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THE TIME OF THE JUDGES (III)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 3
Judges 2:1-10

Psalm 71

 

“…and this people will rise up,

and go a whoring after the gods…”

 

THE TIME OF THE JUDGES (III)
 
Judges chapter 2 opens with confrontation. The charge against God’s people is their infidelity, and the angel of the Lord confronts them with evidence of this. Their infidelity is set against the context of God’s covenant faithfulness, and its evidence is in their disobedience to His commands. The LORD had been faithful in fulfilling His promises made to the patriarchs. He had brought them out of Egypt. He had given them the Promised Land. He had given them His commandments and required loyalty and obedience from them. However, the nation, through its disobedience, showed itself unfaithful to the LORD.
 
“…they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare…” (Judg 2:3; 3:4-7). Their compromise with the Canaanites (which began with subjection and had now developed into marrying them) defiled the nation and compromised the spirituality and purity of Israel’s worship. The presence of, and now relations with, the Canaanites had become a snare, a trap in which they constantly stumbled, a point of departure at which they continually strayed. They now had no spiritual fortitude or strength, they were not able to withstand or escape the lure of idolatry. They were trapped and could not escape; they would henceforth suffer.
 
“…there arose another generation after them…” (Judg 2:10). Each generation must be loyal! The godly influence of Joshua and the elders led to loyalty among the people. The influence of compromise and the idolatry of the Canaanites now led the people astray. Separation would have stamped out this corruption and maintained purity. Each generation has the responsibility to build its relationship with God! The challenge of the subsequent generation is to keep and defend the heritage of the faith of their fathers. Our sons must provide the answer to the question: “Will our sons defend the faith?” To help them do so, we defend the faith in our generation, and faithfully teach and commit to them that which we have received!
 
THOUGHT: (Read Jude 3-4.)

PRAYER: (Use Psalm 71:17-18.)

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