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THE TIME OF THE JUDGES (IV)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4
Judges 2:11-23

Nehemiah 9:1-31

 

“Ye shall not tempt the LORD

your God…”

 

THE TIME OF THE JUDGES (IV)
 
The failure and apostasy of the nation is clearly summarised here as the LORD dealt with them in light of their apostasy. In this section, we see the principles that underlie the recurring cycle of sin and apostasy – condemnation and servitude – repentance and supplication – deliverance and peace. A pattern that recurs over the period of the judges. Their disloyalty would always lead them to forsake God, forgetting His grace and mercies, and overlooking His mighty works on their behalf.
 
“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD…And they forsook the LORD…” (Judg 2:11-13). The religion and gods of the Canaanites seemed appealing to them with their emphasis on temporal and physical wellbeing and prosperity. Their failure to remove the Canaanites from the land and their imperfect obedience to God not only allowed for the continuance of Canaanite idolatry, but also changed the focus and purpose of Israel. The gods, which did not exist except in the imaginations of the Canaanites, now had captured the imagination of Israel. Israel was now enslaved and weakened. They could not resist the temptation of material prosperity that was tied to idolatry. Their morality decayed, as they succumbed to the immorality that accompanied idolatry, and so sensuality reigned.
 
“In those days there was no king…every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judg 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). This observation which is repeatedly made in Judges 17:6 to 21:25 emphasises a characteristic of the time of the judges, that of anarchy. Every man pleasing himself is the outcome of spiritual decay. Selfishness reigned even among the Levites as is depicted by the account of Micah’s priest (Judg 17-18) and that of the “concubine chaser” (Judg 19). This anarchy almost annihilated the tribe of Benjamin. The discord and disorder are tied to the absence of a king in the land, yet God was their King! Even the monarchy established later also deteriorated confirming that their departure from God and His Word and Will is the true cause of the evil and ills that plague God’s people.
 
THOUGHT: (Read Psalm 119:137-140.)

PRAYER: (Use Nehemiah 9:32-38.)

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