Prologue: Ominous Portents
Notes
Transcript
Exegetical Point: The Success of the Joshua years quickly gave way to disobedience, then apostasy.
Homiletic Point: Partial Faithfulness Leads to Partial Blessing
Intro
Intro
True Justice - Conquest. True faithfulness - conquest.
Evil people - no innocents.
God had taken away their “right” to the land. God controls geopolitics.
God had given the land to Israel, they had to go in and “dispossess” the people. I they didn’t leave they would be destroyed.
God’s people deserve the sword too! The land was was taken away from Canaanites because of wickedness, but Israel was threatened with the same if they were not careful to follow through.
Judges is the story of what happened after the initial conquest.
Judges acts as proving ground for the unyielding covenant love and grace of God, will he be faithful? and a reminder of perpetual human failure, will they ever be faithful?
Allegory for spiritual warfare and the consequences of faithlessness. God does not call his people in every age to literally go to war against ungodly nations, but we are in every age to obey God, including war against the spiritual powers of darkness.
It is a book that will inspire us to take action, make us despair our human condition, and leave us hungry for God to overcome our generational failures.
What is the shape of the book?
Narative
Book has Prologue, Centre & Epilogue
Prologue today
Center: the record of a series of Judges from all over Israel
Epilogue: Two stories
Deepening spiral
It gets worse and worse
Initially there is an obvious distinction - good guys, bad guys. Not like modern film and books which are often quite focused on making the bad guys more relatable, instead we see the good guys look more and more like the bad guys.
We expect the bad guys, the surrounding wicked tribes/countries to do what they do, but we also would expect to see a narrative arc, where the good guys have faced their failures learned their lesson and then after some climax or other the good guys finally prevail. Well, don’t hold your breath!
This book is full of short episodes in their history, with plenty of happy endings in themselves, but the general trend is downward with more and more atrocities, more and more flawed characters, less and less Words from God.
Today - prologue. Lots of summary and stage-setting.
Some Victory, Some Defeat
Some Victory, Some Defeat
Symptoms of Underlying Issues
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?” The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
Moses, the Joshua had a prophetic/priestly function - they were the voice of God
Good stuff - ask God! They already have had an issue in the Joshua years
God is present with his people! He is working with them and for them.
Although they were steeled in the land, great areas remain unconquered. Maps don’t really covey the “spotty” nature of their control.
Victory after victory in the South
The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western foothills. They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.
Then things slowed down. Going got tough.
Grind to a halt.
The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. The Benjamites, however, did not drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.
Same problems in the north
The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.
then...
And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.
And so on...
But there was at least some kind of victory - forced labor. They couldn’t kill them, but the enslaved them.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
Why?? What was causing this problem?
We will answer, but first:
Examples of Faithfulness
Examples of Faithfulness
Caleb a shining example of full faithfulness!
Spied out the land gave a good report
He was promised a reward
He survived the faithless generation who died in the wilderness
He went up and took possession with great faith!
Offered his daughter
Every faithful father should protect his daughter. Caleb uses this trial as a test, for his future son in law to prove his strength and reliability.
Othniel (Achsah’s cousin) came through and won the day (marrying your cousin was socially acceptable).
Achsah - The first of several intelligent and courageous women.
She "counsels” her new husband to ask for land from his father in law. A wise request, with more land he will better be able to provide for his family and the subsequent generations.
Caleb appears to have given them land in the Negev - a dry wilderness in the south.
Such land is useless without water, so Achsah pleads with her father.
One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?” She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
Caleb answers her request, and gave his daughter the water supplies she needed!
It may be that your allotted place in life is “in the wilderness” - in God’s providence some of us “inherit” what seems like unusable or unfruitful space.
Yet, we can come and ask our heavenly father for water, springs of living water!
Examples of faithfulness.
John 4:14 (NIV)
Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
There we will find abundance and fruitfulness!
Partial Obedience, Triumph Withheld
Partial Obedience, Triumph Withheld
Now we get the explanation of why things haven’t been going as planned
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,
Sounds good so far!
God is always faithful!
and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’ ”
ahh, now here’s the issue...
God’s temporal consequences for our actions. Our lack of faithfulness is a real problem. Partial faithfulness leads to partial blessing.
God never stops delivering his promises, but we cannot expect to receive all that the lord has for us if we are in rebellion.
Cut of the arm that causes sin!
The response?
When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
A good answer - but the ship has sailed. They have lost their chance.
How many of us have repented later in life, knowing that we lost our chance at blessing - it could have been a failed marriage, failed parenting, an abortion by your own hand, lost career, lost property/wealth, lost position in the church - all because of our own failures.
We cannot undo these things, but we should still serve the LORD! Even in the worst of our sins, God can bring good out of them.
You cannot shoulder the burden for your past evils, cast them on Christ, receive forgiveness, mourn the loss of what could have been, then trust God and serve him faithfully. It is the only way forward. Perhaps your evil has been great, but God may yet use you greatly, like a Saul-Paul.
Christ has died to free you of your sins. You may live with the present consequences, like Israel, but know that God will deliver on his promises in Christ, even through you have failed him. He will always come through for his people!
Generational Knowledge
Generational Knowledge
The next generation...
The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.
Parents are you teaching your children? Don’t play games with eternal souls. The past two generations have largely failed to impart faith to their children. Our grandparents and great grand parents were weary from war (WWI & WWII), but they forgot that there was a spiritual battle to be fought over souls. Many made the awful mistake of leaving the discipleship of their children to the church and the schools, they presumed that their faith would be handed down, and did not disciple their own children. The baby boomers were largely left to float on the winds and be attracted to any spiritualism that looked attractive, and they did the same again for their children (speaking in generalities).
Why are there empty churches that dot the countryside?
Why are the many churches where there are no Christian young families?
Why are ever fewer percentages of Christians each census?
Why is church so lacking in faithfulness?
Because God’s people have not discipled their children. The children have not known the Lord or what he has done for us!
He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
You who are not parents, do not think you are free from obligation. These young believers are part of your church - you belong to them, and they belong to you as brothers and sisters in the household of faith. In so far as it is in your power, encourage the next generation to serve the LORD all the days of their life.
Now a word to you children: Children, are you taking your faith for granted? It is easy to be unworried about spiritual things, because you are so familiar with them.
Gold and silver are very precious and expensive, but if you grew up eating off silver spoons and plying with golden jewelry, it won’t seem as precious or special.
If you ask someone who became a believer later in life, they will tell you that you have a precious gift from being born into a Christian home, you must not take that gift for granted.
Learn the ways for the LORD and commit yourself to them. You children who have been baptized in this last year, baptism is not a “rite of passage,” it is a pledge from God and a sign of what you have received! You are like the Israelites who crossed the Jordan (baptism) to enter into the promised land, but now is not the time for you to just take it easy with your faith, God’s covenant with you is secure, now go forth with confidence to win the spiritual battles you will face! Don’t become afraid, and huddle in the safe territory, but go up and claim the promised blessing that God has given you!
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
So What?
So What?
Examples of faithfulness - Caleb, seeking the blessing.
Partial faithfulness lead to partial blessing.
Lack of faithfulness leads to generational decline & apostasy.
God is always faithful, he will lead and provide for his people, but don’t treat the Lord with contempt. Honour him with your whole heart.
Drive home conclusion