Written by: David & Bridget Williams (Action Partners)
Judges 2 v 1-5
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up
from Egypt and led you to the land I promised to give your ancestors. I said,
‘I will never break my agreement with you. But you must not make an agreement
with the people who live in this land. You must destroy their altars.’ But
you did not obey me. How could you do this? Now I tell you, ‘I will not force
out the people in this land. They will be your enemies, and their gods will
be a trap for you.’”
After the angel gave Israel this message from the LORD, they cried loudly. So
they named the place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Notes
The angel of the Lord brought God’s message. He reminded the Israelites that
God had brought them out of Egypt, and he reminded them too of God’s promise
that they would possess the land. In return the Israelites should obey God.
This they did not do. Instead of trusting God to help them, they made “agreements”
with the people of the land. The Israelites allowed them to remain, worship
their own gods and keep their own altars.
In other words, they compromised with unbelievers instead of looking to God, obeying him, and trusting him to help them.
Today there are many “false gods” in the world, from crystals and Tarot cards, to football and shopping. Not all are wrong, but it is always wrong – and only too easy – to put any of these in the centre of our lives and trust them more than we trust God.
God gave judgement on the Israelites, saying that he would not drive out the people of the land and that these people would be a trap to them.
Let us make sure that God, and his Son Jesus, are at the centre of our lives today, and that we do not disobey him by allowing other things or ideas to take his place.
Prayer
Father God, help me today to put you right at the centre of my life – in my
work, my home, my fun. For Christ’s sake, Amen
Judges 2 v 6-9
Then Joshua sent the people back to their land. The people served the LORD
during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who
lived after Joshua and who had seen what great things the LORD had done for
Israel. Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
They buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim,
north of Mount Gaash.
Notes
The book of Judges starts with the death of Joshua, the leader who had brought
the Israelites across the Jordan and into the Promised Land of Canaan.
The four verses we have read today are a flashback. They tell briefly of the period after Joshua had shared out the land to the different tribes of Israel, until the time of his death.
Joshua was a great leader and a great man of God. Only he and Caleb had been ready to trust God to help the Israelites conquer the land of Canaan when, many years before, they had been among the men Moses had sent to spy out the land (Numbers 13 v 1 – 14 v 9). When Moses died, God appointed Joshua leader of the Israelites and encouraged him with promises (Joshua 1 v 1-9).
Joshua saw the tendency of the Israelites to stray away from following and worshipping God. Even at the end of his life he continued to point them to the Lord (Joshua 24 v 14-15). But now Joshua died and was buried (Judges 2 v 8-9).
We are told that the Israelites served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua. But we shall see in the following verses and chapters the sad story of how the Israelites constantly fell away from following the Lord. All was well while the great leader lived. When he died, everything fell apart.
How easy it is for Christian fellowships and congregations to depend on one person, one leader. Following and enjoying the leadership of a Christian leader with an attractive personality is no substitute for knowing and following Jesus himself. Human leaders move on, retire, die. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever” (Hebrews 13 v 8).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to follow you, and you alone, day by day for the rest of
my life. Amen
Judges 2 v 10-15
After those people had died, their children grew up and did not know the LORD
or what he had done for Israel. So they did what the LORD said was wrong,
and they worshipped the Baal idols. They stopped following the LORD, the
God of their ancestors who had brought them out of Egypt. They began to worship
the gods of the people who lived around them, and that made the LORD angry.
The Israelites stopped following the LORD and worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth.
The LORD was angry with the people of Israel, so he handed them over to robbers
who took their possessions. He let their enemies who lived around them defeat
them; they could not protect themselves. When the Israelites went out to
fight, they always lost, because the LORD was not with them. The LORD had
sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites suffered very much.
Notes
These few verses are a picture of the history of the Israelites for hundreds
of years – they quit following the Lord, and the Lord allowed enemies to
defeat them.
Sometimes things go badly for us – we lose our job, our boyfriend or girlfriend. Perhaps we are involved in an accident, or have to spend time in hospital. What do you do when things go wrong? It’s easy to blame God when perhaps, sometimes, the answer is inside ourselves. Perhaps we have stopped putting God at the centre of our lives – or we never have done! Maybe – just maybe – God is using the bad time that you are going through to make you more dependent on him.
Notice what happened at the beginning of the passage. The godly people, like Joshua and Caleb, had died. And their children? They grew up and “did not know the Lord”.
God has no grandchildren. Each of us has to decide to follow Jesus for ourselves. We are not Christians because our parents were. Nor, looking at it the other way round, can we ensure that our children will become Christians. Yes, we have a duty to make sure they learn about all that God and Jesus have done for us, but they have to make their own decision about whether to follow Jesus or not.
One last thing. The Israelites “began to worship the gods of the people who lived around them”. Today in the west, we live among people who do not know God. They have their own “idols”, and their own standards. It is fatally easy to model our stands on those around us who do not follow Jesus. Look at your own behaviour and opinions, and ask yourself, “Would Jesus do or think this?”
Prayer
O God, help me to live wholeheartedly for you today, to give myself completely
to you, whatever I am doing. Help me to look to you and to your word for
standards to live by today. In Jesus’ name I ask this. Amen
Judges 2 v 16-19
Then the LORD chose leaders called judges, who saved the Israelites from the
robbers. But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. They were not
faithful to God but worshipped other gods instead. Their ancestors had obeyed
the LORD’s commands, but they quickly turned away and did not obey. When
their enemies hurt them, the Israelites cried for help. So the LORD felt
sorry for them and sent judges to save them from their enemies. The LORD
was with those judges all their lives. But when the judges died, the Israelites
again sinned and worshipped other gods. They became worse than their ancestors.
The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.
Notes
Have you ever had a really bad day when everything seems to go wrong? You aren’t
the only one. The Israelites of old had some really bad days that made them
cry out for help.
God’s people, the Israelites, were in great trouble, mostly through their own fault because they did not listen to God or obey him. In spite of that, God arranged for leaders to help them through the difficult times. These rulers were called judges. They were not like our judges today but military leaders who were well known for their prowess on the battlefield. Their role was both administrative and military, so they knew how to deal with the thieves who were plaguing the Israelites and stealing their possessions.
Sometimes, we are aware that God has stepped into a situation in our lives. When our work has not been going well, or we have been singled out for blame over something, we come to God in despair and ask him to rescue us and take over the situation for us. Soon, our lives are back on an even keel.
Was that only a fleeting trust in the Lord, or did we really turn to him and let him take over our lives? The Israelites certainly didn’t. They even went to look for other gods, thinking they might be more useful in the battle of life. That’s a danger for us too. There are so many different religions and spiritualities in the marketplace waiting for us to make our choices. Yet, if we turn away from God, we lose touch with the one who loves us so much that he gave his only Son Jesus to die for us. May today be a day when we really trust him.
Prayer
Dear Lord, forgive me for the times when I have chosen to turn away from you
and follow my own plan. Thank you that Jesus died on the cross for my sin,
and help me to obey you in my everyday life. Amen
Judges 2 v 20-23
So the LORD became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken
the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me.
I will no longer defeat the nations who were left when Joshua died. I will
use them to test Israel, to see if Israel will keep the LORD’s commands as
their ancestors did.” In the past the LORD had permitted those nations to
stay in the land. He did not quickly force them out or help Joshua’s army
defeat them.
Notes
The first day in a new job can be a nerve-wracking experience. In some places
they don’t give you enough to do and you wonder why they took you on. In
others, they expect far too much. It may seem haphazard, but you are probably
being watched. It might make a lot of difference in the job if you pass that
first test.
God’s testing machine for his people, the Israelites, was to let their enemies stay in the land and see what happened. Would the Israelites join them in their practices, giving up God’s way of life, or would the Israelites drive them out of the land so that they could worship God wholeheartedly? The Israelites had to make a choice.
Sadly, the Israelites let the idol worshippers remain and even began following their religious practices. As the hearts of the Israelites turned away from God, they found their enemies defeated them.
We often wonder why things are hard for us, and why God lets us suffer all the problems and disasters that come our way. It’s so unfair, we complain. Why doesn’t God stop this happening to me? Why does he allow me to suffer? Why doesn’t he do something?
He has. God sent his Son to die so that our sinful actions and attitudes might be forgiven. Sadly the world had gone its own way for so long that our whole way of life had gone wrong. This can actually help us. The difficult situations we are in can send us back to God for help and strength. They can test the reality of our Christian faith and teach us how to trust God in everything.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to turn to you when the going is hard. Help me to
trust you to work out the best way for my life each day. Amen
Judges 3 v 1-6
These are the nations the LORD did not force to leave. He wanted to test the
Israelites who had not fought in the wars of Canaan. (The only reason the
LORD left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites
who had not fought in those wars how to fight.) These are the nations: the
five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the people of Sidon,
and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon
to Lebo Hamath. Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites—to
see if they would obey the commands the LORD had given to their ancestors
by Moses.
The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Hivites and Jebusites. The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those
people, and they allowed their daughters to marry the sons of those people.
Israel also served their gods.
Notes
We set tolerance very high in our priorities these days. Being tolerant is
something that will earn us a lot of brownie points. To voice too loud an
opinion against those with different ideas is just not the way to act in
today’s world.
Certainly, for the Christian, a tolerant attitude to colleagues, neighbours and others is a wonderful way of sharing the love of God. God loved us so much that he gave his Son Jesus to die in our place and give us new life as God’s children. I believe that the only way we can be near God is through Jesus, and this means we cannot be tolerant of other people’s ideas about how to find God. Tempting though it is, we cannot pik ‘n’ mix when it comes to our Christian faith.
We can learn from the Israelites of old. When they returned to Israel they were not able to conquer all the people who had been living there. Their presence was a test as to how well the Israelites would obey God.
Sadly, the Israelites became so tolerant of their neighbours that they began to adopt some of their customs and religious beliefs. They allowed their children to intermarry with these people and they mixed the worship of God with the pagan gods. Clearly in the Ten Commandments, God had told us that we must worship him alone. There can be no mixture of worship for the Christian.
How do we know what is Christian and what we are borrowing from others? The best way to find out is to read God’s word, the Bible, to find out more about him and the way he would have us live. This is where word-on-the-web can help us, bit by bit, every day.
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, that I have your word the Bible readily available to me. Help
me to read it every day, and may the Holy Spirit help me to understand and
remember what I read. Amen
Judges 3 v 7-11
The Israelites did what the LORD said was wrong. They forgot about the LORD
their God and served the idols of Baal and Asherah. So the LORD was angry
with Israel and allowed Cushan-Rishathaim king of North West Mesopotamia
to rule over the Israelites for eight years. When Israel cried to the LORD,
the LORD sent someone to save them. Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger
brother, saved the Israelites. The Spirit of the LORD entered Othniel, and
he became Israel’s judge. When he went to war, the LORD handed over to him
Cushan-Rishathaim, king of North West Mesopotamia. So the land was at peace
for 40 years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Notes
Have you ever had to look after a garden, one with a lawn and flowerbeds? If
you have, you have probably noticed that you are struggling with the same
tasks year in and year out as the seasons change. Some of these tasks are
pleasurable, others just plain hard work. The end result, hopefully, is a
beautiful garden you enjoy and your neighbours admire.
Life tends to be cyclical with its ups and downs. It certainly was for the Israelites. God had brought them into their new land and instructed them how to live there, obeying his commands. They soon forgot about God and joined the locals in their ungodly lives and ungodly worship until God had to remind them about their original remit, to serve the Lord. This he did by allowing their enemies to defeat them.
In the bad times they remembered God and cried for help. We need to stop our merry-go-round lives every now and again. We need to ask God if we are going through one of those times when we forget about God’s instructions for our lives, when we spend all our time doing our own thing and letting bad habits and selfishness replace our love for God. If this is where you are now, join with the Israelites and cry to God for help.
We have someone, the Lord Jesus, who has been through all the traumas of an earthly life and understands our weaknesses. He forgives us when we remember our sins, and he gives us strength to overcome them. God gave the Israelites an Othniel to fight for them. We have a far greater one than Othniel - the Lord Jesus himself - to help us set our lives right.
Prayer
Dear God, we pray for forgiveness for the times we have let you down and done
our own thing. Thank you for Jesus who was tempted but did not sin. Help
us to remember your commandments and to obey them. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes