Following Joshua’s Death (1:1-3:7)

DIGRESSION OF ISRAEL

JUDGES 2:1-3:7

Reading: Jos 2:17-21

Songs:

Theme:

INTRODUCTION

B. Chapter one of the Book Of Judges acts as a transition between The Book of Joshua and The Book of Judges. Chapter two of Judges introduces the pattern of disobedience, destruction and deliverance which is the pattern of the rest of the book. With Israel’s example in the book of Judges we have a indication of how Christians too are defeated, that is by mixing the practices of the world with what God expects of us (Rom 15:4; 1Co 10:11).

C. Though our passage is a historical passage, it contains lessons relevant to contemporary Christianity. From chapter two we learn some of the reasons people backslide on the Lord. With that knowledge we can arm ourselves to watch over our own lives in case such begins to creep into them and we can also assist other, encouraging them also to remain faithful.

Discussion

I. A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF FAILURE (2:1-15).

The Angel Of The Lord

A. ... when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, ... the people lifted up their voice, and wept ... (2:1-5).

1 ¶ And an angel <04397> of the LORD <03068> came up <05927> (8799) from Gilgal <01537> to Bochim <01066>, and said <0559> (8799), I made you to go up <05927> (8686) out of Egypt <04714>, and have brought <0935> (8686) you unto the land <0776> which I sware <07650> (8738) unto your fathers <01>; and I said <0559> (8799), I will never <05769> break <06565> (8686) my covenant <01285> with you. {angel: or, messenger}

1. The “angel of the LORD” reminded Israel that he had freed them from bondage in Egypt and brought them into the land of promise (v 1).

a. The angel had gone up from Gilgal, the first headquarters for the Israelites in the land (Jos 4:19-20; 10:6, 43; 14:6).

b. Clearly the “angel of the LORD” was God.

(1) The “angel of the LORD” claimed to have been the one to lead Israel out of Egyptian bondage and unto the promised land.

(2) The “angel of the LORD” could not have been the Father, because the Father is described as invisible (1Ti 1:17) and whom no man can see (1Ti 6:16)

(3) He was probably the same angel that followed Israel (Exo 14:19; 23:20-23; 32:34; 33:2; Num 20:16).

(4) The angel was identified in other places as the Lord (Gen 16:7-13; 22:15-16).

(5) Jesus existed as the Word (Joh 1:1-2) before his fleshly birth in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2).

(a) He is mentioned as the rock that went before Israel in the wilderness (Gen 18:16-33; 32:24-30; Jud 13:1-23)

(b) Therefore, the “angel of the LORD” was probably Jesus in a pre-incarnate form.

(6) The angel was probably a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ (1Co 10:1-4).

2 And ye shall make <03772> (8799) no league <01285> with the inhabitants <03427> (8802) of this land <0776>; ye shall throw down <05422> (8799) their altars <04196>: but ye have not obeyed <08085> (8804) my voice <06963>: why have ye done <06213> (8804) this?

c. Israel was to “make no league with the inhabitants” of the promised land (v 2).

(1) However, as “the angel of the LORD” pointed out to them, they had not paid attention to what they were commanded.

(2) “ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?”

3 Wherefore I also said <0559> (8804), I will not drive them out <01644> (8762) from before <06440> you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides <06654>, and their gods <0430> shall be a snare <04170> unto you.

2. As a consequence of disobedience to the Lord’s command, he had announced that he would not rid them of their enemies in the land.

The Sorrow Of Israel

4 And it came to pass, when the angel <04397> of the LORD <03068> spake <01696> (8763) these words <01697> unto all the children <01121> of Israel <03478>, that the people <05971> lifted up <05375> (8799) their voice <06963>, and wept <01058> (8799).

5 And they called <07121> (8799) the name <08034> of that place <04725> Bochim <01066>: and they sacrificed <02076> (8799) there unto the LORD <03068>. {Bochim: that is, Weepers}

3. From what the “angel of the LORD” had told them, Israel had realized that their struggles had been of their own making and were provoked to repentance.

a. However, as we read on we realize that their reaction was only temporary.

b. On the other hand, person can weep, seemingly displaying an outwardly show of repentance but without ever inwardly repenting (Joe 2:13; 2Co 7:8-11).

4. One might wonder how God’s people could ever have gotten themselves into such a disgraceful condition.

5. In the next few verses we learn two things which led to Israel’s to spiritual defeat.

A Lack Of Strong, Faithful Leadership

B. ... when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance ... (2:6-13).

6 ¶ And when Joshua <03091> had let the people <05971> go <07971> (8762), the children <01121> of Israel <03478> went <03212> (8799) every man <0376> unto his inheritance <05159> to possess <03423> (8800) the land <0776>.

7 And the people <05971> served <05647> (8799) the LORD <03068> all the days <03117> of Joshua <03091>, and all the days <03117> of the elders <02205> that outlived <0748> (8689) <03117> <0310> Joshua <03091>, who had seen <07200> (8804) all the great <01419> works <04639> of the LORD <03068>, that he did <06213> (8804) for Israel <03478>. {outlived: Heb. prolonged days after}

1. As long as there are strong and faithful leaders, God’s people are encouraged by example and teaching, to continue in faithfulness to God’s word.

a. Faithfulness was the reason Israel had such great success initially.

b. It demonstrates to us the continuous need for our own faithfulness.

c. Christians ought to be concerned about their influence.

8 And Joshua <03091> the son <01121> of Nun <05126>, the servant <05650> of the LORD <03068>, died <04191> (8799), being an hundred <03967> and ten <06235> years <08141> old <01121>.

9 And they buried <06912> (8799) him in the border <01366> of his inheritance <05159> in Timnathheres <08556>, in the mount <02022> of Ephraim <0669>, on the north side <06828> of the hill <02022> Gaash <01608>. {Timnathhares: also called, Timnathserah}

2. Eventually, Joshua died and so did the elders that outlived him.

10 And also all that generation <01755> were gathered <0622> (8738) unto their fathers <01>: and there arose <06965> (8799) another <0312> generation <01755> after <0310> them, which knew <03045> (8804) not the LORD <03068>, nor yet the works <04639> which he had done <06213> (8804) for Israel <03478>.

3. In addition, all of that generation died that knew of Joshua and his leadership in following the Lord.

a. After that generation arose one “which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”

(1) This was the evidence that Israel lacked spiritual leadership.

(2) As it was for Israel, so for us, godly people have battled day and night to extend the boarders of the kingdom, laying a foundation upon which others could continue to build.

(a) Expounding on the scriptures, they led people to Christ.

(b) We must continue the battles, each and every one of us, in each of our generations or as it was for Israel, there will arise a generation, even with all the Bible knowledge available to us, that does not know the Lord (cp. 2Ti 2:2).

(d) What are you doing in the assemblies to encourage brethren to remain grounded in the word of God?

(3) Like many youth today, the new generation of Israel in our text had no personal relationship with God.

(a) Just because children are born to parents who follow the Lord does not mean those children will automatically follow the Lord.

(b) It takes the hard work of parents who love their children enough to command them while at home to follow the Lord and to set an example to follow.

(d) Without that hard work, as happened for that generation in Israel, God will become someone to whom their parents had related to, but to whom the younger generation did not relate.

(e) Perhaps that next generation’s faith was not really their own but only that of their parents.

i) A second-hand faith will not last nor sustain someone.

ii) Real, sustaining faith is not passed on biologically.

iii) Beyond teaching it to a student, the student must be encouraged to study it for himself, to test it, thereby, hopefully, developing the faith for himself.

b. We realize then from Israel’s experience that if the same tenacious strength to adhere to God’s word is not instilled in the next generation, spiritual disaster will be the result.

(1) The text seems to imply that the whole generation was left unprepared to continue in faithful service to the Lord.

(2) That is not unlike what is happening in the church now, and at an alarming pace among our young, with the “feel good” attitude of worship, who, under the direction of subtle change agents particularly in youth groups, are turning our young from the truth to denominationalism.

(3) Perhaps that new generation sought a faith based on what was seen and not “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:4).

(4) I am convinced that the so called miraculous experience of the charismatic movement is fueled by the desire to see rather then to just believe based on the evidence of the eye witnesses.

(5) God never intended that his people sustain their relationship with him based merely on signs.

(6) Real faith, sustaining faith, is based on the evidence the eye witnesses left to us and should result in our continued adherence to God’s word in worship of him and service to him with our lives

(7) Let me remind you of the answer Jesus gave those who wanted a sign, “there shall be no sign but that of Jonah” (Mat 12:38-40).

c. Examples

4. The fathers of Israel had been told very clearly that they were to "teach these things diligently to your sons, and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up," (cp. Deu 6:4-9; 32:7).

a. Not only were they to teach God's law to their sons, but a little later on in Deuteronomy 6, we read, "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgements mean which the Lord has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Moreover, the Lord showed great blessing and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his household, and he brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us this land which he has sworn to our fathers.'"

b. The fathers of the second generation in Israel had gotten slack and, although they had continued to worship God themselves, they were not as enthusiastic to teach their children the same.

c. They did not pass on the story of God's deliverance, their history, to their children; or the children of the third generation were comfortable in the prosperity that the labors of the first and second generation had produced and had become intellectually and spiritually lazy. Both happen, and both probably interact with each other.

d. In answering the question, "Who's teaching the children?" some offer a few statistics to suggest and answer: by high school graduation, 11,000 hours spent in school, 22,000 in front of TV!

e. Fathers, are you enthusiastic and sincere in your love for the Lord or have you lost your first love (Psa 127:3-5)?

f. Answer yourself the question, “Are the affairs of this life getting you so entangled that you have little time to well establish both your own relationship with the Lord and that of your family?

(1) Do you have regular family Bible readings and spiritual discussions?

(2) "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hos 4:6; also Isa 5:13).

5. Leadership is important and without it our children will depart from the Lord.

They Forsook The Lord

C. ... the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD ... (2:11-13).

11 And the children <01121> of Israel <03478> did <06213> (8799) evil <07451> in the sight <05869> of the LORD <03068>, and served <05647> (8799) Baalim <01168>:

12 And they forsook <05800> (8799) the LORD <03068> God <0430> of their fathers <01>, which brought them out <03318> (8688) of the land <0776> of Egypt <04714>, and followed <03212> (8799) <0310> other <0312> gods <0430>, of the gods <0430> of the people <05971> that were round about <05439> them, and bowed <07812> (8691) themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD <03068> to anger <03707> (8686).

13 And they forsook <05800> (8799) the LORD <03068>, and served <05647> (8799) Baal <01168> and Ashtaroth <06252>.

1. Israel turned it’s back to God and turned instead to false worship (vs 11-13; Deu 28:25-26).

a. The influence of the Canaanites that Israel had allowed to remain in their midst led them into idolatrous worship.

b. They forsook the Lord and committed spiritual adultery by serving the:

(1) Baals and

(2) Astartes.

c. Imagine the horror which will fill you if you don’t properly train your children spiritually, in the way they should go, and when they return from where they went, they reveal to you they have learned a new way to worship and that denominationalism is really wrong.

d. The seeds of destruction have already been sown.

(1) For many now, religion is just as with the denominations, as it was for Israel, mix and match what you like until one satisfies you.

(2) As spiritual loss was the result of Israel’s experience so it will be for the religiously wrong.

They Forfeited Their Inheritance

D. ... the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel ... (2:14-15; Psa 106:40-43).

14 And the anger <0639> of the LORD <03068> was hot <02734> (8799) against Israel <03478>, and he delivered <05414> (8799) them into the hands <03027> of spoilers <08154> (8802) that spoiled <08155> (8799) them, and he sold <04376> (8799) them into the hands <03027> of their enemies <0341> (8802) round about <05439>, so that they could <03201> (8804) not any longer <05750> stand <05975> (8800) before <06440> their enemies <0341> (8802).

15 Whithersoever they went out <03318> (8804), the hand <03027> of the LORD <03068> was against them for evil <07451>, as the LORD <03068> had said <01696> (8765), and as the LORD <03068> had sworn <07650> (8738) unto them: and they were greatly <03966> distressed <03334> (8799).

1. The anger of the Lord burned against them (vs 14-15).

a. Some think that God in the Old Testament was a wrathful God but and that in the New Testament he is a loving God..

b. The fact is God in the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament.

(1) He expressed great love, patients in the Old Testament as he did in the New Testament accounts in the Bible.

(2) However, as in the Old Testament accounts in the Bible God will still punish the disobedient (cp. Rom 11:22; Heb 10.31; 12:29).

(3) As Israel forfeited their inheritance out of disobedience, so will we if we are disobedient.

Transition: Even with Israel’s rebellion toward God’s word, when the repented God was willing to express mercy toward them.

II. A CYCLE OF ACTIVE DISOBEDIENCE (2:16-23).

A. Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them ....(2:16-19).

16 Nevertheless the LORD <03068> raised up <06965> (8686) judges <08199> (8802), which delivered <03467> (8686) them out of the hand <03027> of those that spoiled <08154> (8802) them. {delivered: Heb. saved}

1. When the people would cry out to the Lord he would raise up a judge to rescue them from their oppressive situation.

17 And yet they would not hearken <08085> (8804) unto their judges <08199> (8802), but they went a whoring <02181> (8804) after <0310> other <0312> gods <0430>, and bowed <07812> (8691) themselves unto them: they turned <05493> (8804) quickly <04118> out of the way <01870> which their fathers <01> walked in <01980> (8804), obeying <08085> (8800) the commandments <04687> of the LORD <03068>; but they did <06213> (8804) not so.

18 And when the LORD <03068> raised <06965> (8689) them up judges <08199> (8802), then the LORD <03068> was with the judge <08199> (8802), and delivered <03467> (8689) them out of the hand <03027> of their enemies <0341> (8802) all the days <03117> of the judge <08199> (8802): for it repented <05162> (8735) the LORD <03068> because <06440> of their groanings <05009> by reason of them that oppressed <03905> (8801) them and vexed <01766> (8802) them.

19 And it came to pass, when the judge <08199> (8802) was dead <04194>, that they returned <07725> (8799), and corrupted <07843> (8689) themselves more than their fathers <01>, in following <03212> (8800) <0310> other <0312> gods <0430> to serve <05647> (8800) them, and to bow down <07812> (8692) unto them; they ceased <05307>