Judges 2:16-19 – The need to stay faithful

Judges 2:16-19 is a great display of God’s marvellous grace towards Israel. Yes, He was angry with them and in His anger had to deal with them for their waywardness. Yet in His dealing, He had shown much grace. He did not come and immediately wipe them off for their apostasy. Instead, He raised up judges as deliverers to rescue them. He not only raised up one but many of them at different times to deliver them. These commissioned deliverers came to the scene equipped with the necessary means and successfully carried out their mission.  

Even when grace was shown, Israel did not fully respond to God’s kind overtures. Instead, they spurned His love and did not listen to the judges. They went about and “…played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers.” In breaking their covenant obligation, they had forgotten their commitment. They showed total disregard for God whom they were espoused to. What they did was total infidelity. They committed spiritual adultery. Even with the intervention of the judges, they remained unfaithful to God.

Verse 18 shows us how deeply the Lord had shown compassion towards His people despite their arrogance and disobedience. He not only gave them judges but also stayed close to those deliverers to ensure that their enemies could not prevail over them. Why? This same verse tells us that “…the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them.” As undeserving as they were, each time they cried to God in their afflictions, He would listen to their groanings and come to their rescue.  

The propensity of the Israelites was a sign of mankind’s ingrained sinfulness. Their respond to God did not last. Every time a judge whom God had raised to deliver them died, they would return to their waywardness again. What’s worse was that they would become even more corrupt and acted deplorably. Each subsequent generation became worse than the precious. The people and their descendants never really abandoned their unruliness. Their tendency to rebel was never corrected with each and every punitive measure.

What can we do to build a life that will help us stay faithful?  Four practical things we can do. Firstly, be regular and consistent in your devotion in the study and meditation of God’s Word. Secondly, be consistent in talking and praying to God. Thirdly, evaluate each day of our life and make the necessary adjustment to be in line with Godly principles. Fourthly, surround ourselves with godly people. It takes discipline to stay on course with God.

Judges 2:11-15 – Spiritual decline begins when we forget the Lord

The new generation, that arose after the generation of elders that succeeded Joshua, departed from the Lord. Lacking in the foundation, they forgot the grace of God and left God. They went headlong disobediently into sin. Verse 11 tells us that they did evil in the sight of the LORD by serving Baal, a fertility cult.  Baalism apparently was being worshipped in a variety of ways by the different fractions of the Canaanites. And the Israelites began to venerate Baal and the Ashtaroth, his lady counterpart. Oblivious of their spiritual condition, Israel went on a downslope decline. They had disregarded the command to displace the Canaanites but instead tolerated their presence. Perhaps it was the prostitution that was prevalent in Baal worship, that appealed to the viler part of the fallen men.

They had no recollection of what Yahweh had done for them. Their minds seemed to have erased all the gracious things God had done for them. Ungratefully, they forsook the God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. What ingratitude! They had denied the exclusive claim of Yahweh over their lives and turned Him into one of the deities among the many that were available in the land. Needless to say, they had provoked the anger of God and He had to deal with them. So, God gave them into the hand of the plunderers. In other words, they were robbed of their material possessions. In saying that He sold them, meant that God gave up on them. If not, they would not have been overrun by the enemies. It is by way of saying that there was no way out for them. Every direction that they turned to, the hand of the Lord was against them. They had been warned already that should they disobey and depart from their covenant obligations, this would happen and it did. Israel was truly in great despair.  

The lesson we can glean from this passage is about the dangers of forgetting the good things God had done for us. When we keep in view God’s past great blessings upon our life, we have a lesser tendency to depart from Him. But when we forget all the good things that He had done, we tend to disregard God and become ungrateful. Let us not be forgetful people who show disregard for the grace of God. We must keep Calvary in focus and build a life of gratitude through thanks-living. It is needful. 

Judges 2:6-10 – Leaving a rich spiritual legacy

These verses take us to the time after Joshua dismissed the sons of Israel at Shechem. In Joshua 24 is the farewell speech of the leader and how the people of Israel pledged to serve Yahweh. Here, verse 9 recalls the death of Joshua the servant of the Lord who had taken the people across the Jordan into the promised land. He was buried in the hill country of Ephraim. The success they experienced only lasted two generations i.e. when Joshua was leading, and the generation of the elders who succeeded him. By the time the third generation arose, the descendants of Israel had forgotten Yahweh. Neither did they serve Him. The sad words found in verse 10 are, “…and there arose another generation after them (the elders who survived Joshua) who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.”

What we see in these verses show us the apparent failure of the community to maintain their fervency for the Lord. They had failed to keep alive the memory of what Yahweh had so graciously done to save and preserve them. Obviously, they had abandoned their responsibilities. This is a reflection of the failure of the elders. Unlike Joshua who gathered them in Shechem and challenged them to be faithful, the elders did not take the time to help their children focus on the Lord. This portion of Scriptures is an indictment on the failure of the elders who succeeded Joshua. They had neglected to pass on the right values to their children. Bear in mind that when one loses sight of the grace of God, he or she will soon lose sight of God and all the obligations owed to Him. Thus, this passage issues a challenge for us who are parents to leave behind a great spiritual legacy for our subsequent generation. It is great to walk well with the Lord but it would be greater to teach, impact and do all that we need to, to ensure that the next generation after us will follow in the footsteps of the Lord.

We must not only remind ourselves, but also our children that to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength is utmost important. There are so many things that we can think of that will help us build a strong second generation. If we are creative, there are inexhaustible ways to get the future generation on board and moving in the direction of the Lord. We must always remember that there is a subsequent generation looking up to us. The example we leave for them can help them to further their venture with God. Therefore, it’s important that we always put God first in everything. If we fail to put God at the centre of our life now, we will pass on the idea that having God at the centre of their lives is not important. We must do all that we can to help them make their decisions in the light of their relationship with God by making our decision in the light of our relationship with Him. Make God central in our life. Let Him be at the centre of everything in our life. Whether at home or at work, in worship or in recreational activities, let all things we do revolve around Him.  Make God central and leave behind this rich legacy!   

Judges 2:1-5 – Be sure to a start and end well

Who is this angel of the Lord that Judges 2:1 is referring to? Many refer to him as the obvious physical manifestation of Yahweh. He was not a prophet or a human messenger. Some refer him to Christophany, the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. In Joshua 5:13-15, he called himself the Captain of the host of the Lord. This angel of the Lord is said to have come up from Gilgal to Bochim. Gilgal was the place that they first camped when they came into the promised land. This was also where they were circumcised. And it was thus named because that was the place that their reproach of Egypt was rolled away. Here they renewed the celebration of the feast after some 38 years. Gilgal represents a renewed faith. In saying that the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal was by way of indicating that the same angel who appeared to them at Gilgal now came to them in Bochim. Where is Bochim? The specific location of this place is not clearly indicated. Bochim means the “weepers.” The place, wherever it was located, was called Bochim because the Israelites wept after hearing the sad message given by the angel of the Lord. The terms from Gilgal to Bochim was intended to indicate the decline of the spirituality of the Israelites. They had degenerated from the height of spirituality to depth of spiritual gloom and misery.  

The message the angel of the Lord gave was clear. He first reminded them of the goodness of God who had been gracious to them. It was He who had brought them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Here Israel was not dealing with any other gods but the Almighty God who powerfully and faithfully kept His promise. Secondly, He assured them that He was one who would never break the covenant He had made. He made known that He would be committed to doing what He had promised. Thirdly, He reminded Israel of their covenant obligation. He told the Israelites specifically that “as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.” The latter part of verse 2 suggests how they had broken God’s heart. They had disappointed Him by their failure to obey Him. Since disobedience would come with a consequence, God said to them, “I will not drive them out before you, but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.” God said he would not drive the Canaanites from the land, secondly, those Canaanites will be thorns in their side. Israel would be harassed and oppressed by them. Thirdly, the gods of the Canaanites would be their snare. Unwittingly, they were set up to be baited and destroyed.

Verses 4-5 tell us that when they heard what the angel of the Lord said, they responded first by lifting up their voices and wept. Secondly, they named that place Bochim. And thirdly, they immediately sacrificed to the Lord. Apart from their crying, there was no indication that they took what was told them seriously. They did not make any effort to get the campaign going to drive out the Canaanites. Though convicted they did nothing to make amends for their disobedience. It was a sad day indeed. Their experience tells us how important it is to be obedient to God. Blatant disobedience to the Lord will lead us down a road where we will be left unprotected. The Lord wants to take us to higher heights of spiritual experience. What we do can accelerate the progress or retard it. We must begin with obedience, and then continue being obedient until the very end. It’s great to start with a lion’s roar but it would be foolishness to end with a mouse’s squeal. What a disaster that will be! Because we can lose all that we have gained!

Judges 1:27-36 – The dangers of disobedience

Two things kept appearing in reading these last ten verses of Judges 1. Firstly, they kept saying that the Israelites “did not drive out” the Canaanites from among them. Secondly, we see that those enemies continued to live among the different tribes of Israel. Some were subjugated and were subject to forced labour. Others were just left to dwell among them. The key theme of these ten verses is the on-going failures of the tribes in the north to drive the hostile Canaanites out of the lands they were allocated. They started off well but in the process of time, they slacken till the Canaanites were able to force the tribe of Dan to relocate.   

The failure of the two tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, which belonged to Joseph, is described in verses 27-29. Manasseh failed to take possession of the areas assigned to them. They failed to fully possess Beth-Shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo. These five areas and all their villages were spared. The Canaanites that lived in them were not driven out completely but instead subjected to forced labour. The issue was not that the Canaanites were stronger but that they became complacent and did not take the warning of the Lord seriously. The tribe of Ephraim also made the same mistake as their brethren from Manasseh. They did not drive out the inhabitants from the strategic city of Gezer. It was left in the hand of the Canaanites.   

In verses 30-36, we see the failures of the other tribes of Israel. Zebulun left the Canaanites in Kitrol and Nahalol alone and allowed them to live among them. Even though Zebulun was stronger, they did not drive out the Canaanites but subjected them to forced labour. Verses 31-32 reveal the failure of the tribe of Asher. They failed to drive out the inhabitants living in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. The way verse 32 puts it, suggests that they were even living at the mercy of the Canaanites because of their failure to drive them out. The tribe of Naphtali also failed in their responsibility. They did not drive out the Canaanites living in Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath, but subjected them to forced labour for them. Reading verses 34-36 brings a tint of sadness. It is about the tribe of Dan being forced by the Amorites to retreat into the hill country of Ephraim.  

Here we see the result of Israel’s failure to obey God. It’s something we must take note not to emulate. Obedience to God must always be total and complete. The Israelites’ disobedience led them to tolerate the Canaanites. This meant that they would have to accommodate their lifestyle. Toleration and accommodation always lead to syncretism. This would, in turn, reduce the Almighty into one among many deities. Instead of continual commitment to Him, He would be treated as one of the deities that only needed to be appeased occasionally. This is not what our Almighty God deserves. Israel’s failure was a spiritual one. And they left us an example of what we ought to do, i.e. be found totally obedient to God’s Word. We must worship and serve Him and Him alone. If not, the enemy will have control over us sooner or later, or we will be ineffective Christians!

Judges 1:22-26 – Compromises will create loopholes in our life

Like Judah, the house of Joseph from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh began to clear the Canaanites out of their possession. Their first target was Bethel which was previously known as Luz. Their success was said to be accomplished with the help of the Lord. What they did first was to spy out the land. The spies first spotted a man coming out of the city and requested that he showed them the entrance to the city. What they did was to get the man to show them how the entrance to the city was structured. Why? Because some entrances built during those times could be more complex in the configuration. Without prior knowledge of the place, their attempt to capture it would be made difficult and might result in needless death to their force. The spies promised kind treatment to the man whom they sought information from if he would give them what they requested. He co-operated and must have diagrammed the entrance to show the spies how to move about. So, with the information, they were able to strike that city and capture it. As promised, they then let the informant and his family go. In so doing the house of Joseph did not fully comply with the Lord’s instruction.  

Unlike Rahab in the book of Joshua, this informant did not have the same fear for God or the people of Israel. Though he and his family were spared, they did not want to join the house of Joseph. They declined the kindness shown to them and instead went to the land of the Hittites and called the place Luz, the previous name of Bethel. This suggests the intention of that man. In reality, he was indirectly resisting the mission of the tribe of Joseph. Here’s one lesson we can learn from this incidence, i.e. we must always obey the Lord fully. To compromise with that informant was not fully obeying the Lord who told them to destroy the inhabitants of the land. To let that man and his family free was like not eradicating cancerous cells within one’s body. Like aberrant cells, they would certainly come back and trouble them. It underscores for us the need to deal ruthlessly with what could hinder our progress in the Lord. We mustn’t be kind to the enemy of our soul. Anything that needs to go must go. Or else, we will have to live with the consequence of our indecision. Compromise will always bring undesirable consequence!

Judges 1:16-21 –Starting well is needful but finishing well is better

Judges 1:16 refers to Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses. His descendants called the Kenites were actually a group of Midianites who were skilful in metal works. Here we are told that they left the city of palms, which is Jericho. And they went to live with the sons of Judah in the south of Arad which was in the wilderness of Judah. How did the Kenites become involved in the life of the people of Israel? In numbers 10:29-31, we see Moses persuading Hobab, his brother-in-law, to come with him. He was reluctant at the beginning, but after much persuasion, he finally relented and went with Moses. This accounts for why the descendants of Kenite are being alluded to here. The description of all these indicates to us that the tribe of Judah’s campaign to take the Negev was largely successful. Then we are told that the Canaanites living in the city of Zephath was also utterly destroyed by the Judah-Simeon coalition. The city was renamed Hormah meaning destruction and given to the tribe of Simeon. Verse 17 shows us the conquest of Philistine cities such as Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron and the surrounding territory. These were located in the coastal region of the Mediterranean. These areas, however, only remained in the hand of the Israelites for a short duration.

Verses 19-21 show glimpses of the initial sign of trouble. The coalition could not drive out the inhabitants in the lowland because of their iron chariots. Although we are told that Yahweh was with them yet they could not drive out the inhabitants there. Why? Let it be known that their failure was not a sign of God’s inability but their failure to seize the advantage of the success they already had in the lowland. Although Caleb was largely successful in destroying the three sons of Anak out of Hebron, Jerusalem was not properly handled. Verse 21 suggests that the tribe of Benjamin living in the vicinity of Jerusalem did not make the effort to drive out the Jebusites. Instead, they allowed them to remain in the city to live among them in Jerusalem. This would come back to haunt and trouble them.

In the Christian journey, we cannot afford to leave things half done or undone. If we are to find ultimate success, we must not only follow-up with initial victory, but we must also follow-through till victory is sealed. There is a tendency for us to take a break and rest a while when victory seems to have been gained. The feeling that we can afford a little rest and complete the task later often do us in. The little rest soon develops into procrastination. Before long, we find ourselves so comfortable that it becomes hard to overcome the inertia that had been developed due to passivity. It always takes a greater effort to overcome the initial inertia. But once the inertia had been overcome and we don’t continue, we soon find everything grinding to a halt. By then it would take a much greater effort to overcome the apathy. Let us not only start well in our journey with God but let us also aim to end well with Him. We have a part to play! Let’s keep fighting the good fight!