Turn in your Bibles to Judges 2. Judges 2, we're going to start reading at verse 7 and read to chapter 3, verse 6. Remember, chapters 1 and 2 are introductory to the rest of the book. Chapter 1 specifically deals with geography from a theological standpoint.
It indicates the places where the children of Israel did not dispossess the land of the Canaanites. We see at the end of chapter 1 repeated emphasis on whatever the name of the tribe did not drive out. did not drive out, did not drive out. Remember in Deuteronomy 7, 1 to 5, they were told that they were to go into the land, they were to utterly dispossess the land, they were to tear down any religious items, any altars of worship, they were not to enter into political alliances or treaties, they were not to marry with the people of the land. Well, here in chapter 2, we see a very vivid sketch of how they abandoned that whole mindset and they engaged in apostasy.
So we're going to look at the root of Israel's apostasy tonight in chapter 2, verses 7 to 10. Secondly, the description of Israel's apostasy, chapter 2, 11 to 15. And then the divine response to Israel's apostasy, 2.16 to 3.6. So I'll just pick up reading in chapter 2 at verse 7.
So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which he had done for Israel. Now Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was 110 years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath-Heras in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount Gesh. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which he had done for Israel.
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. And they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them. And they bowed down to them, and they provoked the Lord to anger.
They forsook the Lord and served Baal in the Ashtoreths. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So he delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them. And he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.
Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.
Grace in the Raising of Judges
Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord. They did not do so.
And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. And it came to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he said, because this nation has transgressed my covenant, which I commanded their fathers and has not heeded my voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not. Therefore, the Lord left those nations without driving them out immediately, nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua. Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that he might test Israel by them. That is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan.
This was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it. Namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon. from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. And they were left that he might test Israel by them to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. Thus, the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods. Amen.
Introduction
It's a pretty bleak picture of Israel's history, as we'll see consistently throughout this particular book. As I mentioned, chapters 1 and 2 are introductory. Chapter 3, 7, all the way to 1621 is the largest part of the book. That is the period of the judges, the particular men that God raised up to use to deliver the children of Israel. from the hand of their oppressors.
So we see something of that foreshadowed here in Chapter 2. It's basically a summary statement. of all that's going to go on within the book itself. But
Root of Israel's Apostasy
note first the root of Israel's apostasy in chapter 2 verses 7 to 10. We're given an indication of their past faithfulness. Basically, we find in verses 7 to 9 a repeat of how the book of Joshua ends. Again, I think it is to link it together.
It's a literary link. to make sure that we understand we're dealing with the same group of people, the same children of Israel, the same covenant community. Joshua depicts the conquest in a very positive light. Judges then comes and depicts the conquest in a very negative light. Not that it's a contradiction, but initially under Joshua, the children of Israel walked faithfully and they engaged in the way that the Lord had called them to.
But even along the way, in Joshua, they didn't fully dispossess the land, and that sort of sowed the seeds for the apostasy that would follow. So we see that link here, verse 7, so the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which he had done, for Israel. It's a great statement, a great testimony concerning that particular generation. And then notice the death of Joshua is indicated in verses 8 and 9.
Now Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was 110 years old. They buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath-Heras in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount Gaash. He was from the tribe of Ephraim He dies, he's buried in this particular plot of land. Again, linking us to this particular leader.
Now Joshua is dead, but the people are not without a leader. God the Lord is sovereign, this is a theocracy. He rules them directly by his word, by his revelatory word, so they shouldn't have gone amok because Joshua died. but that is precisely what takes place. Now notice the rejection of God in verse 10.
I call this the root of the apostasy, and I think you'll see as we move through this particular chapter, the fact that they did not know the Lord affected how they then lived against the Lord. That's what verse 10 tells us. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, they died, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work which he had done for Israel.
Cognitive vs. Saving Knowledge
Now certainly they knew about the Lord. It's not as if they had no consciousness whatsoever about Yahweh. It's not as if they were devoid of any sort of instruction whatsoever as to who the God of Israel was. The difference or the idea is that they had a cognitive knowledge, but they didn't have a saving knowledge.
They didn't have and experiential knowledge. It's the same sort of a thing when you instruct your children in the home. There's an instance where you know that they know who Jesus Christ is. They might be able to rattle off some facts concerning the gospel, but you suspect that they don't know the Lord.
You suspect that they have not believed the gospel, that they've not come out of darkness into marvelous light. And that's the idea here. Another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work which he had done for Israel. So I say this is a root of apostasy.
The Pattern in Samuel and the Psalms
We see it in 1 Samuel chapter 2. You can turn there for just a moment. 1 Samuel chapter 2 records for us the sons of Eli. Remember that the sons of Eli were corrupt. Men would come to sacrifice at the tabernacle.
And the sons of Eli would basically steal that meat, throw it on the barbecue for themselves, and enjoy. Also the sons of Eli would lay with women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. The teaching concerning their sacrificial practice is found in verses 13 and following in 1 Samuel 2. And then the reference to them lying with women is found in verse 22.
But note the root cause, 2.12. Now the sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord. Now certainly as priests of the living and true God, they knew who he was.
They knew something of his character. They knew something of his word because it was part of their charge. as the priest of God to instruct the people of God, to orchestrate and facilitate the sacrificial system. Certainly along the way, they had to know something about the Lord. The idea here is, again, it's cognitive.
They have it in their head, but they've not laid hold of the living and true God themselves. This is the root of apostasy. Turn to Psalm 14, where you see the same sort of an emphasis. Psalm 14, Mephul has said in his heart, There is no God.
Well, based on that confession, based on that admission, based on the rejection of the living and true God, then comes the description of this particular person's character. The fool is sad in his heart, there is no God. Notice, they are corrupt. They have done abominable works.
There is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside. They have together become corrupt.
There is none who does good, no, not one. You see, what we believe concerning God, what we know to be true concerning God, affects the way that we live, either for good or for ill. The idea is, with Christianity, is that we learn who the true and living God is. By His grace, we believe the gospel, and that truth then affects the way that we live.
We saw that on Sunday night in the book of Colossians, chapter 3. verses 1 to 4. That's the foundation. When we set our mind on things above, where Christ is at the right hand of the Father, then 5 and following, we put on vice, we put on virtue, we live in accordance with God's Word with reference to interpersonal relationships. If you see a society that is filled with violence and corruption and wickedness, it's a society whose root problem is that they don't know God.
See, we want to fix all of the particulars, we want to deal with all of the details, when the emphasis is that man is not right with God and they need to come to the Christian message, they need to embrace the gospel.
Romans 1 and the Root of Idolatry
Same emphasis in Paul's great letter to the Romans, Romans chapter 1. I know some of this is repetitious. You've probably heard this in the last few weeks, but it bears repetition. First, I'm sorry, Romans chapter 1, verse 18.
After giving the thesis statement of the book in verses 16 and 17, the apostle, before he gets to the good news, before he gets to the love of God, before he gets to the grace of God, before he gets to the kindness of God and the mercy of God, he starts with the bad news. He tells man, what their plight is. He tells man what their problem is. You see, we've got it backwards today.
We come to rebel God-hating sinners and we assure them that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives. That is not the way that the Apostle Paul preached the gospel in the book of Romans. He starts with the bad news. Jesus said, I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Until men see their sin, until men see their need, they'll never cry out to God for mercy through Jesus Christ. So Paul begins Romans 118 by saying, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. There is a particular order, ungodliness and unrighteousness. Ungodliness leads to unrighteousness.
Because, verse 19, what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world is invisible, attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. because although they knew God, here's the problem, they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things." So you see, it's the same idea here.
They reject the living and true God. As a result of that, God rejects them. He gives them over, according to verses 24, 26 and 28. When we look at a society that looks like what Paul describes here in Romans chapter 1, it's not necessarily that we need to go out and campaign against sodomy.
I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong. It doesn't mean we necessarily have to go out and campaign against violence or abortion. Again, I'm not saying we can't do those particular things, but the fundamental root cause is that men, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful. It's a question of commitment.
It's a question of idolatry. G.K. Beale says it this way, whatever we revere, that means whatever we worship, we resemble, either for ruin or for redemption. So when a society rejects the true and the living God and they go after idols, they resemble those idols.
The psalmist tells us this in Psalm 115, the one who worships an idol becomes like the idol. We take on the characteristics of that which we worship. Why is it the case that God indicts Israel so many times in the Old Testament for having eyes that didn't see and ears that didn't hear? Remember the description of idols in Psalm 115 is that they have eyes that do not see.
They have ears that do not hear. Or God tells the nation of Israel they are stiff-necked and they are stubborn. Remember one of Israel's favorite idols was the calf. What's indicative of a calf?
They're stubborn. They're stiff-necked. They don't do what you tell them. And so the nation of Israel takes on the characteristics of their idols.
Now as we move through the book of Judges, as we trace through the history of Israel, this has really practical implications. Because the way that Baal is worshipped was sexually. It's why so often throughout the Old Testament, you'll see them engaged in sexual immorality. Well, that's the way you got Baal to function.
You had to prime the pump, so to speak. And the way that the worshiper primed the pump was to copulate with a temple prostitute. So when we reject the true and living God and we go after idols, that is then Judges chapter 2. You can turn back there.
So the root cause of their apostasy is that they did not know the Lord, nor the work which he had done for Israel. Now remember that particular concept, because this generation did witness powerful things. They did see the mighty hand of God at work in their midst. They saw that the children of Israel be able to walk across the River Jordan.
They saw the miracles. They saw the displays of power. But like we see in Matthew's Gospel in 11, 20 to 24, when Jesus is upgrading the cities in which he did his miracles, he does so because they saw those things and did not repent. We are fools to think that if men see miracles, that makes Christians.
The people in Jesus' day saw many mighty miracles, and it did not make them Christians. The people in the days of the judges saw many mighty miracles, but it did not make Christians. Men must be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. They must believe savingly the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In sum, amnesia, according to Davis, produces apostasy. That is why scripture is so frantic about the church, not forgetting what God has done for us. We need to recall and rehearse the mighty works of God. This is why Bible reading is important.
This is why church attendance is important. This is why the Lord's Supper is important. We need to keep before our eyes constantly these great redemptive acts of our God so that we don't forget. You see what happens when we forget?
Bad things. We need to keep before our minds the great works of the living and true God.
Description of Israel's Apostasy
So back to Judges 2, verses 11 to 15, we see the description of Israel's apostasy.
Israel's Covenantal Relationship to God
We should note their relationship to God. The fact that they are rightfully related or covenantally related to God exacerbates the sinfulness of these particular people. In other words, they had God as the God of the patriarchs, the God of their fathers. Notice in chapter 2 at verse 10.
I'm sorry, chapter 2 at verse 12. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers. They had a rich history and pedigree with this living and true God. He was to them a deliverer.
Notice in verse 12. They forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. He had done these things on their behalf, this should serve all the more to promote and produce in them fidelity and a pursuit of those things which are pleasing in his sight. And then his establishment of the covenant in verse 20 of chapter 2, because this nation has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not heeded my voice.
You see in those three descriptions we see that God Almighty is related to this nation in a very special, very peculiar, and very powerful manner. And so for them, not to pursue righteousness, not to pursue faithfulness, really is a blight on their name.
Israel's Defection and Baal Worship
Now notice, Israel's defection, verses 11 to 13. Verse 11a serves as sort of a topic sentence. Then, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. We expect that, though, don't we?
After verse 10, we expect that. They did not know the Lord. What happens when men do not know the Lord? Even when we know the Lord, we struggle with not doing evil, right?
I mean, we profess saving faith in Jesus Christ. Did you have an evil-free day? Did you act upon that knowledge of the Lord successfully? Did you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength the entirety of the day?
Did you love your neighbor as yourself all day long? Were you glowing? Were you shining? No, you know that's not the case.
So even as those who know the Lord struggle with doing evil, this generation did not know the Lord. Verse 11 naturally follows. The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. There is ungodliness which flows into unrighteousness.
The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. Note, and they served the Baals. I just want to read Davis. He describes Baal worship. in a very descriptive way, and some might even find it a bit offensive.
I find this at times when we study scripture. People get offended by some choice of words, or they get offended by a particular turn of phrase. Oh, that we get more offended by the fact that we engage in these sorts of sins. We don't like it when God in Ezekiel 16, 25 indicts the people and says, you spread your legs to every passerby to multiply your harlotries.
Our delicate sensitivities are offended by that. We don't really have a problem spreading our own legs and engaging in that sort of harlotry against the living and true God. Just don't tell us about it. So let's listen to what Davis has to say concerning Baalism.
Baal wasn't just one sort of a god. It was more of a title, like lord or master. And each sort of province or each sort of locale would have a Baal, if you will. In Canaanite theology and agriculture, the fertility of the land depended upon the sexual relationship between Baal and his consort.
Later, they're going to serve the Ashtoreths. This is Bale's honey. This is Bale's squeeze. The asterisks are the ones that Bale consorts with. says the revival of nature was due to sexual intercourse between Baal and his partner.
But the Canaanite faithful didn't simply sit back and say, let Baal do it. There was no let go and let Baal thinking among them. Instead, their watchword was, serve Baal with gladness, all ye glands. Hence, the Canaanites practiced sacred prostitution as a part of their worship.
A Canaanite man, for instance, would go to a Baal shrine and have intercourse with one of the sacred prostitutes serving there. The man would fulfill Baal's role and the woman Ashtar's. The idea was that the copulating of the worshipper and of the holy prostitute would encourage the divine couple, Mr. and Mrs. Baal, to do their thing and thus the rain, grain, wine, and oil would flow again.
That's Baalism. That's what they were doing. That's what it meant to forsake Yahweh and to go after Baal. Block says, in contrast to the lofty theology and austere morality of Yahwehism, the Canaanite religious system offered exciting and often erotic cult rituals.
Now, sometimes I'll refer to God as Yahweh. When you look at your Bible, if you're using the New King James, note, for instance, in verse 11, you'll see that LORD is in all caps, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. That represents what's called the tetragrammaton, the four letters, Y-H-W-H, the divine or covenant name of God. A lot of the Old Testament commentators use the name Yahweh, so if I refer to Yahweh, that's all I mean.
The name of Israel's God. We might also refer to him as Jehovah. Jehovah works better in some of our Psalms when we need an extra syllable, but probably Yahweh is closer than is Jehovah. I don't think there's a Jah sound in Hebrew language.
I don't think there's a Jah sound in Dutch either. There's certain languages out there that don't have a Jah. And so Yahweh is the God of Israel. But what Bloch says is right.
In contrast to the lofty theology and the austere morality of Yahwehism, the Canaanite religious system offered exciting and often erotic cult rituals. So God, the Lord of Israel, was good to bring them out of the land of Egypt. But in the day-to-day mundane things like rain upon your crops, Baal was your go-to God. Especially when your Canaanite neighbor next door was telling you, what we do is this, and in order to get blessing, this is how we go about it.
Well then, the Israelite man would go home and say, honey, I've got an idea on how we can get productivity. So this is probably the way that they went. So they did evil, they served Baals, they forsook God, and they followed other gods. Verse 12.
The gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the Lord to anger. What does that remind you of? They provoked the Lord to anger. The second word, right?
The second commandment. Why does God say, you shall not make for yourself a carved image? Why does God prohibit idolatry? Because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.
You see, God, when he enters into covenant with somebody, wants to keep that person exclusively. And so behind the scenes here is a violation of the first and the second commandments, and as a result they provoke the Lord to anger. Verse 13, they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths, and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So Israel's relationship to God, their defection from God,
God's Rejection of Apostate Israel
now notice their rejection by God in verses 14 and 15. So he delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn to them." So you see, here's the interesting thing. When we pursue faithfulness by the grace of God, our God is with us.
When we reject Him and forsake Him and follow Baals and Ashtoreths, when we engage in the customs of the land, when we engage in idolatry and abject wickedness, what does God then do? He delivers them over. Note that it's underscored at the end of verse 15, as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn to them. This is not surprising.
Especially for those of you who have been attending our Wednesday night services for any period of time. What does Deuteronomy 28 tell us in vivid detail? If you go into the land and you reject me, then I will reject you. Prior to Deuteronomy 28, we have Leviticus 26.
We have a covenant document wherein if the faithful are righteous, they receive blessing. If they are unrighteous, they receive cursing. So everything that happens to Israel has already been foretold. Everything has already been specified.
They know the boundaries. They know the parameters. They know the marching orders. They know the law.
They are not to forsake the living and true God. They are not to pursue idols. They are not to engage in the rejection of this Lord, because if they do, or when they do, He will reject them. And I thought in this connection, Romans 8, 31b, if God is for us, who can be against us?
Didn't we see this throughout the book of Joshua? When the nation of Israel goes in on the conquest, they're outnumbered very often, they're outstrategized very often, they're outgunned very often, and yet they get victory. I mean, all they have to do is march around Jericho and the city falls. After dealing with sin in the camp with AI, they go in and utterly decimate that particular place.
It was obvious it was true. The Lord God fought for them. The Lord God undertook on their behalf and the Lord God brought victory. Now the tables have turned.
They've rejected God and now God is rejecting them. So 831 in the book of Romans, if God is for us, who can be against us? The converse is true as well. If God is against us, who can be for us?
James mentions something in this vein in James chapter 4. He says in verse 4, adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. So when you reject God and you pursue the world, what happens?
You make God your enemy. This is precisely what's happening in the book of Judges. They reject God, and they have thus made God their enemy. It truly is justice.
It truly is penal sanction. It truly is the wrath and fury of God to bear upon these people. So we've seen the root, we've seen description, now
Divine Response to Israel's Apostasy
notice thirdly and finally the divine response to Israel's apostasy. The end of verse 15, and they were greatly distressed. Verse 16, nevertheless the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. That's amazing grace, okay?
Their distress here was not because of their sin. Their distress here was not because they forsook Yahweh and bowed to Baal. Their distress here was the effects of bad choices. Their distress was not having good crops.
Their distress was foreign oppression. Their distress was the problems that go along with covenant unfaithfulness. Their distress is not repentance. that verse 16 begins with, nevertheless, underscores for us a rampant theme in the book of Judges, the amazing grace of God. I think God does this so many times in the Old Testament.
He shows us the despicable character of sin. He shows us the wickedness of apostasy. He shows us the folly of man so that he can display in all of his glory and majesty his excellent saving grace. nevertheless the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. This distress equals or is the same idea that you find in Exodus chapter 2.
In Exodus chapter 2 at verse 24 it says, so God heard I'm sorry, verse 23. Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage. They didn't groan because of their sin.
They didn't groan in repentance. They didn't groan in their desire to get right with God. They groaned because of bondage and they cried out. And their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
So God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." Again, Block makes this very appropriate statement. He says here in Judges 2, as in Exodus 2, there is nothing particularly spiritual about the Israelites' expression of pain. You hit your thumb with a hammer and you cry out. There's nothing godly in that.
It's not that the Lord's going to give you healing because of your holy longings. Just so, when the Midianites come, or the Philistines come, and they take your house, and they rape your wife, and they kill your children, and they decimate everything you hold dear, and you cry out because of that, there's nothing particularly spiritual involved. That's what the brother's saying. He says the absence of any hint of repentance or any reference to the people's crying out to Yahweh throws his compassion into even sharper relief.
So at the end of verse 15, and they were greatly distressed, again, not because of their sin, not in their longings for repentance, but because they had suffered the repercussions of sin, nevertheless, verse 16 says, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Men like Othniel, and Ehud, and Shamgar, and Deborah, and Barak, and Samson, and all those men that we're going to study, God willing, in the coming weeks. This is how the Lord responded to their distress. Notice, their deliverance.
The Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Again, note where the focus is. Note where the strength lies. Note where the power is.
It wasn't that Othniel was a particularly great guy. It wasn't that Ehud was a particularly great guy. It wasn't that Jephthah was a particularly great guy. Can't wait.
Can't wait to get to Jephthah, brother. Raj and I have a bit of a difference of opinion on our dear brother, Jephthah. Anyways, these men weren't stellar characters and noble, upright men. When the power of deliverance comes to Israel through a Samson, who gets the glory?
It's God. See, that's the emphasis. The Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Now notice, the cycle is indicated here.
Verse 17, Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord. They did not do so. And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.
For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. Who's the good character in this whole scene? It's God. It's grace.
It's compassion. It's mercy. You see, when the church doesn't study judges, they don't have another reason to sing Amazing Grace. When the church doesn't study judges, they don't have another reason to stand in awe at the mercy and the kindness of God.
That He would come and deliver this people? That He would come and deliver the likes of you and I? It is a sheer testimony to awesome grace. Newton would have been moved to tears had he been living in the days of the judges.
He would have wrote the same am. Amazing grace, how sweet to sound, that saved a wretch like me. You see what we miss when we neglect these books of the Old Testament? We miss God.
We miss grace. We miss kindness. And we miss Christ. Because each of these earthly deliverers is a type, is a picture, is a shadow.
It points us to the one deliverer who would come, the champion of Israel, who would save his people from their sins decisively and once for all. This is what Judges is about. It's about God's grace to an undeserving people. It's about God's power and kindness to a people who deserve nothing but wrath and fury and anger and judgment.
The Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them. and harass them. Go back for a moment. Let's do a little trans-covenantal application here. Go back to Romans chapter 8.
We are actually those who by God's grace know the Lord. We are actually His children. We are actually His people. When we don't even know what to pray, but we only groan, and the Spirit intercedes for us, shall not God avenge His own elect?
Shall not God come to His aid? If God is going to deliver these people as they're oppressed by Midianites, certainly He is going to deliver us when we're oppressed by our Midianites. I don't want to psychologize the passage, but it had to be said. We need to understand that our Lord, the Lord who was moved to pity over this apostate community in the book of Judges, is the covenant God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who when we groan, who when we cry out, who when we go to for relief, He cannot but give us relief.
Isn't this the Apostle's argument in especially Romans chapter 8 and verse 32? You struggle on a daily basis. You struggle with sin. You struggle with trial.
You struggle with temptation. You struggle with difficult people. Verse 31, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? You see the argument? If He's done the greatest, if He's delivered up His Son, if He's crucified the Son of His love, the prize of His bosom, if the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah says, was pleased to bruise Him, putting Him to grief on our behalf, Note that Paul goes on from the greater to the lesser. He delivered him up for us all.
How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? You struggle with particular issues in a day? You struggle with understanding the doctrine of atonement or the idea of forgiveness? Come to Romans 8.
Notice how Paul then begins to make implication. He says, or who shall bring a charge against God's elect? Verse 33. It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sore?
No! If God has not spared his own son but delivered him up for us, isn't he going to come to you on a daily basis when you cry out to him? If the children of Israel cried out because of the oppression of the Midianites and God could not but come to their aid, shall he not avenge his own elect who cried to him day and night? It's truly a glorious God that we serve.
Truly, the doctrine of God set forth here in Judges 2 ought to promote in us prayer and a desire to draw nigh unto the Lord.
A Degenerating Cycle
Notice, verse 19, it came to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted and behaved more corruptly. The cycles don't just cycle. It's a degenerating cycle. There's devolution.
So under Othniel, they might be here. By the time we get to Samson, they're down here. Because after the deliverance is made, after the oppressor is gone, what happens? Well, verse 19 tells us, it came to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them.
They did not cease from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
God's Direct Speech and the Test
Now note, verses 20 to 23. It's interesting. In chapter 2, verses 1 to 3, we have the angel of the Lord speak to the covenant community. Up to this point, we have the narrator, the author, the writer, the one who, under the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote the book of Judges.
Here in 21b and 22, we have direct speech from God himself. We have Yahweh, not that the narration or not yet, not that the record of the authors writing down what God said is any less important. It's not like the red letters in your Bible are more important than the prophet Isaiah. It's not like the words of Jesus are more inspired than the words of Amos.
No, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. In some ways, red letter additions, I think, create problems in the minds of New Testament readers. We think that Jesus' words are more special than Jonah's words. Well, all scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Now, of course, Jesus is more important than Jonah. He is the greater than Jonah. Think about the Word of God. But it is intriguing that here in chapter 2, we have divine speech.
Verse 20, then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. And he said, because this nation... You ever hear the word goyim? That's the word nation.
That's what the Jews referred to Gentiles. That's goi. He kind of said it like that, too, the goi. Usually, my people is how Yahweh speaks of his covenant heritage.
That's not what he says. Remember, when we introduced the book, I said I quite like the way Block outlines the book. He says it's about the canonization of Israel. Israel goes into Canaan, and instead of dispossessing the land of the Canaanites, Israel becomes Canaan.
Israel becomes Canaanized. We see that it's in full swing here. Because this nation, boy, it's like about the covenant people. You see this through the prophets.
There are instances and times where God says, your people, or God says, this people. What's he doing? On a much smaller scale, it's akin to when a father says to his wife, your son threw a rock through the window. Or the wife says, your daughter burnt that loaf of bread.
We distance ourselves from the offending party, don't we? That's what's going on. the canonization of Israel. That's what's happening because this nation has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not heeded my voice. I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not." Block says, and I have to agree with him, of course this test is not for the benefit of God.
This is not God saying, I want to see how they're going to do. God knows how they're going to do. God's told them on the plains of Moab through Moses how they're going to do. The test is to indicate something to them.
Bloch says this test is not for the benefit of Yahweh so he can tell whether or not Israel is faithful. He sees all things. The test is for Israel to give them an objective instrument that would declare to them the depths of their infidelity and the justice of God. You see, the Lord will do this and send prophets along the way to upbraid them, to call them to repentance, and to demonstrate for them their need, ultimately, for the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think this is part of the entire tutelage that the nation of Israel was under. And then notice in verse 23, therefore the Lord left those nations without driving them out immediately, nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua. Now, I haven't had the chance to check it yet, but I trust this commentator, Block, who says that every battle that takes place in the Book of Judges, there is no new land acquired by Israel. There's no new territory acquired whatsoever.
The only blessing from the battle comes in deliverance from the oppressor. But it wasn't as if, in the time of the Judges, the children of Israel expanded their territory. It was not that way. And so what God says to them does in fact ring true.
The Remaining Nations and Israel's Failure
Now notice, the remaining nations, verses 1 to 6 on chapter 3. Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan. This was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it." I don't think what it means here is that they might be taught strategy or how to use weapons or how to invade enemy territory. The idea of being taught for war, holy war, the fact that God the Lord had granted to them this particular piece of land.
He covenanted with Abraham way back when. He has brought it to pass. He has brought it to fruition. This new generation needs to learn something about God's grace.
They need to learn something about obedience to Deuteronomy 7, 1 to 5. They need to go in. They need to dispossess the land. They need to do what the Lord God has told them concerning His particular plan.
And then the particular nations are indicated, the persons are indicated, the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, Sidonians, Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-Herman to the entrance of Hamath. Verse four, they were left that he might test Israel by them to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. Again, this sets the stage. This is the backdrop.
This is the context for all that will follow in the remainder of the book. And then verses 5 and 6 summarize the whole thing. Thus, the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. What's the problem there?
Got to see it. They dwelt among. Was that the plan? Was Deuteronomy 7, 1 to 5?
I just want you to go in there and dwell among the people. Here's the land that I promised to your father Abraham. Here's the land that I have delivered to you. I've handed it to you.
Here's my decree. Here's my demand. Here's my specification. You go in and you utterly destroy.
You make no political alliance. You make no social contract. And you certainly don't engage in the religion of the land. You dispossess the land of its inhabitants.
First problem, verse 5, the children of Israel dwelt among them. Verse 6 doesn't surprise us, does it? They took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods. It's the problem right there.
Disobedience to the Lord. They dwelt among the Canaanites. They married with the Canaanites. They worshipped with the Canaanites.
I quoted Davis before. In this regard, it bears quoting again. What began as toleration became apostasy. We're just going to tolerate these Canaanites in the land. became apostasy.
What seemed so reasonable proved lethal. Living with Canaanites led to worshiping with Canaanites. Tolerate Baal's people, and sooner or later you bow at Baal's altar." That's the reality. And that's a great lesson that we gain from Judges chapter 2.
We see the power of sin, not only in our hearts, but we see corruption, devolution. It's not like we end up getting better. We see that in verse 19, they revert, behave more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods. They're in a particular nation, and instead of obeying God and dispossessing those Canaanites, They instead acclimate themselves to the world around them.
A couple of good quotes on that whole idea. I think we should take that message from Judges 2. We are in the world, but we're not supposed to be of the world. We may be living in Canaan, but we're not supposed to bow with the Canaanites.
We may be living in Canaan, but we shouldn't marry with the Canaanites. We should resist. We should refuse political alliance, social alliance, religious alliance, those sorts of things. Davis says they do not and apparently cannot keep themselves from the slavery of sin.
They are held in sin's grip. They have Baal in their blood. Bloch says peaceful coexistence with the world leads to cohabitation and alliance with the world, which in turn leads to taking on the religious notions of the world. This is the rule.
Occasions when the influence is in the reverse direction are the exception. In other words, it's not generally the case that a righteous person positively affects an unrighteous environment. It is more typically the sense that the unrighteous environment affects the righteous person. And then Fawcett makes this very perceptive observation.
Our high calling is to be in the world, not of the world. It is not our being in the world that ruins us, but our suffering or our letting the world to be in us. Listen to this. Just as ships sink, not by being in the water, but by the water getting into them.
The ship doesn't sink because it's in the water. The ship sinks because the water gets into the ship. The Christian doesn't sink because he's in the world. The Christian sinks because he lets the world in.
That's what Judges 2, at least on a very practical level, ought to remind us of in terms of our own sanctification. And as well, if we miss the sovereignty of God in Judges 2, we certainly aren't opening our eyes. You see, this is God's purpose. This is God's plan.
This is God's decree. to engage in these cycles of sin, oppression, and deliverance. The cycles serve to demonstrate to the people their own sinfulness. The standard by which the people are measured remains the same, the law of God. You see the emphasis in 17, and in 19, and in chapter 3, verse 4.
It is the law of Moses. It is the Decalogue. It is the Pentateuch. It is that word that God spoke at Sinai.
He ratified it on the plains of Moab. This is the standard by which they are to conduct themselves, and they violate this. And then these deliverers that are raised up, these judges that God raises up, surely and truly demonstrate his mercy, his grace, and his kindness. So as I said, I think Israel, under the Old Covenant, in many respects, it was a tutelary time.
It was a time of tutelage so that they could learn something about sin and the need for the Savior. And certainly, that's what Judges demonstrates, sin and our need for the Savior. So if somebody says, what did you study tonight in Judges chapter 2, you can say, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for your grace and the way that you manifest it in a book like Judges. We pray that you would continue to guide our studies, that you would help us to see you first and foremost, and help us to learn truths about our own hearts and about our own waywardness. And certainly, as the hymn writer says, we can affirm.
We are prone to wander. prone to leave the God that we love. Help us to resist this tendency and help us to pursue those things which are pleasing in your sight. May we learn theology, may we know the doctrine of God, not just so we can do well on Facebook, but that we may live well in your sight and for your glory. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.