JUL 24

Judges 2
Memorise Judges 1:28
“but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?”

With the death of Joshua, we enter now into a very dark age in the history of Israel, known as the period of the Judges. The theme verse that sums up this whole period is the very last verse of the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). It was a time of terrible spiritual apostasy and moral decline. After Joshua and all the elders that were with him passed away, the next generation that rose up forgot all the miracles of God, and very quickly went into idolatry and great wickedness.

It was a very dark age for this young nation of Israel. Time and again the Israelites turned away from God and were chastised for it. We read of a continuous cycle, as evident in Judges 2, of sin where they rebelled against God and went after other idols; of judgment where God sent another nation to oppress them; then of repentance where they cried unto God for mercy; and finally deliverance where God raised up a judge to deliver them. However soon after that, they would fall into sin again, and the cycle would be repeated.

All these would not have happened had they obeyed the Lord in the first place. Their duty was to fully occupy the Promised Land and wipe out all the heathen nations. However, the root of the problem was that “when Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out” (Judges 1:28). They allowed the idolatrous influences to remain alongside them. In their moments of spiritual weakness, they were easily influenced to turn away. This became a snare to them for the next few hundred years, and led to so much suffering and affliction, all because they refused to deal with sin when they could.

How about us? Are there sins in our lives that we allow to remain and fester? God likewise calls us to throw down the idols in our lives. Have we obeyed? Or do we wait until God comes with his painful chastisements and punishments before we scurry back to Him for deliverance?

Thought: I must deal with every idol in my life – swiftly, decisively and conclusively.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be strong and very courageous to deal with the sins in my life.