Judges: In Need of a King - Part 1
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Judges: In Need of a King
Judges: In Need of a King
Judges.
One of the least studied books of the OT. Perhaps some of the minor prophets see less attention than Judges, but certainly, as far as the narrative passages go, the book of Judges doesn’t see a whole lot of action on Sunday mornings.
On one hand, it's easy to understand why. There are strange stories in here. There are disturbing stories in here. Judges, by all accounts, is a bit of a depressing book. We are all familiar with how the book ends with the ominous words “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” We all have seen the graphics of the cycle of the judges how they fall into sin, God brings judgment, they repent, God delivers, and they see rest for a number of years before they fall into sin again and the cycle repeats.
There are individual characters and stories from the book that tend to get emphasized, but apart from those, its easy to understand why this book is not “go-to” material for churches today.
On the other hand, when we look into the book and see the patterns at play, and when we look out into the culture, I can’t help but take a look at things going on and conclude that we need the book of judges more than ever. In a day and age when the church desperately desires to be liked by the world, when secular ideologies are creeping into the church when we see prominent individuals openly declare their apostasy, the book of Judges becomes a solemn warning to us.
When I was a child, I recall a sermon that my pastor preached. We don’t often remember sermons from week to week. However, this particular one had a profound impact on my life. It was a sermon about the three chairs. It was a sermon about the observation that so often a first-generation Christian is sold-out for the Lord. They know where they’ve come from and they see the power of God in their life. But for whatever reason, they were not able to pass along that same passion to their children. Perhaps in their zeal for holiness they became legalistic and it causes some resentment. For whatever reason, the second generation, though they attend church, have made a profession of faith, etc. they don’t seem to have the same relationship with the Lord that he first generation did. And then when they have children, the slight apathey of the second generation gives birth to total indifference in the third generation. Often any subsequent generations are raised without any care for the things of the Lord altogether.
This sermon had a profound impact on me as I desired to be a first chair Christ and raise children would be the first chair as well. I did not want to be stuck in the cycle that my pastor had observed....a cycle that I can say I have seen as well. I have seen family patriarchs so sold out for the Lord, their children having a loose connection with the church and the grandchildren completely walking away from the faith.
How does this happen??
The book of Judges helps us understand that dynamic.
I do want to emphasize though that even though this book can be depressing, even though it does serve as a warning to us, even though we do see the judgment of God on full display, this book can also be incredibly encouraging!
There is a way to break the cycle! This doesn’t have to be true of us! We don’t have to perpetuate the downward spiral!
I’ve titled this series, “In Need of a King” because in many ways that is what Israelites are seeking and that is what they need. God gave them earthly rulers, and they still walked in rebellion. What they needed was a King. I’m not talking about Saul or David.
Here’s how we are going to approach the introduction to this book. I want to sketch for us the background to the book. We’re jumping into judges in the middle of a story. If you’re familiar with the book of judges, I wanted us to be reminded “how did we get here?”. What led up to this moment. How is it that these events have come to be. If you’re not as familiar with the story of the Israelite this will provide for you an overview of how God has acted and what he was doing in the world from around 2000 bc to 1000 bc. What I want us to see in this is the Covenant faithfulness of our God.
That’s this week.
Next week I will seek to provide an overview of the book of judges itself and then we will move into the first portion of the book.
The Backstory
The Backstory
Let’s go back to the book of Genesis where our story begins. Often times when jumping into the middle of a story, it's difficult to know just how far back we ought to go. We are going to go back to the beginning of the nation of Israel, to the promise that God made to Abraham.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
This is where the story begins. God said I will do this for you. Go to this place. And so Abraham went. He acted in faith on the promise of God.
God later expanded upon that promise in chapter fifteen.
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Abraham believed in the promise of God.
This is really the most fundamental aspect of the great story of the Bible. God promised to make Abraham a great nation. Decendants as numerous as the stars. and through him all the famlies of the earth would be blessed.
This is a promise that God reiterated to Isaac
2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
and then also to Jacob
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.
14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
With each generation God continues to confirm his promise that he made to Abraham. The interesting thing about Jacob is that God affirmed his promise to him several times.
Sometimes we’re like that aren’t we? We don’t always trust Go the first time, and he has to show us again and again that it is best to trust in him.
9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.
10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.
11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.
12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
This doesn’t mean that everything was sunshine and roases along the way. Jacob’s children acted wickedly out of jealousy and they sold their brother Joseph in Egypt. But God protected Joseph and blessed him. He rose to prominence in Potiphar’s house before being falsely accused of sexual immorality with by his master’s wife. After over two years in prison he eventually ascended to become the 2nd in command over all Egypt because of his wisdom in interpreting Pharoah’s dreams and offering the solution.
And it is through this position that God preserves and fulfills his promise to Abraham.
A severe famine arose in the land, and because of God’s blessing on Joseph the only place in the region that had food was Egypt.
Through god’s providence God has preserved Joseph that through him he might preserve the lives of many, including Jacob and his family. When Jacob learned Josphe was alive and in Egypt as we has making his way south, God spoke to him again:
2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”
3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.
4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
Have you notices a pattern yet? At every major stage, God reaffirms his promise to his chosen vessels. Abraham, Isaac, and now multiple times with Jacob.
God is a covenant keeping God.
The story continues int he land of Egypt. Time goes by. Joseph dies. The Israelites flourish in Egypt. a little too much for the newPharoah’s liking. He didn’t know Joseph, so he has no qualms about enslaving the Israelites in order to prevent them from taking over Egypt.
The Isrealites were in Egypt for 400 years before God rescued them by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
When God spoke to Moses, He instructed him on what to say:
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,
17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
Notice the connection with the promise to the patriarchs. The end of chapter two speaks of God acting because of the covenant he had made with Abrham, Isaac and Jacob
25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
We know the story for How God brought them out of Egypt. the 10 plagues, crossing the Red Sea, and the actions in the wilderness.
Even as God had brought them out of Egypt, the people were not always obedient and they grumbled about their new situation.
We’re prone to that ourselves aren’t we? God does something for us and we find something else to complain about. We are more like the Iraelites than we would care to admit. At least I am.
So God speaks with Moses and commands him to speak with the people:
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
And the people responded positively
Exodus 19:8 (ESV)
All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
It is at this time at the 10 commandments are given in chapter 20 and the rest of the law in the chapters that follow.
Sadly the people do not trust God wholly. despite their agreement to enter into covenant with Yahweh they are called stubborn and stiff-necked for their propensity to go their own way.
This is no more exemplified than when they refuse to enter into the Land because they are scare of the inhabitants and so God forces them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
When the time finally comes to enter the land, they are reminded of the Law that their parents had agreed to follow before their rebellion, and the book of Deuteronomy, literally the second giving of the law, was written to remind the people of where they came from and how they got to where they were that day.
Moses’ call to the people throughout the whole book is to remember and to obey the voice of the Lord. He charged them, challenged them, pleaded with them to heed the voice of God.
It is at this point that the people are to enter into the Land of Canaan. Moses died, and Joshua assumes command.
Joshua challenges them:
13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’
After giving some instructions, the people reply
16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses!
It seems as though they have learned one thing: they need the Lord to be with them!
I’m reminded of the Psalmist that said “unless the Lord builds the house, he who builds it labors in vain.”
As the book of Joshua unfolds we find the people moving in and capturing the land. When they are obedient to the Lord, there is blessing and victory, when they fail to honor him, there is defeat.
The first half of the book is about God working in the Israelites to conqure the land. The second half is God about how they divided up the land for each tribe.
As we come to the end of Joshua, we find Joshua issuing a similar charge to the people that Moses did. In chapter 24 Joshua reminds the people of God’s covenant faithfulness and charges them to follow the Lord.
I’m going read an extended passage here because of the releveance as we enter into the book of Judges.
1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God.
2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.
3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.
4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.
Joshu continues to remind the people of the things God did for them upon leaving Egypt.
skip down to verse 14
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods,
17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
18 And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”
21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”
23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.”
28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
And it is after that that Joshua died. Judges picks it up with his death:
Judges 1:1 (ESV)
1 After the death of Joshua...
So how did we get here?
By all accounts, the people of Israel should not exist. They rebelled against their God and numerous points. God had to tell Jacob at several junctures to remove the false idols from his family. The Israelites complained often and deliberately disobeyed the command of the Lord.
And yet, God had made a promise to Abraham. It was to this promise that Moses appealed to when God was angry with the people. It was to this promise that Joshua based his exhortation to the People. By every metric, this is not exactly a rock-star people group. God didn’t choose them for their greatness. God didn’t choose them because they were the holiest. God’s blessing upon them was based on his sovereign choice to bring about the savior of the world through this people. His faithfulness despite the faithlessness of the people is what brought the people to this moment.
What will they do? Will they live as they are commanded to live? Will they be obedient to the Lord? Will they be first chair Israelites? Or will they drift into second and third chairs or beyond?
If you are at all familiar with the story of the book of judges you know some of the answers. The task that is before is to study this book, learn what we can, and see how it applies to our time today. That is the task we will give ourselves to beginning next week.