Judges 1:1-2:5

Well, good evening. Slightly complex passage tonight and quite confusing, hence why I've given out a sort of sermon outline.

Unfortunately, I ran out of copies of those.

So if possibly some of the people that could sort of share them between two or whatever,

so that some of the people from the band can get them and know where we're going.

Let's start with just finishing off the reading.

So we've read chapter one and then we're also dealing with the first five verses of chapter two tonight.

So Judges chapter two.

The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochum and said,

I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your forefathers.

I said, I will never break my covenant with you and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,

but you shall break down their altars.

Yet you have disobeyed me.

Why have you done this?

Now, therefore, I tell you that I will not drive them out before you.

They will be thorns in your sides and the gods, their gods will be a snare to you.

When the angel of the Lord has spoken these things to all the Israelites,

the people wept aloud and they called that place Bochum and they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Let's just pray before we start into this.

Father, we pray that as we come tonight to a passage that's quite difficult to understand

and with application that is difficult,

that you will open our hearts,

that you will open our eyes,

that we may see your glories

and that you won't allow anything important to be snatched up from us,

but that anything worthless will be forgotten and swept away.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So it should have been perfect.

Everything had gone so well.

God had brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt

and despite some rebellion and wandering around the wilderness for 40 years,

had brought them into the land he'd promised to them,

the land flowing with milk and honey.

Under the leadership of Joshua,

they had entered the land

and God had given them some miraculous victories,

such as that at Jericho.

And so God's covenants to the patriarchs

appeared to have been fulfilled.

We see here God's people

in God's place

under God's rule.

So

what went wrong?

Last week, Graham was

going through overview of the whole book

and left us with that question.

Where did it all go wrong?

And over the next two weeks

in these introductory chapters of Judges,

that's the question that we'll be looking at.

But I think before we get further

into this passage,

we need to deal

however briefly

and superficially

with one big issue.

We could

bypass it,

skim over it,

get some nice lessons from the passage,

go home

and

pretend

and pretend

the issue wasn't there

until

the enemy

whispers in our ear,

you don't really believe that,

do you?

And then we start to question everything.

The leaflet about this sermon series states,

there are few books

that make our modern sensibilities

squirm

as much as Judges.

And that's very true.

The trouble is,

in most of the rest of the book,

the things that we struggle with

are the things that are condemned as wrong.

Here,

the events we struggle with

are when they are obeying God.

When I was discussing this passage

with some people around,

I rather flippantly described it

as being about

why incomplete genocide is sin.

This is about the conquest

and destruction

of the various peoples

that inhabited the land of Canaan

and it doesn't sit very well

with our 21st century mindsets.

We know that Jesus teaches us

to love our enemies,

to turn the other cheek.

And so how do we reconcile this?

And it's not just us Christians

that find it difficult.

Richard Dawkins

in The God Delusion would write,

The God of the Old Testament

is arguably the most unpleasant character

in all fiction.

A vindictive,

bloodthirsty,

ethnic cleanser.

A misogynistic,

homophobic,

racist,

infanticidal,

genocidal,

phileicidal,

pestilential,

megalomaniacal,

pseudo-masochistic,

capriculously malevolent bully.

So how do we deal

with those accusations?

I think we need to be able

to respond to these challenges

whether they come from others

or whether they just come

from ourselves.

So what were the Israelites

told to do

and why?

Moses takes several chapters

to cover this early in Deuteronomy.

But the key passage really

is at the beginning of chapter 7

and it's pretty explicit.

when the Lord your God

brings you into the land

you're entering

to take possession of it

and clears away

many nations before you,

the Hittites,

the Girgashites,

the Amorites,

the Canaanites,

the Perizzites,

the Hivites,

and the Jebusites,

seven nations

more numerous and mightier

than you.

And when the Lord your God

gives them over to you

and you defeat them,

then you must devote them

to complete destruction.

You shall make no covenant

with them

and show no mercy to them.

You shall not intermarry

with them

giving your daughters

to their sons

or taking their daughters

for your sons

for they would turn away

your sons from following me

to serve other gods.

Then the anger of the Lord

would be kindled against you

and he would destroy you quickly.

But thus shall you deal with them.

You shall break down their altars

and dash in pieces their pillars

and chop down their ashram

and burn their carved images

with fire.

They are to completely clear

the land of its inhabitants.

They are not to enter

into any sort of peace treaty,

but they are to destroy them

completely

and destroy all their pagan altars,

idols, etc.

There are several reasons

that are given for this.

The first,

and potentially the most obvious,

is to fulfill the promises

that God made to Abraham,

Isaac and Jacob.

He had promised them

on oath this land.

It was part of his plan

to bring blessing

to the whole world

and ultimately

to bring his Messiah.

Moses continues in

chapter 7 of Deuteronomy,

It was because the Lord

loved you and kept the oath

he swore to your ancestors

that he brought you out

with a mighty hand

and redeemed you

from the land of slavery,

from the power of Pharaoh,

king of Egypt.

Then the second reason

was to punish the wickedness

of the nations

that lived in the land.

We see

actually his mercy

in this

because he promised

this land

to Abraham

but told him

that his descendants

would live as slaves

for 400 years

for the iniquity

of the Amorites

is not yet complete.

So God was holding off

as long

as he could.

But now the time

for mercy is over.

Their sin

has reached

its full extent

and God will use

his people

as an instrument

of judgment.

As one writer put it,

until it was right

to invade,

God's people must wait

even if it cost them

centuries of hardship.

But then the third reason

and the one

that probably

we see most

tonight

is because

God knows

the weakness

of his people.

He knows

how easily

they are led astray.

He knows

that if they settle

down among

the other nations

they will start

copying them

and become like them

in their detestable

practices

and worship.

And in the rest

of this series

we'll see that

that is exactly

what happens.

But along

with these reasons

there are several

clarifications

that God

gives through

Moses.

first of all

he reminds them

that there is

nothing special

about them

other than

that God

chose them.

He says that

the Lord

did not set

his affection

on you

and choose

you because

you are more

numerous

than the other

peoples

for you were

the fewest

of all peoples.

But then

there's a reminder

that it is God

who is doing this.

They are

at most

being used

by him.

this is God's

battle

not theirs.

Various times

through verses

18 to 24

still in

Deuteronomy

7 there

remember

what the Lord

your God

did to Pharaoh

and to all

Egypt.

The Lord

your God

will do the

same

to all the

peoples

you now

fear.

The Lord

your God

will drive

out those

nations

before you.

The Lord

your God

will deliver

them

over to

you.

And then

thirdly

there's

a reminder

that although

the Amorites

and other

peoples may

be wicked

the Israelites

themselves

are far

from perfect.

Later on

in chapter

9 of

Deuteronomy

after the

Lord

your God

has driven

them out

before you

do not

say to

yourself

the Lord

has brought

me here

to take

possession

of this

land

because of

my

righteousness.

No

it is on

account of

the wickedness

of these

nations

that the

Lord is

going to

drive them

out before

you.

And in

case they

hadn't got

the point

if you

ever forget

the Lord

your God

and follow

other gods

and worship

and bow

down to

them

I testify

against you

today

that you

will surely

be destroyed

like the

nations the

Lord destroyed

before you

so you

will be

destroyed

for not

obeying

the Lord

your God.

God

and the

rest of

the Old

Testament

tells how

God uses

the surrounding

pagan nations

time after

time against

his own

people when

they turn

away from

them.

There's

far more

that could

be said on

this topic.

Books and

books could

and have

been written

but ultimately

it comes down

to the question

of whether

we want

to exalt

our ideas

of right

and wrong

above that

of God

or whether

we want

to in faith

like Abraham

says

will not

the judge

of all

the earth

do right.

We may

not fully

understand it

but we

must trust

him in

this.

And so

back to

our passage

basically

it splits

into three

parts

roughly where

we divided

the readings

although they

overlap a bit

there's some

grey areas

about some

bits whether

they're right

or wrong

is slightly

uncertain

but essentially

about the

first 20

verses

talks about

the victories

of the people

then the

rest of

chapter 1

talks about

the defeats

and then

the section

at the beginning

of chapter 2

talks about

the consequences

of that.

So it all

starts really

well at the

beginning.

In the first

few verses

we see the

Israelites

seeking to

obey God.

They know

what they've

been instructed

to do

they seek

God's guidance

about how

to do it

and then

trusting God

they follow

his direction

and God

gives them

the victory.

They are

obedient to

God

but they

are also

dependent on

him.

They don't

just say

God has

told us

to take

this land

we can

do that.

Instead

they go

in

dependent

on him

to lead

them

and to

give them

the victory

and as

promised

he does.

But another

thing we

notice in

these early

verses

where the

Israelites

are victorious

is that

they're often

seen to be

working

together.

In verse

three we

read of

Judah

and the

Simeonites

agreeing to

help each

other in

taking their

allotted piece

of the

land.

They will

go with

their fellow

Israelites

and fight

together

lending each

other their

strength.

In the

following

verses

four to

eighteen

we read

of one

victory

after another

in Judah's

territory

and then

after that

victories

in Ath of

Simeon.

Working

together

they were

much

stronger.

But I

think what's

particularly

significant

here is

that Judah

at this

point is

the largest

of the

tribes

and Simeon

is the

smallest.

Judah

probably

didn't need

any help

but they

turned to

their future

neighbours

Simeon

the smallest

of the

tribes

about a

third of

their size

and say

to them

let's

do this

together

and together

they go

into the

land

and take

it

and settle

there.

So another

interesting

thing

hidden away

in verse

sixteen

here we

see the

descendants

of Moses

father-in-law

the

Kenite

going up

and settling

along with

Judah.

the point

here is

that Moses

father-in-law

Jethro

was not

an Israelite

here he's

called a

Kenite

and elsewhere

a Midianite

they're probably

two names

for the same

people

in Exodus

he's called

the priest

of Midian

he's also

known as

Ruel

which translates

as a friend

of God

so this

demonstrates

that this

conquest

is not

about

ethnicity

it's not

genocide

it is

about

Yahweh

against

the false

gods

of the

Canaanites

but

unfortunately

these

positive

accounts

don't

fill much

of the

chapter

quickly

the accounts

of victory

turn into

accounts of

defeat

and I think

there's various

things we can

learn here

about these

defeats

where they

came from

the first

thing we see

about their

defeat

is that they

have a stubborn

enemy

it says

time after

time the

Canaanites

were determined

to live in

the land

the first

victories may

have been

dramatic

but this is

going to

take endurance

their enemies

aren't going to

all flee before

them

they quite like

the land

they're living

in thank you

very much

so this

is going to

be a test

of endurance

for God's

people

not just

will they

trust him

for one

battle

but will

they trust

him long

term

the second

thing we see

about their

defeat is that

it comes from

fear

in verse 19

we read that

Judah were

unable to

drive the

people from

the plains

because of

their chariots

fitted with

iron

we have to

remember here

that iron

was the

latest

technology

that was

just beginning

to be seen

we aren't

really into

the iron age

proper yet

so this is

top grade

military hardware

and so it is

reasonable

that

they

can't

defeat them

on their

own

but it's

very interesting

that this is

just before

the next

verse

where we

see the

account of

Caleb

defeating

three sons

of Anak

if you look

back at

various accounts

through

numbers etc

we see that

the sons of

Anak

are reported

as giants

these are the

people that

the twelve

spies that

Moses sent

into the

promised land

saw

as the song

goes

ten were

bad

two were

good

ten saw

the strength

of the

enemy

saw

the power

of these

giants

and only

two saw

actually

God is

with us

we can do

anything

and one of

these good

spies

was Caleb

the other

was Joshua

who has

now died

so Caleb

is now

an old

man

he's the

only survivor

from that

time

and he

knows

that it

doesn't

matter

whether

they're up

against

giants

or iron

chariots

because God

is greater

it seems

that the

men of

Judah

have forgotten

this

despite

all these

victories

that God

has given

them

they seem

to have

thought it

was about

their strength

and so

when up

against a

stronger

enemy

they cannot

win

but

with God

they had

nothing

to fear

the third

thing we see

about their

defeat

is that

pragmatism

takes over

time after

time

we read

that instead

of killing

or driving

out the

people

as they've

been told

to do

they put

them into

forced

labour

they made

them slaves

humanly

it made

sense

they were

useful

there was

a lot of

work to

do

building up

the country

and a

ready supply

of slaves

would be

a real

help

but that's

not what

they were

told to

do

it was

not long

since that

they'd

suffered a

major

defeat

after

Achan

had kept

a portion

of the

plunder

for himself

that should

have been

destroyed

and later

we'll read

of Saul

keeping the

best of

the herds

from the

Amalekites

to offer

as a

sacrifice

to God

he believed

he had a

better idea

of how to

worship God

than what

God had

told him

to do

and then

the final

thing we see

about their

defeat here

is the

problem of

unfinished

work

in verse

8

Jerusalem

is taken

it's put

to the

sword

and set

on fire

but it

seems that

they failed

to hold

it

because in

verse 21

we read

that the

Benjamites

didn't drive

out the

Jebusites

that lived

in Jerusalem

and in

fact it

would be

David

several

centuries

later

that

finally

conquered

and held

Jerusalem

they have

started

the job

but they

haven't carried

it through

to the end

and so

their work

the good

work that

they've done

is all

undone

but then

in those

verses

at the

beginning

of chapter

2

we see

that their

sin

and their

disobedience

has consequences

the angel of

the Lord

appears to

them

and brings

them God's

message

of judgment

it's interesting

to notice

that the

last time

the angel of

the Lord

was mentioned

was just

before

they took

Jericho

when he

said that

he was there

to fight

with them

but now

following

their

disobedience

God is

doing exactly

as he

promised

and he's

leaving them

to themselves

he's not

going to

fight for

them any

longer

when they

were obedient

he fought

for them

and gave

them victory

but he's

not going

to do

that now

they are

left to

fight

and ultimately

lose

their own

battles

but

despite

these

consequences

we see

that God

did not

completely

abandon

his people

because

we've got

the rest

of the

book of

Judges

where

time

after

time

the people

repent

and God

fights for

them

but then

they turn

away

again

and then

we have

the rest

of the

Bible

which all

tells the

story of

how God

patiently

calls his

people back

to himself

again

and again

and again

despite

the repeated

unfaithfulness

and rebellion

so

how on

earth do

we apply

a passage

like this

to our

lives

in 21st

century

Scotland

some

have taken

passages

like this

as an

excuse

for Christian

holy wars

or crusades

but Jesus

would say

my kingdom

is not

of this

world

if it

were

my servants

would fight

others

would take

these

warnings

for Israel

to go to

such lengths

to separate

themselves

from the

people around

as a reason

for Christians

to separate

themselves

to cut

themselves

off

whether

as hermits

in monasteries

in separate

societies

like the

Amish

or just

by cutting

themselves

off from

much of

the culture

around

as many

in our

own

tradition

would have

done

in previous

generations

and that

urge

is in many

ways

very

commendable

indeed

Paul would

write to

the

Corinthians

who are

getting

caught up

with

idolatry

come out

from them

and be

separate

there is

a need

for us

to not

get

completely

entangled

in the

world

around

us

but

Jesus

would

say

in his

prayer

in the

upper

room

in

John

17

my

prayer

is not

that you

take them

out of

the world

but

that you

protect

them

from the

evil

one

elsewhere

he would

tell them

how they

had to

be salt

and light

to not

put their

lamp

under a

bowl

it was

expected

to unlike

the Israelites

they would

be living

among

and

interacting

with

unbelievers

be they

Jews

pagans

atheists

or whatever

and yet

we are

told of a

battle that

we are

to fight

the letter

of the

Ephesians

would tell

us that

our struggle

is not

against

flesh and

blood

but against

the rulers

against

the authorities

against the

powers of

this dark

world

and against

the spiritual

forces

of evil

in heavenly

realms

the letter

to the

Colossians

tells us

to put

to death

therefore

whatever

belongs

to your

earthly

nature

sexual

immorality

impurity

lust

evil

desires

and greed

which is

idolatry

because of

these the

wrath of

God is

coming

you used

to walk

in these

ways in

the life

you once

lived

but now

you must

also rid

yourself

of all

such

things

as

these

anger

rage

malice

slander

and filthy

language

from your

lips

do not

lie to

each other

since you've

taken off

your old

self

with its

practices

and to

put on

the new

self

which has

been renewed

in knowledge

in the image

of its

creator

and in

Romans 8

therefore

brothers and

sisters

we have

an obligation

but it is

not to the

flesh

to live

according

to it

for if you

live according

to the

flesh

you will

die

but

if by

the spirit

you put

to death

the misdeeds

of the

body

you will

live

the stakes

in this

battle

are high

the

destruction

that is

commanded

is just

as complete

but this

is not

the destruction

of pagan

peoples

and of

their idols

but of

everything

within us

that falls

short of

displaying

God's

glory

any sin

within us

or anything

that would

cause us

to sin

and we are

to be

ruthless

Jesus

would teach

that if

your right

eye causes

you to

stumble

gouge

it out

and throw

it away

if your

right hand

causes you

to stumble

cut it

off

and throw

it away

or as

the writer

to the

Hebrews

says

let us

throw off

everything

that hinders

and the

sin

that so

easily

entangles

ultimately

it's the

same battle

the battle

for God's

glory

to be seen

in the

obedience

of his

people

a people

that are

not special

in themselves

but that have

been chosen

called

and redeemed

by God

and just

like the

Israelites

God knows

how easily

we are

drawn astray

and so I

want to go

back through

the exact

same headings

that we

looked at

the Israelites

battle

under

and use

the same

headings

to look

at our

own

battle

the first

and most

obvious thing

we learn here

about victories

in the

Christian battle

is they

come

when we

come to

God

in obedience

and dependence

knowing what

he has

commanded

but looking

to him

to lead

and guide

and for his

strength

in the

battle

so often

we try

and do

what God

commanded

but we try

and do it

in our own

way

and in our

own strength

and wonder

why we

fail

but Paul

tells the

Philippians

it's God

who works

in you

to will

and to act

in order

to fulfill

his good

purpose

we sort

of grudgingly

accept

that our

salvation

is nothing

to do

with us

but we

like to

think

at least

think we

can do

something

about our

sanctification

that we

can work

hard

to make

ourselves

better

but Paul

tells us

here that

even our

will to

obey God

comes from

God

we can

do nothing

on our

own

the second

thing

we've

learnt

here

is that

so often

victory

comes

when we

work

together

Jesus

sends

his

disciples

out in

pairs

we're told

in Hebrews

not to

give up

meeting

together

but to

spur one

another on

to love

and good

deeds

we're told

in Proverbs

that as

iron sharpens

iron

so one

man sharpens

in another

or in

Ecclesiastes

two are

better than

one

because they

have a good

return for

their labour

if either

of them

falls down

one can

help the

other up

but pity

anyone who

falls

and has

no one

to help

them up

Tim was

telling us

last Sunday

morning as

we were

looking at

the beginning

of Philippians

of the

importance

of good

Christian

friends

of

partnership

in

Christian

life

and

gospel

ministry

as

Tim

isn't

here

tonight

I

feel

free

to

embarrass

him

over

the last

few

years

I

have

found

him

to

be

that

partner

that

brother

in the

Christian

fight

it's

a great

encouragement

to have

someone

that you

can send

a message

to

saying

I'm

struggling

please

pray

and know

that they

will

it's

a real

encouragement

to have

someone

that

has the

patience

to spend

the hours

with you

until you

actually

finally

see

how you

really

are

and to

encourage

and to

point my

eyes to

the beauties

of my

saviour

and to

send me

on my

way

rejoicing

strengthened

for the

battles

ahead

obviously

he's

a far

from

perfect

friend

and I

am

a far

from

perfect

friend

to

him

but he

has

greatly

helped me

as a

brother

in the

fight

and so

I would

highly

encourage

all of

you

to take

the time

effort

and risk

to

get

around

you

brothers

and

sisters

that

you

can

fight

with

and

who

will

fight

with

you

maybe

like

Judah

and

Simeon

there's

someone

younger

weaker

in the

faith

that you

can get

alongside

and say

let's

do this

together

but

just like

the

Israelites

battle

unfortunately

the

Christian

battle

also

tends

to be

littered

with

defeats

we

see

that

like

the

Israelites

we

have

a

stubborn

enemy

the

sin

within

us

is

deeply

rooted

and

ultimately

will not

be

completely

gone

until

that

day

when

we

see

him

and

are

like

him

even

the

apostle

Paul

could

grieve

about

how

the

things

that

he

wanted

to

do

he

didn't

do

and

the

things

that

he

didn't

want

to

do

he