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What's the Real Problem? - Judges 2:1-3:6

Sermon Series: In Need of a Greater Rescue

My wife, Amy, and I have four children, so we’ve experienced a lot in regards to raising small children. In my personal experience one of the greatest challenges early on is identifying the needs of a crying baby. Babies can’t talk or articulate what it is that is frustrating, hurting, or angering them, so when a baby begins to cry most of the time the parents have to go through a series of educated guesses in order to determine what their baby needs. Some moms who pay a lot of attention to detail have an ability to distinguish differences in their baby’s cry and can tell by the baby’s cry what it is he or she needs, but for most of us guys all we know to do is guess. So from an experienced “guy’s” perspective let me share with you my crying baby checklist. Number 1: “Is the baby hurt?” The first thing that you have to determine, which is of utmost importance – is there any visible bleeding, or any visible signs of bumps, knots, or broken limbs. If the answer to these questions is ‘no’ then we proceed to Number 2: “Does the baby need its diaper changed?” This is a fairly quick assessment that involves a quick sniff of the baby’s bottom and then feeling to see if the diaper appears to be weighted down and soggy. If you can determine that the baby’s diaper doesn’t need changing or you do change the baby’s diaper and the baby continues to cry it’s on to checklist item Number 3: “Is the baby hungry?” Things get a little more complicated now. Now you have to try to remember the last time the baby ate, you have to remember if your wife gave you instructions regarding a certain time to feed the baby, and you have to go through the process of fixing a bottle. At this point you’re hoping that the bottle will resolve the problem because you’re stating to run out of options. So if the baby doesn’t take the bottle and continues to cry then you’re on to the last of the checklist items, Number 4: “Is the baby sleepy?” This requires laying the baby down in the crib and then having the perseverance to endure several minutes of continued crying to see if the baby will cry itself to sleep. If 10 minutes pass and the baby continues to cry and you have exhausted all of your checklist items, then it’s time to call in the professionals – call your wife, call your mother-in-law, or call the sweet lady down the street who has more experience and more motherly instincts than you. But the reality is you’re going to need some help.

I’ve been at that place before, especially after we had our first. I was a new dad and didn’t know what I was doing. I had a short check-list and on several occasions worked through the list to no avail. I remember getting frustrated with the whole situation. There was something wrong with the baby (I knew that), but because of the baby’s inability to communicate and my inability to correctly identify the problem, the baby’s problem continued to persist and all of my attempts to resolve the problem couldn’t deliver the baby from its problem. In those situations I needed to know what exactly the problem was in order to help deliver our children from their problem. But on those occasions when I could not discern what the problem was I was unable to help or deliver them. While I was on occasion rescued and delivered from our crying baby by a sweet friend, the baby was still experiencing its problem and was still without the deliverance and rescue that it needed. Only by knowing what the real problem was could real help and deliverance take place.

Last week in chapter 1 we discovered what was largely a report, or recollection, of ‘what’ was transpiring in the Israelites’ attempt to take possession of the land which God had promised them. Joshua had passed away and God had appointed Judah to lead the way in driving out the remaining people groups and leading the Israelites to alone possess the land which God had promised them. The text revealed to us that while Judah started off well, along the way they made a few, seemingly small exceptions, like allowing some of their allies (the Kenites) to settle with them. And while this seemed like a small and essentially insignificant compromise, it turned out to be a pattern that the other tribes would follow after. The text is clear that God was still fighting on Israel’s behalf to drive out the nations (see Judges 1:4, 19, 22), but rather than being completely obedient to the commands of God the Israelite tribes decided to only partially fulfill the commands that God had given them. So in the second half of chapter 1 we see that the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan did not drive out the inhabitants of the land that they were to possess. As we move on to chapter 2 we don’t discover a different picture being painted altogether. What we discover in the second chapter is a different side of the report that was given in chapter 1. If chapter 1 was the ‘what’ that was taking place, then chapter 2 is the ‘why’ – it provides a theological perspective of the ‘what’ that was transpiring in chapter 1.

Chapter 2 begins with the appearance of an incredibly significant figure in the OT. “Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim . . .” (vs. 1). The angel of the Lord is an intriguing figure who shows up on occasion in the OT and whose identity is never completely identified. However, there are some important character traits that give us certain clues into his identity. The first thing worth noting is that the angel of the Lord is distinct from Yahweh (God the Father) – it’s not simply another title for Yahweh. Second, the angel of the Lord is always sent by Yahweh to carry out a task from Yahweh, whether it be delivering a message to the people, going before and leading the people, or fighting on the people’s behalf. Third, while separate and distinct from Yahweh, the angel of the Lord always seems to possess the power and authority of God. (Note in the following verses how the angel of the Lord speaks as if he is in fact God.) And lastly, the presence of the angel of the Lord is entirely absent from the NT – it’s as if he disappears. So what are we supposed to do with this individual? Who are we to understand him to be? My belief, and the opinion of many individuals who are much smarter than me and who have a much better understanding of the Bible than I do, is that the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Jesus. In other words the angel of the Lord is the second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, before He took on flesh and came to earth. That would explain why the angel of the Lord is distinct from God the Father, why He is sent by God the Father, why He speaks as if He has the authority of God the Father, and why He is absent in the character of the angel of the Lord in the NT (because He had taken on flesh and revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ). So remarkably, after we discover that the Israelites have not acted in complete obedience and that they haven’t completely driven out the pagan people from the Promise Land, Jesus, the one who will be the ultimate Deliverer and Rescuer shows up on the scene.

The angel of the Lord brings a message to the Israelites that sheds light on and helps us, the readers, to understand the events that are taking place in chapter 1. He begins by reminding the Israelites of God’s past goodness and favor upon them as a nation. “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 . . .’” (2:1). The angel of the Lord, speaking as God, reminded the Israelites that He is the One who accomplished the mighty work of bringing them out of Egypt and the One who accomplished the mighty work of bringing them into the Promise Land. He also reminded them that in regards to the covenant that He made with them, He would never be the One who would break that covenant and treat it as though it had no real significance. What a privilege to be recipients of such incredible acts and such a remarkable promise, and to know that the One making the promise is never going to fail holding up His end. God had initiated all these acts of kindness and the Israelites had been the recipients of them.

After rehearsing the favor of God that had been given to the Israelites, the angel of the Lord goes on to remind the people of the portion of the covenant which they were to honor and live up to. “And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars” (2:2). Here the angel of the Lord is recalling specific instructions that had been given to the Israelites in Exodus 34:10-17. While wandering in the wilderness God had worked to prepare the Israelites for taking possession of the Promise Land by commanding the Israelites not to make any covenants with the inhabitants of the land. Here’s the deal – when the Israelites began to first spy out and take possession of the Promise Land they were quick to realize that there was something good going on there. Almost everywhere they looked they saw prosperity, security, and fertility. And God knew that if the inhabitants were to remain in the land and were permitted to continue worshipping their false gods, that the Israelites would be tempted to believe that it was the false gods who had offered all of this. So God gives clear instructions aimed at protecting the Israelites from robbing God of the worship that He alone deserved and projecting that worship on to another. The instructions were clear, once they were in the land the Israelites were to refrain from covenants with the inhabitants of the land and were to completely destroy their places and objects of worship. By destroying all of the places and objects of false worship there would be no doubt about who the strong and mighty God was and who the people ought to be completely committed to. Unfortunately we see at the end of verse 2 that Israel had not done this, “But you have not obeyed my voice.” God had been gracious to deliver the people out of Egypt and to take them into a new land, God had been gracious enough to invite them to enter into a covenant with Him, and God had been gracious enough to reveal His plan and what it is He wanted them to do. But the Israelites had not remained faithful to their part of the covenant. They had made covenants with some of the inhabitants of the land (see 1:22-26) and had allowed some of the inhabitants to live amongst and around them. So the angel of the Lord asks the Israelites to give consideration to what it is they have chosen, “What is this you have done?” (2:2).

In verse 3 the angel of the Lord reminds the people of the conditions of the covenant. “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” (vs. 3) It’s important to note here that neither Yahweh nor the angel of the Lord is breaking the covenant. What the angel of the Lord declares here is a fulfillment of the conditions of the covenant as it was articulated in Exodus 34 and Leviticus 26. When God defined the terms of the covenant He articulated that He would provide blessings for the Israelites obedience, but that He would also provide punishment for disobedience. And this declaration, “I will not drive them out before you . . .” had to have been a devastating reality. Throughout the entire book of Joshua and even in the first part of chapter 1 in Judges the success of the Israelites in taking possession of the land has always been the result of God working on their behalf. Without God going before them there is no hope of them taking possession of the land that they had been promised – they are in fact hopeless. So the text tells us in verses 4-5, “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. And they called the name of that place Bochim [which means weepers]. And they sacrificed there to the Lord.” The Israelites realized that their sin had enormous consequences that left them without hope of taking possession of their inheritance. And so in what appears to be this people’s last act of true repentance in this book the Israelites weep over their sin and disobedience.

In verses 6-10 the author recounts the digression of the Israelites and their relationship with God from the time of Joshua to the time that Joshua and all of his leadership team had passed away. During the time of Joshua’s leadership the Israelites were exceptional in their obedience and their following after God, and so they saw the mighty works of God on their behalf (vs. 7). After Joshua had died, but while those who had led with him were still living, the Israelites continued to follow after and serve God and were faithful to remember the mighty works of God on their behalf. But after Joshua and all of those who had led with him passed away the Israelites neither knew God nor chose to serve or follow after Him.

It was this falling away from God that became the Israelites greatest devastation. And the author of the book of Judges makes this point with great emphasis in the next part of chapter 2. The author states clearly the choices of the Israelites that had led them to have need for so great a rescue. “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 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. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth” (2:11-13). The Israelites, the people God had chosen for Himself and the ones who had seen the mighty hand of God working on their behalf, abandoned God, pursued other gods, and served the Baals. They had withheld their worship from the only One worthy of worship and had directed their worship to false gods. And while the generation before them had faithfully and diligently served God, this generation chose to serve the Baals. In choosing to abandon God and choosing to pursue and serve the gods of the nations the Israelites had failed to live up to their part of the covenant that they had established with God. The Israelites had first entered into the covenant with God in the wilderness in which God had commanded them not to serve the gods of the people in whose land they were going to possess. The Israelites, led by Joshua, had renewed that covenant with God not long before at Shechem (see Joshua 24). But after Joshua had died the Israelites quickly switched their allegiance and began to worship the gods of the nations.

God’s response to Israel’s choice to do evil by pursuing and worshipping other gods was one of great anger. Verses 14-20 make this clear to the reader as the author of Judges inserts a distinct section focusing on Yahweh’s response. This particular section possesses what we call literary bookends (a literary feature authors sometimes use to distinguish a particular section). When an author uses literary bookends the sentences which serve as the bookends will articulate the same exact thing (and on occasion will do so verbatim). In this part of chapter 2 both verses 14 and 20 begin exactly the same way, “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel . . .” God had declared in the covenant that he entered into with Israel that if they did abandon Him and worship other gods that He would no longer go before them and that He would become their enemy. And after seeing that His anger was kindled against Israel for breaking their part of the covenant we find that God still remains faithful to uphold and fulfill His end. The rest of verse 14 tells the readers that “He (God, Himself) gave them over to plunders, who plundered them” and that “He (God, Himself) sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.” This is awful news – in turning from God and abandoning Him they Israelites had set themselves up as enemies of God. It was no longer the nations and the people groups who were remaining in the Promise Land that were the Israelites' enemies – it was God! Verse 15 tells us that whenever they marched out against the other nations that the hand of God which was once against the nations for harm had now been turned against them for harm. Then verse 15 ends by telling us that “they were in terrible distress” – a comment that doesn’t surprise us all that much. However, what is surprising is what is missing from the text. While the people were clearly distressed about God being set against them, there is no evidence at all that any kind of repentance was taking place. It is this absence of any real repentance that is one of the most shocking aspects of this text and which highlights and emphasizes the next verse even more.

According to the author of Judges the choices and actions of the Israelites have both provoked and kindled the great anger of the Lord against the Israelites. And according to the text there is no apparent remorse and no repentance that has taken place. The Israelites have set themselves up as enemies of God and God is being faithful to His covenant promises to set His hand against the Israelites for harm by giving them over to plunderers and selling them into the hands of their enemies. Then we discover something remarkable in verse 16, “Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.” Verse 16 tells us that God, knowing the need for rescue that His people had, sent deliverers to them to literally ‘save them’ out of the hands of their enemies – not because the Israelites have repented and turned back to Him, but rather because of His unbelievable compassion for them. Because of His great compassion God extended great mercy. So it appears that now there might be reason to hope. Perhaps the Israelites will recognize the kindness and mercy of God and turn back to Him as a result. But once again the text continues with more bad news. “Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so” (vs. 17). God was gracious to save the people from their physical enemies by working through the judges while they were living to provide temporary rescue for the Israelites. Unfortunately verse 19 continues with the bad news, “But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them, and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

God wasn’t going to allow this new generation of Israelites to live in idolatry and sin and reap the benefits of Joshua and the generation of Israelites that were exceptional in their obedience and service. So chapter 2 concludes with a declaration from God. “Because this people has transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not” (2:20-22). God says that this generation of Israelites is going to have to make a choice – a choice between following after Him or a choice to follow after the gods of the other nations. So in order to create an environment in which their choices would be clear and undeniable God promises that He is not going to continue to drive out the other nations. (This is a promise that God keeps throughout the entire book of Judges. While we will see the Israelites battling with some of the nations in the book of Judges, none of the battles that we will read about were battles for new territory, but rather battles to come out from under the oppression of other nations.) If other nations and people groups were still residing in the Promise Land along with the Israelites, there would still be opportunities to worship and follow after false gods. So God leaves the nations in place (2:23-3:3) and the new generations of Israelites were forced to choose whom they would worship and serve. And God’s test reveals with remarkable clarity the failure of the Israelites. Chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 tell us “The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.” By choosing to live with and intermarry with the other nations and by choosing to serve the gods of the other nations the Israelites declared in unmistakable terms that they were abandoning God and choosing the ways of the world instead.

This is the devastating problem of the Israelites – their abandonment of God and their embracing of the world and its gods. The Israelites, with no remorse and no repentance, had waded deeper and deeper into a life of sin. And while they would later recognize on many occasions their need for deliverance from their enemies, they never stopped to consider that it was their sin that had brought them to that place. They would cry out to God to deliver them out from under the power of their physical enemies, but they would never call on God to deliver them out of the ocean of sin in which they were swimming. They would later see clearly their need for some rescue – but they would never come to recognize their need for a greater rescue from sin.

So what about us? In many ways our surroundings are much like those of the Israelites who had entered into the Promise Land. We live in a remarkable country and a remarkable land. When compared to the rest of the world we see clearly that our land is a land of great prosperity, great security, and great fertility. Ours is a country and a land that other nations try to model themselves after and a land that others strive to move to so that they might be able to experience its goodness. But we must also recognize that in our land there are many false gods that are worshipped and which can be engaged on many different levels. There are many in our country who are worshipping the god of ‘wealth’ or ‘money.’ People in our country work hard to obtain jobs that pay six digits; they cheat on taxes and exploit others to make more for themselves; and they do it all believing that when they possess great wealth they will experience great satisfaction. Others in our country worship the god of ‘sex.’ Some dabble in it in the privacy of their own homes looking at pornography on the computer while others pursue it in even greater degrees, exploring sexual contact with individuals of the same gender or engaging in acts like prostitution or adultery. These individuals see opportunities in our country to satisfy their ever increasing desire for sexual contact and activities and believe there is nothing wrong with gratifying the passions of their flesh. Still others in our country worship the god of ‘entertainment.’ Many guys in our country spend countless hours each week watching sports and movies and participating in things like fantasy football. Many ladies in our spend countless hours each week watching reality television and exploring web-sites like Pinterest so that they can throw better, more elaborate get-togethers (get-togethers that will prove their creativity and party throwing abilities are superior to that of their friends and neighbors). Our country offers all kinds of entertaining activities that promote joyful experiences without the presence of God, and we are often guilty of devoting great amounts of time, money, and worship to these false gods.  

So the question is, "Will we recognize our greatest problem?" So often I get the feeling that people (both believers and non-believers) are guilty of recognizing that a problem exists but not dealing with the problem.  Some (I believe) don't think that the problem is a significant one - any compromises they might acknowledge are, in their minds, small ones.  Others (I believe) feel like there is a greater problem but are waiting around for God to speak audibly to them or to write on their walls to identify the specific problem that is plaguing their lives.  They fail to realize that God has already graciously revealed to us what our greatest problem is - sin! So it’s time we realize that it is the sin in our lives that has devastated us and left us in need of a Deliverer. And the extraordinary news is that God has provided that Deliverer for us in His Son, Jesus Christ! God sent His Son to earth to rescue us from our sin by dying the death that we deserved, defeating the enemy we could not defeat (Satan), and empowering us to follow His example. So the first thing we are called to do is to acknowledge our sin, turn away from it, and then surrender our lives and follow after Jesus as our Savior and Lord. For those who have done that, we have to acknowledge that while we have been forgiven of our sin, we have not yet been made perfect. We still wrestle with sin and wander from God. So for us we have to be in the habit of asking ourselves different questions. “When’s the last time that we were really broken by our sin?” “When’s the last time that our sin really moved us to genuine repentance?” “Could it be that we have gotten too close to the idols of our culture and started to buy into the deception that the false gods of our culture are the ones that bring prosperity, security, and fertility?” “Are there areas in our lives where we have robbed God of the worship that He alone deserves and have directed it towards other things?” And, “Have we allowed what we consider to be small and insignificant compromises to snowball into the worship of false gods?” Perhaps it’s time to ask God to open our eyes to areas of sin in our lives that are keeping us from growing in Him and repent!

Connection Point Questions for Discussion:

1. In our last sermon series that we did through the NT book of Philippians we heard Paul declare these words, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him . . ."  (Philippians 3:7-9).  What are some of the things that our country offers that sometimes distract you from knowing Jesus more?  Does the time, money, or devotion you give to those things ever resemble worship, and if so, how?  

2. Verses 6-10 describe the digression of the Israelite generations beginning with those who followed in exceptional obedience and saw the mighty works of God on their behalf, to those who simply remembered the mighty works of God, and then a generation that did not know God at all.  What are some of the mighty works of God that you have seen in your individual life or in the life of our church in the more distant past?  Is there any evidence of God's mighty hand being at work in your life individually or in our church in the more recent past or currently?  If we become individuals who pursue other gods and worship other gods should we continue to  expect God to work mightily on our behalf?  What must we do to keep pressing on to know God more when there are so many things that would try to distract us from that effort?

3.  Are there areas in our lives where we have robbed God of the worship that He alone deserves and have directed it towards other things? When’s the last time that we were really broken by our sin? When’s the last time that our sin really moved us to genuine repentance? How can we encourage one another to make the time to regularly examine our hearts and repent of sin if we (individually or as a church) need to?

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