Judges

LOST: The Book of Judges

Judges 1:1-36

INTRODUCTION

[Greeting]

This week we start a new study called LOST through the book of Judges. There was an old parable of a man who was about to shoot a bear. The bear said, “Wait! What do you want?” The hunter said, “I want a fur coat for the winter.” The bear said, “And I want a full stomach. Let’s compromise.” Later, the bear got up and walked away—alone. He had his full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat.

This is essentially of what we’ll see in the Book of Judges is a progression of compromise in God’s people. My hope in our series this semester is that you would be aware of your own walk with the Lord and be careful to walk faithfully with Jesus Christ.

So, turn in your Bibles to Judges 1:1-36 and let’s stand and read together.

SERMON

The book of Judges is about the steady decline and compromise of God’s people because they wanted to trust themselves instead of trusting what God said. We can sum it the whole book in Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

The biggest temptation in our life is that we know ourselves best and that we know what’s best for us. My hope is that after looking at chapter 1 of the book of Judges we would be reminded that God truly does love us and has all that we need in him and his ways are best and not our way and even more that when we insist on living life in our own eyes, that’s when we run into unneeded trouble.

Before we walk through this passage let’s take a moment an pause and ask ask God to bring to our mind any area that you have been disobedient in (write it down)…pray that God allow tonights message to penetrate your heart to fall back in love with His ways and not your own.

Tonight, here is what I want us to see, that trusting in yourself leads to a distrust in God.

1. Demonstrate Total Obedience (1:1-2)

The first two verses show us two things that are true of those who are waking in obedience to the Lord - then and now.

First, we see that Guidance Requested (v.1) from the Israelites, which were God’s chosen people. After the life of Joshua, the people of Israel were left without a spiritual leader but still wanted to live the life they vowed to the Lord when Joshua was alive. Joshua called the people to make a decision on who they would serve. We see that vow from the people in Joshua 24:24 “And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” This is important because we see even in the OT that following God was a personal commitment and communal decision without the presence of a “leader” to lead God’s people.

The decision to follow and love God is first a personal decision. v.1 of Judges shows us that even when there is no “leader” to help, your decision to follow God must still be true! With or without a earthly spiritual leader we have a heavenly father who we can always go to and this is exactly what we see here - that God’s people are seeing the guidance straight from God.

If we want to be people of God then we must seek the guidance of God in our life. This is simple but a powerful truth! Simply having the desire to know from God what He wants you to do is a godly desire and should be lived out.

We see here that Israel is sensitive to the will of God in the same way that we should be sensitive to the voice of God and hearing from the voice of God through prayer, His Word - The Bible, and through biblical community.

After the people of Israel seek God’s guidance we see that the Guidance was Received (v.2). God listens and responds to His people - the concern is oif we’re listening or not.

James 1:6-8 says “…ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

The heart posture that we go to God matters! The good news is that we have a God who listens and responds when we pray and go to him. When we look at how God responds in verse 2 we see that God gives direction and promise. Direction in that he specifies what’s to come.

In your life what does going to God look like? There are bracelets that have the letter “WWJD” and this could be a good way to consider how you live and also want to encourage you to specifically go to God in prayer in all things asking “God, what would you have me do?” and giving the Lord time to respond and lead you to his plan.

Verses 3-15, show us mostly the result of what it could look like to follow the direction of God - we see the people of Israel successful conquer the Canaanites.

Here’s a side note: What do you do when you are following God and things don’t seem to be going well? Hear is how you should interpret those times - your goal is faithfulness to God and not results. The accomplishment is being faithful to God and not overcoming issues. If you aim to be faithful and love your God you will be doing what God wants you to do and you will feel the result of walking with God.

Here’s what I want you to know - Total obedience starts with seeking the guidance from God.

2. Don’t Settle for Partial Disobedience (1:16-26)

Verses 16-26 shows us the danger of tolerance, comfort, and existing where sin is. Partial or halfway obedience is the still disobedience and is the very first step in the progression of sin.

Look with me at Judges 1:19 where we see the first sign of partial obedience from God’s people. “And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.” Remember in verse 2 where God responded? Look back at what God said - He told them that He had ALREADY “GIVEN” the Canaanites into their hands - meaning that the battle was fixed for God’s people to win but what do we read in verse 19? We read that they “could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron”. The translation is they thought to themselves they couldn’t win the battle against those who loved there because they were too advanced as an army. The equivalent today in reading this is the people of God would be bring knives to a gun fight - that’s the picture!

Here’s the message that God wants us to see in this and why God would send His people into a battle in this manner - God desired for His people to be agents and ambassadors that point others to real hope in God. If the people of Israel would have gone into battle and they would have had the gins to the knife fight then they would have gotten the glory and the fame and not the Lord and those they were fighting would not have been pointed to the ultimate hope - which is God. The victories that were had for the people of Israel were from God just like every other battle and war would be because of God, too.

There’s a spiritual lesson here is that it is God who does all things. The reason you breathe today is because of God, the reason you can play sports is because of God, ultimately your salvation is because of God! None of it is because of you - you and I are only on the receiving end of the benefits that God has given us. John 3:27 “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”1 Corinthians 4:7 “…What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

This should give you and I hope for our lives and the situations that we find ourselves in that our good father in heaven will supply and give all that we need and our responsibility is to simply receive it from Him.

There’s a couple other things I think you should notice.

Look at verse 20-21. We read, Judges 1:20–21 “And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.”

There is good news and bad news here and I want you to see it.

The bad news is in verse 21 where we see that God’s people have yet again not have done what God told them to do and didn’t conquer the land and defeat the Jebusite army. What’s even worse is that they allowed the enemy, the very people God said to drive out, to stay and live among them as if they were apart of them.

The issue here is that here is that first they didn’t do what God told them to do and secondly they are mingling with the enemy and sin. Essentially they are playing with fire. You see, as God’s holy people, which that’s who the people of Israel are and that’s who we are if we have surrendered our life to Christ Jesus, must not allow sin and disobedience to hang around us like pets. We shouldn’t play with sin and the things of wickedness and Satan but we should be set apart and brought out from the world, which is what holiness is.

Playing with sin is like the story of the women who had a pet snake. Each night the snake would sleep in the same bed with the woman and stretch its body out, long ways. The woman thought it was cute until one day the snake ate her whole. The snake was sizing her up to get a good read on how to eat her. This is what sin does - it’s small at first but when we allow it to stick around we end up being devoured by it.

If were honest - many of you have been eaten by your sin and guilt. You know what its like to seek the approval of your friends so much that you don’t recognize who you are and you feel like you can’t be yourself. You’ve realized the shame you feel after looking at pornography again and again and you feel like you can’t get out of the rut. Many of you know what it means for what was once small has now become more than you can handle.

Here’s the good news that we see, which is right in the middle of verse 20 when Judah can’t drive our Jebusites and right before they allow the enemy to eat at their table, so to speak. We read that Judges 1:20 “Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak (which were said to be Giants!).” Here is what the writer is really trying to communicate to you and I as the readers and Christ followers - is that we need to be like Caleb, a faithful believer who never waivers in our trust in God.

You see, Caleb was a part of Judah, or the people of Israel and yet, the writer says that Judah co-existed with the enemy and in verse 21 that Judah didn’t drive our the Jebusites. Even though the rest of the people around Caleb, which were the people of Israel, Caleb was faithful to the Lord and did what was commanded of him.

If this was today, here is how I think it would go - even though the people around you are living contrary to God and NOT doing what is commanded by God - YOU be the one who will be faithful to God. You see, here in our text with the people of God the reason why they weren’t able to conquer and drive out the people and do what God told them to do what NOT because of strength but because of faithfulness. How sstrong we are is never the issue, or how brave we are is never the issue, but how faithful to the Lord we are is.

God had already told them that He would deliver and give every battle to them to win - they just needed to be faithful. What about you? What you are compromising on in your life because you think it’s because you are strong enough or brave enough or old enough or experienced enough? The issue not weather you can do it but it’s a matter to being faithful to God.

Here’s the point - Half-way obedience is still disobedience disguised as comfort, compromise.

3. Drive Out Total Disobedience (1:27-36)

From this moment on we see nothing but decline from the people of God. They move from Obedience to halfway obedience to full on disobedience! Look with at the continual decline of God’s people in Judges 1:27–36 “Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

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. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

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.

Here is the worst part of all this! The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.”

What. A. Shame! God’s people distrusted God so much that we now see OUTRIGHT DISOBEDIENCE to God. I can imagine they justified in their mind that they didn’t do exactly what God told them to do - which was to drive them out - because they thought it would be better to make use of them and have them serve them as slaves. That’s what we see in verse Judges 1:30 “ so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.” , Judges 1:33 “Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.” , & Judges 1:35 “but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor.”. What adds insult to injury is that in verse 35 they weren’t even able to come into the land at first because they were so weak!

It’s like being asked to build model volcano for a science project. Instead of following the teacher's instructions, you decide to add a few secret ingredients to make it erupt even better. But when the time comes, the volcano doesn’t erupt at all—just a small puff of steam and a lot of dry cracks! Sometimes, thinking we have a better idea than just following directions can lead to more hiccups than we anticipated!

This was the issue of the people of Israel and if we’re being honest it’s our issue too - thinking we can help God instead of simply being faithful to what God has already called you to do. You don’t need to make your own biblical community on the field - come to church - you and I only need to be faithful to what God has called us to do.

I’ve said it before - when you don’t know what to do simply do the next godly thing!

Here is what I want you to know - What we won’t drive out will eventually drive us back

CONCLUSION