Overview of Judges

Please do have a seat and grab your Bibles.

And please turn to the book of Judges.

Let me pray and then we'll have a look at this together.

Father God, as we come now to your word,

Father, our prayer is that you would speak,

that we would hear,

that you would be glorified,

that we would be changed.

And Father, we would go out from here

with you in our sights.

And you as our goal as we transition from 2015 into 2016.

Father, teach us great things.

From this great book of your great word we pray.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you came in, you should have got a little A5 sheet

that looks like that.

That'll just help you keep track on where we're going.

If perhaps you're a youngster, you could have fun.

I'm trying to fill in the words as we go through.

But I wonder, how would you view,

how would you describe your 2015?

How would you describe your 2015?

Perhaps it was a year of blessing,

where you had success and abundant provision.

Perhaps you were given and took opportunity.

Perhaps 2015 for you was a year of blessing.

But perhaps 2015 was a year of struggle,

a year of illness,

a year of bereavement,

a year of stress,

where you were asked to do even more

with even less than you'd done before.

Perhaps it was a year of newness.

Perhaps you became parents for the first time,

the second time, the third time.

I think we only had third time.

I don't think we had a fourth time.

Perhaps she became grandparents again,

or for the first time.

Perhaps she got married in 2015.

Perhaps there was a new job,

perhaps a new relationship,

perhaps new life,

given through faith in the Lord Jesus.

But perhaps 2015 was just another year.

Same old, same old,

just another diary consigned

to the waste paper basket of life.

No particular highlights

and nothing to write home about.

And so as we leave 2015 behind

and go into 2016,

what do you think about 2016?

Perhaps it's a fresh start,

a new hope.

Perhaps you're hoping for more of the same.

Perhaps you're hoping for none of the same

that 2015 held.

Perhaps it's a year of potential,

a chance to change.

A year where you get serious in your Bible reading

or your resolutions will last,

at least until the second week of January,

if not beyond.

I think 2016 is incredibly hope-filled.

I think as a church,

2016 has tremendous potential

to be a landmark year

in the life of our church,

to be perhaps the best year

so far in the life

of Brunsfield Evangelical Church.

And my thinking for that

is not because of anything

we can do or I can do,

but all that God

is able and willing to do

amongst us.

And so I think at a juncture

such as this,

as we transition from

one period into another,

I think the book of Judges

has wonderful things

to challenge us about,

to teach us,

things that we can learn

even by the bad example

of the Israelites

in this book.

It's a dramatic book.

We all love Judges

at Sunday school.

We met people like

the Incredible Hulk of the Bible,

Samson,

who would rip a lion

in half with his bare hands.

It's a book of heroes

and villains,

of cycles and spirals,

of violence and scandal,

of intrigue and incident.

And I hope God

might use this book

and our time,

our short time in it

this morning,

to launch us

in dependence upon him

into 2016.

Judges is 21 chapters,

618 verses,

just under 20,000 words,

three-ish centuries

from Joshua

to Samuel

with 12 judges

as the central characters.

And we're going to do it

in about 20 minutes max.

In all truth,

Judges should be

a very short book.

God has rescued

his people from Egypt,

he's given them

the law at Sinai,

he's forgiven their rebellion

at Kadesh Barnea,

he's been patient

through the wilderness,

he's been powerful

in conquering the land,

and now they're settled in.

And so you'd expect

Judges to just be

seven words,

and they all lived

happily ever after.

That's what you'd think.

They've got there,

God promised them

many people,

a land of their own,

and they're there.

We even finished

Joshua on a really

high note,

that Joshua

renews the covenant

at Shechem,

and everyone declares

the Lord our God

we will serve,

and his voice

we will obey.

Wouldn't that be

a great declaration

that we would make?

As we go into 2016,

the Lord our God

we will serve,

and his voice

we will obey.

God has delivered

on three out of four

of his promises.

He's given them

the land,

he's been their God,

they've got many

descendants,

and we're going to see

whether this people

are going to be

a blessing

to the whole world.

But what we see

in Judges

is that God's people

are still a rabble

of sinful,

faithless,

fickle rebels,

who have only

gotten this far

by God's grace

and mercy.

It's all been

because God

has been so kind,

even though they

have been so wicked.

So I've got four

sentences to try

and get us

into the book

of Judges

that might be

helpful to us.

Here's the first one.

People respond to God's

great blessing

by gravely sinning

against him.

People respond to

God's great blessing

with grave sinning.

Chapter 1, verse 1,

there's a leadership

crisis.

Joshua is dead,

and so they come

before the Lord

and they say,

who of us is to go

up first to fight

against the Canaanites?

Joshua's dead,

he's been their leader.

He's led them

in all their campaigns,

he's been at the

front of the charge

when they've gone up

against Jericho

and Ai

and all these other

places.

Now he's dead,

who's going to lead us?

Judah is chosen,

God says,

Judah shall go up.

And the first 18 verses

go really well,

it's business as usual.

Israel fights,

God is with them,

and they win.

They start clearing out

the Canaanites,

the Perizzites,

great victories are gained,

the land is starting

to be conquered,

things are going

really well.

The great successors

of Joshua seem to be

spilling over

into judges.

But it all comes down

to earth with a bang

in verse 19.

Chapter 1, verse 19,

the Lord was with

the men of Judah.

They took possession

of the hill country,

but they were unable

to drive the people

from the plains

because they had

chariots fitted

with iron.

God had said,

your job is to not

only be in the

promised land,

but to conquer

the promised land,

to get rid of

all the Canaanites

and the peoples.

And in verse 19,

we get,

but Judah

didn't do it all.

They didn't drive

the people out

of the plains.

And in 121,

we read,

but Benjamin

didn't get rid

of the Jebusites.

And then in 127,

Manasseh

did not

drive out

the people of

Beth,

Shan,

or Tarnak.

Israel didn't

in 128.

Ephraim didn't

in 129.

Zebulun didn't

in 130.

Asher didn't

in 131.

Naphtali

didn't in

133.

They had one

job.

They left

Joshua,

the Lord we

will serve,

and his voice

we will obey.

What did he tell

them to do?

He said,

you need to get

rid of all these

people because

they'll infect you

and they'll lead

you away.

And we read

that God has

greatly blessed

them.

He's given

them this land

and what have

they done?

They've gravely

sinned against

him by only

partially doing

what he's

called.

We did

most of it

but we

didn't do

this bit.

We conquered

most of them

but we left

this little

pocket.

It's partial

obedience.

Everyone

partially does

what God

has asked.

They did

just enough.

They conquered

just enough

land to make

it look

reasonable but

they didn't

do it all.

Let's face

it, we can

all be a bit

like Israel.

We can do

just enough,

we can

partially obey,

we can

faithfully do

the bits

that align

with our

dreams and

ambitions

but so easily

we go,

well that's

enough.

I've done

that religious

thing enough

this week,

now I can

do what I

want to do.

Partial,

obedient,

cheap,

comfortable,

convenient,

congruent.

That's what

the relationship

that Israel

has with God

will do

what you

want if

it doesn't

cost us,

if it doesn't

make us

uncomfortable,

if it fits

in with our

timeline and

it is

congruent with

where we

want to go.

And in

amongst this

partial obedience

we get the

rose among

thorns,

the diamond

in the rough,

Caleb in

120.

As Moses

had promised,

Hebron was

given to

Caleb who

drove from

it the

three sons

of Anak.

Caleb is

held up as

this person

who worshipped

God wholeheartedly.

And in

amongst this

partial obedience

of all God's

people there's

one man

who is

flourishing

and successful

and forever

written in

God's word

because he

wholeheartedly

did all that

God wanted him

to do.

And so I

wonder as we

transition into

2016 we've got

a choice.

We can be like

the Israelites

and partially

do what God

has called us

to do.

Or we

can strive

to be like

Caleb who

wholeheartedly

obeyed and

worshipped God

in all things.

And there's

grave consequences.

Chapter 2

The angel of

the Lord went

up from Gilgal

to Bochim

and said,

I brought you

up out of

Egypt and led

you into the

land that I

swore to give

to your ancestors.

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?

And I have also

said I will not

drive them out

before you.

They will become

traps for you

and their gods

will become snares

to you.

When the angel

of the Lord

had spoken these

things to all

the Israelites

the people

wept aloud

and they called

the place

Bochim.

There they

offered sacrifices

to the Lord.

they didn't

realize what

they were doing

in their partial

obedience and

it caused

great distress

great weeping

because they

only partially

obeyed and

they were

storing up

trouble.

And it's

just down in

chapter 2

verse 11

that we read

then the

Israelites did

evil in the

eyes of the

Lord and

serve the

Baals.

They forsook

the Lord

the God of

their ancestors

who had

brought them

out of

Egypt.

They followed

and worshipped

various gods

of the people

around them.

They aroused

the Lord's

anger.

They only did

a little bit

and it cost

them gravely

from their

disobedience

in chapter 1

they never

recover

in the whole

book.

The Canaanite

gods became

a snare to

that.

Canaanite

religion must

have been

very attractive

that God

had given

them his

law which

was all

about holiness

and being

set apart

and living

differently

from the

people around

them.

And the

Canaanite

religion was

basically a

fertility cult

where you

could worship

Baal and

Asherah.

He could

worship him

with licentiousness,

sexual immorality

and the more

you engaged

the more

prosperity that

he promised.

And his

people start,

God's people

start to be

snared by the

sin.

they start

to worship

these gods

and it

comes back

and it

bites them

again and

again and

again to

the point

that there's

great distress.

Chapter 2

verse 15

Whenever Israel

went out to

fight the

hand of the

Lord was

against them

to defeat

them just

as he had

sworn to

them they

were in

great distress.

When we

listen to the

lies of the

world and

go after

them it's

always great

distress.

The world

offers prosperity

and fun.

The world

offers greatness

and glory and

yet in the

end it always

ends in great

distress.

Great temptation

as a church

to partially

obey to go

for what is

easy to go

for what is

fun and in

the end if it's

not the real

true God and

obedience to him

it always ends

in great distress.

God had told

them in the

law when the

Lord your God

brings you into

the land you

are entering

to possess

and drives

out before

you many

nations.

And when the

Lord your God

has delivered

them over to

you and you

have defeated

them then you

must destroy

them totally

make no treaty

with them and

show them no

mercy do not

intermarry with

them do not

give your

daughters to

their sons to

take their

daughters for

your sons for

they will turn

your children away

from following me

and serve other

gods and the

Lord's anger will

burn against you

and will quickly

destroy you.

that is what

you are to do

to them break

down their

altars smash

their sacred

stones cut

down their

asherah poles

and burn

their idols

in the fire

for you are

a people holy

to the Lord

your God.

The Lord your

God has chosen

you out of all

the peoples on

the face of the

earth to be

his people his

treasure possession

and they fail.

Even Joshua gives

them a final

pep talk.

Be very strong

be very careful

to obey all

that is written

in the book

of the law

of Moses

without turning

aside to the

right or to

the left

do not associate

with these

nations that

remain among

you.

Do not invoke

the names of

their gods

or swear by

them.

You must not

serve them

or bow down

to them

but you are

to hold fast

to the Lord

your God

as you have

until now.

The Lord

has driven

out before you

great and

powerful nations.

To this day

no one has

been able to

withstand you.

One of you

wraps a thousand

because the

Lord your God

fights for you

just as he

promised.

So be very

careful to

love the

Lord your God.

He says three

things.

Be very strong

in obedience

and they haven't.

Be wholehearted

in worship

and they haven't.

Be very careful

to love the

Lord your God

and they haven't.

And so I

wonder will we

listen to Joshua's

words to us

as we go into

20, 16.

Be strong

in obedience.

Be wholehearted

in worship.

Be very careful

to love the

Lord your God.

In one chapter

in one generation

hope and zeal

of Joshua

has become

tokenistic.

They've taken

God's great

blessing of this

land.

God has been

so kind,

so gracious,

so patient,

so protective,

so powerful

and what have they

done?

They've gravely

sinned against

him.

They took

grace for

granted

and gratitude

was replaced

by greed.

And as we

go into

2016,

as people

that have

been created

by God,

redeemed by

God,

gifted by God,

blessed outrageously

by God,

how are we going

to use that

blessing?

In wholehearted

commitment to

him and the

obedience that

follows,

or are we going

to use it

for self-indulgence,

self-gratification

and self-advancement?

How are we

stewarding the

loving kindness

of God?

Mindful of

him,

grateful to

him,

useful in

his hand.

People respond

to great

blessing with

grave sinning,

that's what we

learn in

Judges.

But then we

learn that

God's people

respond to

God's punishment

with repentance.

If you spend

any time in

Judges,

you know that

it's a deeply

depressing cycle.

It starts

with sin,

servitude,

supplication,

salvation.

God's people

sin,

they worship

other gods.

God puts

them under

the heel of

a foreign

ruler to

serve him

in servitude.

In the

depths of

this oppression,

God's people

cry out to

him in

supplication.

And God

graciously raises

up a judge to

bring them

salvation.

This goes

round and

round.

in the

book of

Judges,

it goes

round 12

times.

12 times

they're put

under the

heel of

the Midianites

and the

Philistines.

And 12

times God

hears their

cry as

they're in

the depth

of this

oppression

and he

raises up

a judge.

But when

God's people

realize the

discipline of

God, they

cry out to

him, they

repent, and

they turn to

him for

salvation.

God is

testing his

people.

He's so

committed to

them covenantally

that he won't

just let them

walk away.

But he's

constantly bringing

things into

their path so

that they might

turn to him.

And as we

look out on

2016, we

don't know what

will happen.

But there'll be

lots of

opportunities to

show what is

for real and

what is for

show.

different

struggles and

difficulties and

opportunities come

our way.

There'll be

countless

opportunities to

do what this

people does and

turn to God

and seek to

worship and

follow him, of

pressing into

him rather than

running on our

own away from

him.

Repentance is

always the

response, leaning

on God when we

get it right,

trusting God in

the midst of

difficulty, running

to God when we

get it wrong.

And so you

get this cycle

and every time

God's people

respond to

God in

repentance, they

realize that he

is the only one

that can save

them.

He is the one

who holds their

hope in his

hands.

God's people

respond to

God's punishment

with repentance.

Let's make sure

repentance is the

first thing we're

doing.

When trouble

comes our way,

reorientating our

lives towards

God and

trusting in

his grace.

Number three,

God gives his

people temporary

rest through

imperfect judges.

Throughout the

book we've got

famous people,

famous people that

we've learnt in

our Sunday

school.

We've got 12

judges in total,

12 small-s

saviors that God

uses to rescue

his people.

Some are covered

in a verse like

Shamgar, some

get a paragraph

like Tolajer,

Ibzan,

Elon, and

Abdon.

Others get all

or most of a

chapter like

Othniel or

Ehud, whilst

others get

several chapters

like Deborah,

Gideon,

Jephthah, and

Samson.

And as we see

this cycle

progress, it is

somewhat of a

downward spiral.

In general, the

rest period that the

judge brings gets

shorter, and the

moral fiber of the

judge gets more

dubious.

The troughs get

lower and the

peaks don't go as

high as you

progress through the

book.

Tremper Longman III,

one of the

commentators, he's

got the best name,

if not necessarily

the best commentaries.

He says,

what a collection of

human beings in the

book of Judges.

Strange heroes they

are, a reluctant

farmer, a left-handed

assassin, a prophetess,

an illegitimate bandit,

a sex-crazed

Nazarite, and

others.

They're unlikely

heroes.

They're people that

God raised up to

bring temporary rest

to his people.

But they did all

believe the word of

gods at times and

in portions of

their lives.

All had faith.

Though often

failing and

faltering, they

trusted God and

God used them to

do great things.

Some even make it

into Hebrews 11.

And what more

shall we say?

I do not have

time to tell you

about Gideon,

Barak, Samson,

and Jephthah,

about David and

Samuel and the

prophets, who

through faith

conquered kingdoms

and ministered

justice and

gained what was

promised, who

shut the mouths

of lions,

quenched the fury

of the flames,

and escaped the

edge of the

sword, whose

weakness was

turned to

strength and

who became

powerful in

battle and

routed foreign

armies.

God gives his

people temporary

rest through

imperfect judges.

They were

faltering and

failing and still

useful to God

and what an

encouragement to

us who know

what it is to

falter and fail

that there's

still hope,

that God can

use us.

But it is very

short-lived.

When the judge is

alive, they win,

and when the judge

dies, it all

unravels again.

There's a summary

passage in 2.18.

Whenever the Lord

raised up a judge

for them, he was

with the judge and

saved them out of

the hands of their

enemies as long as

the judge lived.

For the Lord

relented because of

their groaning under

those who oppressed

and afflicted them.

But when the judge

died, the people

returned to ways

even more corrupt

than those of their

ancestors, following

other gods and

serving and

worshipping them.

They refused to

give up their evil

practices in stubborn

ways.

Even the best judges

were not enough.

Even when they

heard these mighty

men leading them,

even when Deborah,

the wise prophetess,

was leading them,

it was not enough to

give them lasting

rest.

No small s,

saviour, was able to

save them completely.

And it warns us about

over-reliance on our

leaders, that leaders

are best to fallen

people.

And therefore, let's

never rely on others

to do for us what God

has called us to do

ourselves, to commit to

him, to love him, to

worship him, to give him

our best.

But when the leader was

good, the people were

good, but when the

leader died, it all

unraveled.

There was nothing

lasting.

And this brings us to

our last point.

God is showing our

need of what will

ultimately and only be

provided in Jesus.

God was showing our

need of what will

ultimately and only be

provided in Jesus.

This cycle of sin and

servitude and

supplication and

salvation continues up

until chapter 17.

After Samson, no one

repents anymore.

No one turns to God.

There's no more judges.

There's no more rest.

It is dissolution and

decay that escalates on

a societal and massive

scale.

That a society stops

worshipping God.

They fail to repent.

They're no longer

more to his truth.

They're no longer

engaged in his worship.

And rapid decline

follows.

Licentiousness.

Canaanite gods bring

total destruction

to the very fabric of

Israelite society.

The last five chapters

move from cowardice to

unfaithfulness to

widespread immorality to

gang rape, murder,

civil war and people

trafficking.

The last five chapters

utter dissolution of

society.

If you're ever asked to

read Judges 17 to 21

out loud, don't do it.

It's really uncomfortable

as you see just how low

God's people will go when

they fail to worship him

and serve him.

By the time you get to

the end of the book of

Judges, you are morally,

spiritually and emotionally

exhausted.

It is a book you experience

and as you experience it,

it's exhausting.

It robs you of all

confidence in humanity's

ability to save itself.

The sin is so heavy.

The cycle is so repetitive.

The learning curve of the

people so steep that

they're not seeing the

error of their ways.

You pretty much just

despair by the time you

get to Judges chapter 21.

Judges 21 · chapter mention

And the repeated refrain

in those last five

chapters,

in those days Israel had no

king.

And everyone did what was

right in their own eyes.

And what they did was

horrendous and horrible and

grievous and immoral.

And so, so far in the story

of the Old Testament, Adam

messed up.

And God restarted in Noah,

but Noah was just the same as

Adam and he couldn't save.

And then God chose Abraham,

but Abraham was a scoundrel as

well and nothing Abraham could do

could save.

And then God rescued them

through Moses and through

Moses God gave them the law,

but the law just highlighted

all the places they were going

wrong and couldn't save.

And then we get Judges and

the Judges couldn't save,

not for a long period.

There was no proper rest given

through the judge.

And then God finally gives them

a king, but the king

couldn't save.

There's a few high points

amongst David and Solomon,

but in general it's downward.

And no king could save.

And then God graciously

gives them the prophets

who remind them of all this

stuff, but none of the

prophets could save.

And so you end Judges

spiritually, emotionally,

and morally exhausted.

You're pretty much in the

Old Testament spiritually,

morally,

and emotionally exhausted

because no one seems to be

able to save people from sin.

And then, after 400 years

of silence as God prepares

his people, God doesn't speak,

he comes.

God doesn't raise up a leader

for a while, he raises up a

king who will last forever.

And we read great words like,

but now apart from the law,

the righteousness of God

has been made known,

to which the law and the

prophets testify,

this righteousness is given

through faith in Jesus Christ

to all who believe.

No longer a king who

just lives and dies,

but a king who will live

forever, who even gives us

his Holy Spirit so that we

don't fluctuate, we can

worship fully.

And so we read in Hebrews,

and with this we finish,

therefore he is able to

save completely those who

come to God through him,

because he always lives to

intercede for them.

He's the king forever,

the one good God promised.

And so four sentences to get

our head around judges.

That people respond to God's

blessing by gravely sinning

against him.

I wonder, will that be us in

2016?

When we receive all that God

has done for us, how will we

use it?

How will we steward it?

God's people respond to God's

discipline with repentance.

Will it be countless

opportunities to turn to God

and trust him as we go

through 2016 and all that

lies before us?

God gives his people

temporary rest through

imperfect judges.

Let's not trust our leaders

too much.

Let's not rely on them too

much, but make sure we

ourselves are seeking to

grow and to love Jesus more

tomorrow than we do today,

and even more the day after,

and pressing into him, and

trusting him and receiving

from him all that he has

for us.

And let's remember that what

we ultimately need, what

judges ultimately shows us,

is that we have an absolute

profound and total need of

Jesus Christ.

Jesus who did for us what we

couldn't do for ourselves,

and Jesus who did for us what

no one else will ever or can

ever do for us.

Let me pray.

Father God, we thank you so

much for your word.

We thank you that it undoes

us.

It shows us how sinful we are,

how lost we are, how in need

we are.

And then into that gaping

uncoveredness that you've

revealed, you pour into the

glorious balm of the gospel.

Father, when we see our sin,

when we see our need, when we

see our hopelessness, thank you

that Jesus meets that need,

that he is our hope, that he

is our king, and he is the one

who offers us eternal rest.

And so Lord, may 2016 be a

year where we decrease and he

increases in us.

We pray this for his glory and in

his name.

Amen.

Amen.