JUDGES Expect the Unexpected

As some of you might know, we have an eight-month-old daughter, Sera.

Recently, she finally started to sit by herself without any help.

Even a few weeks ago, when we went back to Japan, she couldn't sit up.

Because of this, she wouldn't let us leave her by herself.

It was also a real challenge to hold her for more than eight hours, nine hours on the airplane.

So when I saw her sit by herself for the first time, I was so excited.

But until that stage, she actually went through many different stages.

And lots of practice, so she could sit by herself.

At first, she started to move her hands and legs.

And then she started to touch her feet with her hands.

And she also started to roll over and back.

She was continually practicing moving her body and learning to control it using her muscle.

And in the end, she finally made it.

I'm really proud of her.

I've been learning throughout those last eight months that children learn to master things by repeating them over and over and over again.

To achieve those things, they need to go through many different stages day to day.

But it's not only in parenting.

We can see this.

But many things are improved in this way.

So if you experience the opposite of this, how would you feel?

If you repeated things and went through different stages.

But things went to different stages.

But things are more and more worse and worse.

Kind of a downward spiral.

Naturally, you would feel really discouraged.

And even upset with things.

Right?

Actually, we will see this sort of negative spiral cycle in the book of Judges.

Today, we will have a look at this Judges cycle first.

And we will investigate chapter 3 and focus on two Judges.

So first of all, who were the judges?

When we hear the word judge, we might think of something like this.

If someone does something wrong, the judge decides whether they are innocent or guilty.

Or if you like to follow the tennis, a judge means kind of an empire.

Empire.

In the Old Testament, however, the word judge is not used in the modern sense.

Judges weren't judge-courled officials.

Rather, they were often military leaders who handed out justice to Israel's enemy and oppressors.

In other words, the judges were deliverers or saviors who redeemed the people from slavery and the other nations.

As Steve preached in his last two messages, Israel failed to drive idols out on their land.

Steve highlighted the dramatic tension between God's holy commands and his loving, faithful promise.

On the other hand, God demands obedience from Israel.

Yet, on the other hand, he has promised to save them.

As a consequence, Israel enters a cyclical pattern of decline caused by their idolatry and subsequent revival through God's saving mercy.

Today, I give you some paper to draw this cycle on your own.

So, if you don't have one, please let us know by raising your hand so that our team can get for you.

So, judge cycle.

I go through one to seven.

Stage one, the people reveal or sin.

Stage two, God is angry.

Stage three, God sent the enemies.

Stage four, the people cry out.

Stage five, God sent the judge to save.

Stage six, peace in the land.

And lastly, stage seven, judge dies.

This is called the judge cycle.

And it keeps not only repeating, but worsening.

As we progress through chapters three to sixteen, towards the end of the book,

Israel's morality has declined so much that they became like a Canaanite.

While Israel's moral corruption declines, God's covenant never changes.

So, please keep this cycle and downward spiral in your mind as we continue through this series.

So, now with this judge cycle in mind, we can have a look at today's passage.

Today, we will be focusing on two judges, Othniel and Ephod.

So, firstly, Othniel.

The history of Othniel shows us the judge cycle at its simplest.

Let's have a look at the text step by step.

So, stage one, the people reveal all sin.

Verse seven says, they forgot the Lord.

What is the opposite word of forgot?

Right, it's remember.

In the Bible, those words remember and forget are used in regards to spiritual matters.

For example, in Psalm 25, 6, when the people asked God to remember your great mercy and love.

And in Isaiah 64, 9, they asked God to not remember their sins.

Last week, Steve told us that although the people of Israel knew all about Exodus from slavery in Egypt,

the miraculous red sea crossing and all of the other awesome ways that God has rescued them,

the saving acts of God were no longer precious to them.

They had not learned to revere and rejoice in what God had done for them.

Their hearts were not wholehearted, but half-hearted.

They were holding on to God and the other gods at the same time.

Sage two, God is angry.

Chapter three, verse eight says,

The anger of the Lord burned against Israel.

God was indeed angry.

Because his covenant people committed idol worship.

If your partner played around with others,

what emotion would you feel?

Of course, you wouldn't be angry

at their betrayal.

That's why God sent trouble to the people to Israel.

Verse eight,

God sold Israel into the hands of other kings,

to whom the Israel was subjected to for eight years.

But even in judging his people,

God was merciful to them.

If God had not brought about suffering and hardship,

Israel would never understand their wrongdoing against God.

They wouldn't know what judgment they are facing.

God didn't simply send trouble to his people for the sake of it,

but he didn't it so that Israel would turn back to him.

God was faithful to them.

Even though Israel didn't love him.

Sage four,

the people cry out.

Finally, after struggling under physical oppression,

the people in verse eight B,

cried out to the Lord.

Although it took eight years for them to see their wrongdoing

and need to turn back to the true God,

they finally started to cry out.

The only thing the people contribute to their rescue

was to cry out to the Lord.

We can learn from here that repentance is the key for renewal and restoration.

Verse nine,

God sent a leader to the people of Israel.

God's chosen leader was Othniel,

the wholehearted disciple who was a member of Caleb's family.

Remember,

after Moses,

only Josiah and Caleb could enter to the promised land

because they had a true faith.

Probably,

Othniel learned from Caleb about God and how to serve in the land.

At the beginning of the book,

chapter one,

Othniel showed great faith and strong leadership in the world.

In one sense,

he was a charismatic type of leader

who had power and good reputation.

But we shouldn't miss the point that God sent Othniel as the savior.

And also,

look at verse 10.

The spirit of the Lord came on him.

The reason why Israel won through Othniel is that God was with him.

Not because of his physical strength or cleverness in battle.

Salvation comes only from God.

Stage six,

peace in the land.

As a result,

verse 11 says,

Israel enjoyed peace for 11 years.

In stage seven,

judge dies.

Verse 11 continues,

until Othniel,

son of Canaz,

died.

Actually,

this charismatic leader died after 40 years.

And this is the first cycle came to the end.

Now,

hopefully everyone had a kind of clear idea of the judge cycle.

We have one more cycle today on EFood.

But I want to ask you,

do you find that the EFood story gives you a funny sense or sense of bitterness?

I think this story reminds me of something like the investigation drama like CSI,

with a great title like Murder in the Toilet,

or something like that.

The main character seems like a spy.

Actually,

if the story is nothing like Othniel,

there is great imagery,

and time seems to get slower and slower towards to the end of the climax.

We are often bogged down by the details of the story,

or unexplained things,

but we shouldn't miss the whole point and the context.

Actually,

EFood cycle is also a story about how God saves his people.

And it says that God is responsible for EFood,

because he chose him.

God himself raised up for them as a savior.

He did not say a murder, an assassin, a liar, or a deceiver, but a savior.

This is the story of the gospel.

So let's dive into the passage.

With Othniel's death, the cycle begins again.

This time, God gave the Israelites over to Egron, king of Moab,

who, in verse 13,

took possession of the city of Perm.

Actually, the city of Perm was Jericho.

Jericho was the place where God had specifically given his obedient people

victory over their enemies in Joshua 6.

This is very ironic,

because Jericho was Israel's first great success

in the inversion of Canaan under Joshua's leadership.

Now the Israelites have lost their great achievement

because of their disobedience.

The story continues like the Othniel cycle,

but this time the Bible keeps focusing on one word,

left hand, in verse 15 and 21.

Generally speaking, Hebrew literature has a very simple word structure,

and it doesn't explain in very much detail like modern languages.

Often, quite often,

even, the verb is dropped off.

In this context,

if a word or phrase is used repeatedly,

it means it is very important.

It's something like a highlighter for us.

So why here does the Bible keep mentioning Ephus's left hand?

If we look up references in the Bible in relation to right hand,

we will find that they all have quite positive meanings.

For example,

God swears by His right hand.

He has pleasure by His right hand.

And His chosen one will sit at His right hand.

It is possible that the right hand was a symbol of power and ability

in the time of Old Testament.

But chapter 315 literally says that

Ephus was unable to use his right hand.

It is most likely that

Ephus's right hand was paralyzed or disabled in some way.

Considering this,

Ephus was a surprising choice

because he was appointed as Israel military leader,

even though he probably couldn't use his right hand in the battle.

Yet, God chose Ephus as a savior for Israel.

It's an unexpected choice.

In man's eyes,

it's almost impossible to win a battle

if someone has a physical weakness.

But God chose Ephus this time.

Look at verse 19.

The king said to his attendants,

Leave us.

And they all left.

Can you believe that?

If Ephus was recognized as a potential danger,

King Eggron's gods would probably not have allowed Ephus

to stay alone with the king.

Likewise,

probably King Eggron did not expect Ephus

to be in any way dangerous.

His physical limitation

probably enabled him to be alone with the king.

The narrator makes it very clear in verse 22

that it was Ephus's left hand

that allowed him to strike down the enemy.

This unexpected lefty savior

is almost the main point of this story.

God saved the people of Israel

through a lefty judge.

The narrator describes the significance of this event

when reporting that the people of Israel

followed after Ephus and won the battle,

even though the people of Moab

were very strong and powerful.

And finally, verse 13 says,

they enjoy peace for the next 80 years.

This is the second cycle of judges.

So what we can learn from this cycle?

As we've seen,

Israel repeatedly failed to walk with God faithfully,

even though God had so much for them.

Today, we saw only two cycles,

but Israel experienced exactly the same pattern

of sin, repentance, sin, repentance, and so on.

Even though Israel was unfaithful,

God was faithful to his covenant.

He sent the enemies, the judges,

and his spirit to try restore the relationship

between them.

People don't deserve God's love and mercy.

But this was not just for Israel,

but their sin speaks to our own sin.

Judges saved Israel from suffering

and from their enemies.

Salvation and peace restored

on the leadership of God's judges.

But it didn't last,

since the judge did not last.

They all died.

It was only temporary.

Although the judge could save the nation of Israel

from suffering,

and their enemies,

they could change,

they couldn't change people's heart

and attitude towards God.

But the Bible said that

Jesus is the eternal judge

and perfect Savior,

better Savior.

He said,

Do not be afraid.

I am the first and the last.

I am the living one.

I was dead.

And now,

look,

I am alive forever and ever.

Human leaders are limited and temporary.

But Jesus,

our Savior,

is eternal and unlimited.

This cycle points out

Jesus is the better

and the true Savior

to every generation.

As we have seen,

Othony was a man,

a great faith,

and deeds.

He had great leadership

and military skills.

On the other hand,

Ephod had a physical weakness,

which was like a handicap.

No one would have wanted

to choose him

to be their military leader,

but God chose him

as the Savior.

So what can we learn from this?

That God doesn't always work

in obvious ways

or by common sense.

He saved his people

through Ephod's weakness.

And we can see this

in our Savior Jesus,

can't we?

Isaiah 53, 2-3 says,

He grew up before him

like a tender shoot

and like a root

out of dry ground.

He had no beauty

or majesty

to attract us to him.

Nothing in his appearance

that we should desire him.

He was despised

and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering

and familiar with pain.

Like one from

who people hide their face,

he was despised

and he hold him

in low esteem.

Jesus saved us

not through military victory

or physical strength,

but through crushing defeat.

In the historical narratives

in Judges,

God was showing

the world

that his salvation

was not going to come

like a hero movie

at all.

It would come

from the baby born

in a major

through weakness,

not what the world

would call strength,

not what the world

would call victory.

He died on the cross

and rose again

from death.

This is God's

unexpected way

to save us.

Why is that?

Because God

wants us

to be humble.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

26 to 29

says,

Brother and sisters,

think what you were

when you were called.

Not many of you

are wise

by human standards.

not many

were influential.

Not many

were of novel birth,

but God

chose

the foolish

things of the world

to shame

the wise.

God

chose

the weak

things of the world

to shame

the strong.

God

chose

the lowly

things of this world

and the despised

things

and the things

that are not

to

notify,

the things

that are so

that no one

may boast

before him.

Our brain

may not

make sense

of the ways

of God.

We can't

understand

why God

would choose

a judge

who had

a severe

weakness.

Yet,

this was

God's way

to save

his people.

we can't

understand

why God

sent

his only

son

to the

earth

to suffer

and die

for us.

But,

we can

understand

this,

that God

is righteous

yet

loves

us

so much.

Even

though

we are

sinners

and hopeless,

he still

wants to

restore

his

relationship

with us.

today,

who here

wants to

receive

this

wonderful

invitation?

Who wants

to repent

before God?

Who here

needs to

renew

their faith?

The judge's

cycle

reminds us

of our

need for

spiritual

renewal.

As a

follower of

Christ,

we need

to be

renewed

by the

word of

God

and by

his

spirit

continuously

by crying

out to

the

God.

Don't

we need

to cry

out

today?

If

you don't

know

whether

or not

you have

eternal

hope

in

Christ,

today,

our God

is calling

you to

come.

Any

leaders

in the

world

can't

save

your

life,

but

our

eternal

Savior,

Jesus,

can

save

you.