comes alongside those in need and supports them, both physically, and in truth, not the government.
We’re supposed to be kings and priests in Christ Jesus, yet we walk without authority and in silence, and that’s why our culture is dying.
Gideon had to proclaim to the people that God’s plan is a better plan than to be subject to centralized earthly authority, and entitlement programs and welfare, ie reliance on central authority rather than personal responsibility are chains of oppression used by corrupt authorities to enslave people to their own depraved minds.
So I ask again, how did we get here? You know how Gideon’s story ends?
Judges 8:33-35
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.
How many times now? Over and over. 1 generation replaced from firm foundations and strong leadership descends into depravity. They forget their roots and turn themselves over to serving other gods. Moreover, they begin to resent their forefathers and the righteousness for which they stood.
This is a call to parents.
MEN – Are you leading you house in accordance to the scriptures? Are you teaching your children diligently in the ways of the LORD? Are you living as the example of a life in sacrificial service to Jesus? Does your wife, and do your children respect you as a Godly man and leader?
WOMEN – Are you supporting your husbands? Are you nurturing your children and instructing them diligently in the ways of the LORD? Are you the kind of wife for which your husband would gladly give himself as Jesus did for the church?
PARENTS – Does your marriage serve as a model for your kids which fits the model to which Jesus points when illustrating himself and his church?
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
That’s the answer. Collectively we, Christ’s followers, make up the church. But it starts with the family. It starts with properly training up the next generation, namely our kids.
Our church is sick, our nation is dying, because our families are failing to train up their children. ONE generation removed from strong leadership, and the people fall. ONE generation of weak parenting and it all begins to unravel.
It may not be too late, at least not for you. Remember what Joshua said, “but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Will you? If so, the perfect Grace of Jesus Christ is incredibly powerful to overcome your circumstance, if you submit yourselves and your families to Him.
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