Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the Lord's commands. Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did." The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; He did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.
The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Judges 2:16-23, 3:1-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
When Israel needed someone to deliver them from the oppression of the Egyptians, the Lord selected Moses and partnered with him to lead the Israelites to the brink of the Promised Land. Before Moses died, the Lord selected Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan River and into battle, partnering with him to lead Israel into victory against their adversaries so they could take custody of the land He was giving them. Once the fighting was nearly over and the land was divided amongst the twelve tribes, Joshua too died. So who would next lead Israel? Or did Israel not need a leader now that they were settled into their respective cities and territories?
Our scripture from Judges, chapter 2, answers both of these questions.
First, we read where “the Lord raised up judges, who saved Israel from their oppressors. Once appointed, these judges would govern Israel as God’s appointed leaders…just as Moses and Joshua had been appointed before them. In fact, Israel would be ruled by judges from this point forward until Israel decides they would rather have a king and get what they ask for in their first king, King Saul. So the answer to who would lead Israel next is the judges.
Secondly, we read where Israel was a stubborn, obstinate, people who could never seem to attain any semblance of spiritual integrity, instead deciding to consistently fail in the area of obedience. Scripture tells us that when a judge would die, “the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers”...following “other gods and serving and worshiping them” while refusing to “give up their evil practices and stubborn ways”.
But Israel’s sinful behavior was not just limited to when the judge died. No, our passage tells us that “even when the judges were in charge, Israel refused “to listen…and “prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them”. They “turned from the way in which their fathers had walked” which was “the way of obedience to the Lord's commands”.
So did Israel really need a judge? The answer has to be a resounding Yes! For Israel needed spiritual leadership from someone who was well versed in God’s ways…someone who could be the voice of the Lord to the people. And we know the judge could be just that for the Lord was always with him…with Him to save him “out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived.” And he did so because He had “compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them”.
Well as you can bet, the Lord wasn’t very pleased with His people. In anger, He told them, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did." And so, the Lord “allowed…nations to remain” and “did not drive them out”. Those nations included:
“…the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath”.
Scripture explains that these nations were left by the Lord to “test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands” and they failed miserably. We know this because Israel “lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites”, taking “their daughters in marriage” and giving “their own daughters to their sons” while serving “their gods”.
Israel had been warned that allowing survivors during their conquest of Canaan would result in them being adversely assimilated into sinful Canaanite worship practices (i.e. worshipping foreign gods). God could see the danger ahead well before anyone else but Israel failed to heed His warning…and found themselves out of God’s favor as a result.
This left me pondering the world we live in. After all, it isn’t like God has taken away anything that might adversely influence us either. Far from it. We are surrounded by sinners and sinful behaviors and practices. There is always a constant temptation to turn from God’s commands, expectations and will to adopt the ways of the world…ways that would serve to do nothing but lead us down the road of destruction and out of favor with God…just as Israel did.
So how do we withstand the constant urges that would entice us to abandon God’s way for the ways of sin? The bad news is that we can’t if we turn from God because it’s Him and Him alone who can provide us with the strength to stand against Satan and his tempting ways. Don’t try to fight sin on your own because you will fail and fail miserably. Instead, turn to God at all times and in all situations. He will never guide you wrong…He will always protect you…and in Him, you can be assured you are living a life that is pleasing in His eyes. And friends, there is no better life for us…no other life that God desires…than that. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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