YA judges

Well, welcome everybody. It’s good to see all of you here. My name is Zach Honnen and I’m the student director and young adult Director at The River Church (Grand Blanc)

I was Asked to step in for Pastor Ryan this week and when I was offered the opportunity, I was really excited. but i was also on my way back from my second week of student camp and i was also really really Exhausted.

And because of that, I asked Pastor Phil if I was allowed to possibly stray away from John and lean into something that I felt, the Lord, working in my own heart

And Pastor Phil said yes so today we're gonna be looking at some thing I talked about briefly at student camp. We're gonna be looking at the book of Judges.

Now, if you have your Bibles with you today, we're going to be looking at Judges chapter 2 We'll see how much we get through there are 23 verses, and I'd love to touch on all of them but we'll see what God has.

While you turn there, I want to give a little backstory to the book of Judges let's go ahead and look at the context of Israel at this point

At this point in history, Israel had been freed from slavery to Egypt

God through Moses had freed the people and let them Into the wilderness, and they began their journey to the promised land

But when the people had arrived at the promised land, they were afraid, and had no faith in God

Because of their lack of faith, God told them that they would have to wander into the wilderness until that generation has passed away all except Caleb, Joshua and Moses

And during that journey, Moses had had a moment of disobedience, and was not allowed to enter into the promised land only to see it

After Israel had wandered for 40 years, and that generation had passed away, they came to the promised land. Moses was not able to enter, but he saw the promised land, and passed away

With the passing of Moses, Joshua took up the mantle as the leader for the people,

and God commanded Joshua, to conquer the land, and the people who we’re there, and the gods of the people who were there to be removed from the land, and from among the people of Israel

And the beginning of Judges is the end of Joshua.

Joshua had fought many battles and conquered many areas, but not all.

And we see that recapped, and Judges chapter 1

in Judges 1:27-36 That many tribes fought, but did not remove the peoples from amongst them. Instead, they kept them there and put them to forced labor.

Judges 1:28 ESV

28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

And with that, let's go ahead and go to the Lord in prayer ask him to help us continue through this text and find what he has for us today

Pray:

Section one: Fail of obedience and faith

You see again in Judges chapter 1 verse 28 we see a pattern a problem really.

Judges 1:28 ESV

When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

And this is a pattern see repeated throughout chapter 1 Israel did not drive them out completely. They were commanded to remove the people from the land to drive them out completely from amongst themselves, but they thought they were strong enough to keep them in force labor. they thought they knew better than the Lord.

And this leads us into chapter 2 verse one

Judges 2:1–5 (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.”

4 As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

The angel of the Lord, the Pre-carnet Christ, comes to the people and tells them of the covenant that He made reminds them of the covenant that they made their fathers made with God, reminding them of the truth

And after reminding them of the truth, he points to what they've been doing points to the fact that they did not follow what the Lord commanded, and tells them what the consequence will be for their disobedience

The Lord convicted, and commanded that they would drive the people out, but Israel decided that they thought they knew better

Proverbs 3:7 ESV

7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

Israel believing that they knew better

thinking that they were wise decided to go against the word of the Lord

they thought they would be strong enough to keep the people under their thumb instead of driving them out and God tells them that they are wrong

And we see the people respond with weeping and sacrifice, the people We're greatly affected by this

Judges 2:7 ESV

7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.

Judges 2:10–12 ESV

10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.

section two: The result of disobedience and lack of faith

to whom do you look? Psalm 115:4-8

Psalm 115:4–8 ESV

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

Section three: The faith of God despite His people

conclusion: what is our take away in one sentence?