Not long after Joshua’s death, the tribes of Israel stopped following the LORD’s command to drive out the heathen inhabitants of the Promised Land. This brought about curses instead of blessings. God instructed the men of Judah to be the first to go in and claim their inheritance from the Canaanites. The LORD promised them the victory. The men of Judah defeated 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites; captured their king Adoni-bezek and cut off his thumbs and big toes. From his own lips, he felt his punishment was just and from the LORD.
Judges 1:7 ESV And Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
It is only human nature to look at these stories of how God had Israel annihilate the heathen nations that were trespassing in the Promised Land. There is the thought to side in with them and think that they were there first. What is easy to forget and what can distort our perspective is the fact that Noah lived 350 years after the flood (Genesis 9:28); Shem lived 500 years after the flood (Genesis 11:11); they were eye witnesses and righteous men of God who went through the flood and were alive for 500 years into the post flood world; giving their testimony. The heathen people knew that there was one true God. Abraham comes on the scene and both Pharaoh and Abimelech are personally warned by the LORD, not to touch Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Joseph, Abraham’s grandson, many years later interprets the dreams of a new Pharaoh. Generation after Generation; The LORD was revealed to the heathen and pagan people. In essence, the Gospel was preached throughout the world down through the Exodus and beyond. 430 years after Joseph, a new pharaoh receives the Gospel message on deaf ears. As a witness to the entire world, Egypt was utterly destroyed after being given 10 chances; 10 wakeup calls through ten plagues. The heathen people lived in open rebellion to the LORD. Adoni-bezek openly admitted his cruelty and that, “God has repaid me.” God’s mercy is great and He gave the heathen of Canaan their chance to repent.
The men of Judah started out with the LORD on their side. Victory after victory the heathen nations fell to the men of Judah. The LORD was with them. Then they became afraid of the iron chariots of the hill country and they failed to drive them out.
Judges 1:19 ESV And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.
Was God no longer with them? Of course not; they were given a test and they failed. They lost their faith in the LORD. The iron chariots became bigger than God in their eyes. Unfortunately, wrong thinking and bad behavior will pull down those around you.
Benjamin followed Judah’s fear and could not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem. Then Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali failed to drive out the heathen people. They disobeyed God’s command to drive them out. They stopped relying on the LORD and began relying on their own strength; which was weakening more and more each day.
Judges 2:1-3 ESV Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, (2) and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? (3) So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."
All God has ever been looking for is a people that He could bless; who would obey His voice and receive the abundance that God is yearning to pour out. If we take back our lives in rebellion to God, we lose them in misery, pain, suffering and death. If we give our lives in loving obedience to God and make Him LORD over our life, then He gives us back our lives with great abundance and eternal life! The message has been the same since the Garden of Eden. Never fear that God is not merciful to the wicked. God makes sure that every person has their opportunity to choose God and eternal life. The choice has been ever present with mankind down through the ages. Today, the people are worse than the pre-flood wickedness and the evils of Sodom and Gomorrha.
Luke 17:26-29 KJV And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; (29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Matthew 10:15 KJV Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
2 Timothy 3:1-7 ESV But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. (2) For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, (4) treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (6) For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, (7) always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
GOD TURNS AGAINST ISRAEL
The LORD God of Israel, was forgotten; Israel broke the very first commandment, “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” That was the reason for removing the infidels out of the land. The Promised Land needed to be pure. The people of Israel needed to remain the Children of Israel, an innocent nation that humbly relied upon their God, the LORD. The warning was made by God, because He knew what the out come would be if Israel compromised and tried to cohabitate with evil. Nothing has changed in 3,000 plus years. The pulls of the world; the pulls of the flesh; are to great for us. We can’t dabble just a little bit in sin. A little leaven, leavens the whole loaf! Israel quickly ran after pagan gods, like Baal. God was angry.
Judges 2:10 -15 NLT After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. 13 They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. 14 This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. 15 Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.
God raised up Judges to lead Israel out of her sin and back to God. Israel was like a bride to the LORD; that is what the covenant was between The LORD and Israel, just as it is today between the LORD and the Church. Israel insisted on playing the prostitute by fornicating with pagan gods like Baal. God sent Judges to rescue Israel and for short periods of time they would return to the LORD, only to backslide back into adultery with pagan gods.
Judges 2:16-17 NLT Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. 17 Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
Judges 2: 18-19 NLT Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Heavenly Father, my LORD, you reign supreme in my life. As you have called me out of the world, help me to stay holy and separated. Lead me in your holy and righteous ways. You are the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE; keep me at one with you, I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Copyright © 2006, 2011 Thomas C. Blake
No comments:
Post a Comment