When Shepherds Lose the Word, the Sheep Lose Their Way

Amen.

Open your Bibles, if you would please, to Judges chapter 17.

Judges 17 · chapter mention

Judges chapter 17.

Judges 17 · chapter mention

If you're using the Pew Bible, it's on page 216.

Judges chapter 17.

Judges 17 · chapter mention

We're kind of in the final movement, as it were,

the final message of our series,

working through the book of Judges.

And as we have made our way through,

we see that the times are getting darker and darker and darker

as we go from start to finish.

Now, on one hand, that becomes a measure of

maybe you're being disturbed or frustrated or discouraged

at what's taking place.

On the other hand, I trust that as we see

that God's faithfulness is carrying His people

in spite of their rebellion against Him,

is a reminder and maybe even an encouragement to us

that regardless of how bad things are,

God remains true to His Word.

That the bottom, essentially, can drop out of a nation.

A moral collapse can happen in almost totality.

And yet, God will remain faithful to His people.

He remains faithful to them

because He remains faithful to His Word,

His promise.

So, even as we begin our time together

and we evaluate our life,

regardless of where you are

on the continuum of faith

or regardless of where you are

in relationship to your posture towards God,

if you consider yourself one who is seeking to be loyal

and consistent and faithful in your walk with Him,

then you can enjoy the benefits of that fellowship with God.

But for some of us, perhaps,

that there have been consistent times of wandering away.

And I think of the psalmist,

or excuse me, the hymnist who writes,

prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love.

Take my heart, take and seal it.

Seal it for thy courts above.

The book of Judges is a testimony

that even when God's people wander from God,

even when God's people abandon God,

God will not abandon His people.

And so we come to this final message.

And on your outlines, you see kind of this title,

this phrase that kind of has become for us

kind of this summary phrase for the book.

And it's this.

When the shepherds lose the word,

the people lose their way.

When the shepherds lose the word,

the people lose their way.

The word of God, from start to finish,

is the word that is meant to usher us

into relationship with God.

God was creating for Himself

a covenant people.

A people of promise.

A people to Himself.

And that people would be bound to Him

and committed to Him

and enjoy the benefits of fellowship with Him

as they coupled their hearts

to obedience to the Word.

In knowing the Word.

In following the Word.

In teaching the Word.

In the book of Judges,

it is a book of shepherding care.

It's a book of family heads,

fathers and mothers,

leading their homes to love God

through His Word.

The instructions that we receive

in the book of Deuteronomy

are united in that frame.

They want to help us recognize

the seriousness and significance

of knowing the Word,

instructing our children

and their children

being instructed as well.

And the result of that

is a people who follow after God.

We come to Judges chapter 17.

Judges 17 · chapter mention

And again, it's on page 216.

And we see that this whole section of Scripture

is kind of bound together

front and back by this phrase.

It says in Judges chapter 17 verse 6,

Judges 17:6

it says,

In those days there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

And at the very end of the book,

Judges chapter 21 verse 25,

Judges 21:25

this repeated phrase,

In those days there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

Then a reminder as we make our way through

these final sections.

Chapter 18 verse 1 says,

In those days there was no king in Israel.

And then in chapter 19 verse 1,

In those days when there was no king in Israel.

Now in fact, there was a king in Israel.

In fact, there was a sovereign God

who was over his people.

In fact, there was a God over the universe

who carried ultimate authority

and carried this ultimate sovereignty

over the universe.

He was in fact in place

and over his people.

So, the fact that the people

did not acknowledge

that God was king over Israel

did not mean that there was no king in Israel.

And this comes to a head for us

when we turn the page to 1 Samuel,

which is the next series,

not our sermon series,

but the next series

in the history of the people.

In 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 5,

1 Samuel 8:5

the people want Samuel

to appoint for them a king.

They say,

Now appoint for us a king

to judge us like all the nations.

So Samuel, in disgust,

turns to the Lord.

In 1 Samuel 8 verse 7,

1 Samuel 8:7

he prays the Lord

and the Lord says,

Obey the voice of the people

in all that they say to you,

for they have not rejected you,

but they have rejected me

from being king over them.

You see, God had been king over Israel.

God was, in fact,

their sovereign God,

their sovereign Lord.

And in Psalm 93,

he makes that abundantly clear.

And throughout the Psalms,

we find this resounding theme

of the sovereignty,

the lordship of God.

He says,

The Lord reigns.

He is robed in majesty.

The Lord is robed.

He has put on strength as his belt.

Yet the world is established.

Yes,

it is,

it shall never be moved.

Your throne is established from of old.

You are from everlasting.

The Lord reigns.

This line repeated throughout this section

has become this summary statement

of a nation who has rejected God.

That is the underlying problem.

Not that there wasn't a king

who was over them,

God himself,

but that the people themselves

rejected the sovereignty

and the authority of God.

Judges chapter 17 to 21

Judges 17 · chapter mention

provide this glaring example

of a nation

and their wholesale rejection

of the Lord.

The nation was called to distinctiveness.

We see that in Exodus chapter 19

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

where God is making a people for himself.

You will be my treasured possession,

God says.

You will be a kingdom of priests,

God says,

and a holy nation.

That was his heart for his people

to make them distinct,

to call them out,

to draw them to himself,

to lift them up

as a treasured possession

in the world

that people,

when they see the nation of Israel,

that they would see God.

And we have seen this graphic

as we have been working our way

through this series.

And a nation that was meant

to be devoted to God

little by little,

this gradual decline,

this moral collapse.

And generation after generation

of people

who continued

to distance themselves

from God.

So by the time

we get to chapter 17,

we find that Israel

is worshiping like Canaan.

We get to chapter 19,

not only are they

worshiping like Canaan,

but the people

are acting like Canaan.

A nation that was meant

to drive the Canaanites out

has actually been so inundated

and so polluted

by Canaanite thinking

and theology

and activity,

it's as if Canaan

has actually come in,

has infiltrated the ranks.

A moral decline

that has characterized

this people

so that by the time

you get to the end

of the book,

you see that

there is no longer

an oppressor,

there is no longer

a deliverer,

there is no longer

a nation

who is confessing sin

or repenting from it.

This is a nation

whose activity

has turned

totally towards itself.

It's completely

turned inward.

Now opposition

is happening

within the ranks.

But then,

as you read through

chapter 17 to 21,

you find this shocking

revelation.

Judges chapter 18

Judges 18:30

verse 30 says,

And the people of Dan

set up the carved image

for themselves

and the son,

Jonathan,

the son of Gershom,

son of Moses,

and his sons

were priests

to the tribe

of the Danites

until the day

of the captivity

of the land.

So they set up

Micah's carved image

that he made

as long as the house

of God

was at Shiloh.

Did you pick up

on that?

Moses' grandson

is in Judges

Judges 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17.

And as we read

this sequentially,

this activity

here in Judges 17

should be right

at the 400 year marker

and yet what we find

it actually traces

all the way back

to the beginning.

And so the landscape

of the book of Judges

which is meant

to draw attention

to this moral collapse

in the people,

this final progression

of a people

who have given way

completely

to the nations

and we think

this is something

that happens

long into the future,

we find

it's actually happened

right at the beginning.

And then in Judges

Judges 20:27–28

chapter 20

verses 27 to 28,

the people of Israel

inquired of the Lord

for the ark

of the covenant

of God

was there in those days

and Phinehas

the son of Eleazar

the son of Aaron

ministered before

in those days.

Not only Moses'

grandson

but Aaron's

grandson

is present

in these chapters.

We come to realize

that when Joshua died

the moral collapse

had happened

almost immediately.

Now that should be

not only a warning

to us

but also a comfort.

The warning

is that a people

had given way

to the nations.

They had rejected

and abandoned the Lord.

We see that

in Judges chapter 2

Judges 2:8–10

verses 8 to 10.

Joshua the son of Nun

served in the Lord

died at the age

of 110 years.

Then in verse 10

and all that generation

were gathered

to their fathers

and there arose

another generation

after them

who did not

know the Lord

or the work

that he had done

for Israel.

They abandoned

the word of God.

And so in verse 11

what do you find?

And the people of Israel

did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord

and they served the Baals.

They abandoned the Lord

the God of their fathers

who had brought them

out of the land of Egypt.

They went after

the 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 Ashtore.

This is Judges 17 to 21.

Pulled all the way back

to Judges chapter 2.

Judges 2 · chapter mention

So it stands

at the beginning

this moral collapse

and then at the end

to try to emphasize

how devastating

this moral collapse was

and yet all the way through

from start to finish.

While the people

have abandoned God

God has not

abandoned his people.

And the atrocities

that you read about

in Judges chapter 17 to 21

Judges 17 · chapter mention

give us a window

of how terrible

this rebellion had become.

Give us

a glimpse

of how

wicked the people

had become.

But in the darkest times

when a nation

completely abandons God

God remains faithful

to his people.

That's

that's the message

in summary.

That's Judges

from start to finish.

A faithful God.

He's faithful

to his word

regardless

of a rebel people

who continue

to push him away.

Because when

shepherds lose

the word

the people

lose their way.

But we have

a good shepherd.

We're going to

turn our attention

to the good shepherd

at the end

of our message.

But I want you to see

that Christ

did not become

the good shepherd

in John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

He was the good shepherd

from start

to finish.

I want you to see

that the good shepherd

carried his people

from the very beginning.

And I want to just

touch on this

so we can see

how devastating

this leadership

shepherding vacuum

had become

in chapter 17

to 21.

And yet God

continued to be

faithful

to his word

to Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

and he continues

to be faithful

to his people today.

So briefly

first

the shepherd

and Joseph

the shepherd

and Joseph.

You see

God gave a word

to Jacob

Jacob

who was the father

of the

the 12 tribes

of Israel

and God

had promised

Jacob

that he would

give him a land

and Jacob

through his wanderings

he has these

these positive

parts of life

and these negative

parts of life

and yet through

all of it

God remained

faithful to Jacob.

So that through

the course

of the

or at the end

standing at the

very end

of his life

when Jacob

brings his sons

his family

to Egypt

he is there

in Egypt

and he sees

he sees

Joseph

his son

his 11th son

and we find

in Genesis

Genesis 48:3

chapter 48

verses 3 and 4

Jacob will speak

the wonder

of God's promise

when he says

Jacob said to Joseph

God almighty

appeared to me

at Lez

in the land

of Canaan

and he blessed me

and said to me

behold I will

make you fruitful

and multiply you

and I will

excuse me

and I will make

of your company

of people

and will give

this land

to your offspring

after you

for an everlasting

possession

and then he begins

to mention

why

in verses 15

to 16

he says

he blessed

Joseph

and said

the God

before whom

my fathers

Abraham

and Isaac

walked

the God

who has been

my shepherd

all my life

long

God

had been

Jacob's

shepherd

God

had carried

Jacob

in spite

of Jacob's

failures

he carried him

he was faithful

to his word

he gets him

to Egypt

he lets him

enjoy the benefits

of a son

who he thought

was dead

and Ephraim

and Manasseh

who are the

descendants

or the sons

of Joseph

and he sees

that God

has remained

faithful

as a shepherd

to his people

well God

has been

Jacob's shepherd

in the next scene

in chapter 49

we see

that now

Jacob

will bless

his sons

in chapter 49

verse 1

it says

Jacob called his sons

and said

gather yourselves

together

that I might

tell you

what will happen

to you

in the days

to come

and then

he speaks

to each son

individually

but in verse 8

he comes to Judah

he says

Judah

your brother

shall praise you

your hand

shall be on the

neck of your

enemies

your father's

son shall

bow down

before you

and then in verse 10

the scepter

shall not

depart from Judah

nor the ruler's

staff from

between his feet

until the tribute

comes to him

and to him

shall be the

obedience

of all the peoples

God reveals

to Jacob

the promise

that Judah

will carry

the kings

David

will be

birthed

from the tribe

of Judah

in fulfillment

of this promise

and then

this to Joseph

in verse 22

it says

Joseph

is a fruitful

bough

a fruitful

bough

by a spring

his branches

run over the wall

the archers

bitterly attacked

him

shot at him

and harassed

him severely

yet his bow

remained unmoved

his arms

were made

agile

by the hands

of the mighty

one of Jacob

from there

is the shepherd

the stone

of Israel

why did Joseph

succeed

why did Joseph

make it through

into captivity

why was Joseph

established as the

second

in all of Egypt

not because of

Joseph's might

or power

but because of

the shepherding

gracious

hand

of God

God

was shepherding

his people

the people

grow and

multiply

in numbers

they're in Egypt

as you remember

the story

God raises up

Moses as

a deliverer

Moses leads

the people

out of Egypt

the people

wander in the

wilderness

for 40 years

they're just

about ready

to enter

into the

promised land

and God

tells Moses

you're not

going to go

Moses

it's going

to be for

somebody else

to lead

these people

into the

promised land

and so

Moses

he looks

to God

what kind

of leader

will God

raise up

what kind

of leader

will Moses

look for

what we see

in numbers

Numbers 27:15–20

chapter 27

verses 15

to 20

the kind

of leader

and we're

going to see

that the

shepherd

is embodied

in Joseph

this shepherd

ministry

of God

himself

is going

to kind

of take

this form

this pattern

this example

in Joshua

who will be

this kind

of shepherding

leader

notice

Moses

spoke to

the Lord

saying

let the

Lord

the God

of the

spirits

of all

flesh

appoint

a man

over the

congregation

who shall

go out

before them

and come

in before

them

who shall

lead them

out

and bring

them in

in that

congregation

of the

Lord

may not

be as

sheep

that have

no

shepherd

so the

Lord

said

to Moses

take Joshua

the son

of none

a man

in whom

is the

spirit

and lay

your hand

on him

make him

stand

before

Eliezer

the priest

and all

the congregation

and you

shall

commission

him in

their sight

you shall

invest him

with some

of the

authority

that all

the congregation

of the

people

of Israel

may

obey

Moses'

prayer

Lord

let not

your people

be like

sheep

that have

no shepherd

and so

God says

okay

I'm going

to give

you a

shepherd

a shepherd

like me

from among

the people

and the

pattern

that is

set

that we

see

in the

book of

Judges

in the

book of

Deuteronomy

in the

book of

Joshua

we see

this

pattern

of

family

headship

this

headship

pattern

of

looking

to the

word

reading

the

word

loving

the

word

teaching

the

word

following

the

word

this

is the

kind

of

leader

the

kind

of

shepherd

that

Joshua

was

supposed

to be

in setting

this

pattern

as an

example

for the

people

what does

the

strategy

of

headship

look like

what

kind

of

leader

will

God

bless

what

kind

of

shepherd

are

we

to

be

of

course

we

come

to

Joshua

Joshua 1:8

chapter

1

verse

8

these

are

the

marching

orders

!

follow

the

leader

follow

the

good

shepherd

follow

the

chief

shepherd

Joshua

and you

can be

a

shepherd

over

my

people

Israel

and so

God

blessed

Joshua's

ministry

he

blessed

his

life

he

blessed

his

shepherding

role

and the

people

flourished

because

of

Joshua's

leadership

that was

that was

structured

and built

on the

foundation

of the

word

of God

and the

people

flourished

during

his

time

we

saw

that

in

Judges

Judges 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2

and Joshua

at the

end of

his

life

wants

to

instruct

the

people

to

continue

the

pattern

to

have

family

headship

to

follow

after

the

Lord

and so

in

Joshua

Joshua 24:15

chapter

24

verse

15

he

says

this

choose

this

day

whom

you

will

serve

whether

the

gods

of your

fathers

served

in the

region

beyond

the

river

or the

gods

of the

Amorites

in whose

land

you

dwell

but

as

for me

and my

house

we

will

serve

the

Lord

that's

the

shepherding

principle

that's

the

family

headship

principle

that's

the

principle

that all

of us

are called

to observe

called

to follow

we

we

want

to enjoy

the

benefits

of what

God

has

built

for

us

his

design

for

families

his

design

for

relationships

his

design

for

preservation

not only

of

families

and

households

by the

way

but as

we're

going to

see

that

families

and

households

will

also

help

protect

a

nation

and that

when

the

family

fails

the

nation

will

feel

the

effects

and so

we turn

to

Judges

Judges 17 · chapter mention

chapter

17

to

21

and we

see

this

shepherding

vacuum

in

Israel

this

total

collapse

in

Israel

was due

to the

fact

that

the

shepherds

did not

stand

in the

gap

the

shepherds

did not

lead

the way

they were

called

to lead

they did

not

follow

after

the

Lord

they

did

not

observe

the

principle

that was

embedded

in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

to

love

the

Lord

your

God

with

all

your

heart

with

all

your

soul

with

all

your

mind

and

then

to

teach

those

things

to

your

children

when

they

sit

when

they

rise

when

they

walk

by

the

way

that's

the

principle

that

God

has

called

us

to

we

see

this

vacuum

in

Israel

and

what

they

were

called

to

was

to

lead

in

the

same

way

as

Joshua

led

using

the

word

of

God

as

the

guide

but

there

are

three

ways

we

see

and

there

are

so

many

others

but

we

need

to

focus

on

three

this

morning

to

try

to

bring

chapter

17

and

21

together

for

us

three

ways

in

which

the

shepherds

failed

and

the

first

is

this

the

shepherds

are

present

but

they

are

detached

from

the

word

the

shepherds

are

there

the

heads

of

households

are

there

the

nation

is

present

but

they

are

completely

detached

from

the

what I

find

very

interesting

in

chapters

17

to

21

is

what

I

could

find

and

maybe

you

can

correct

me

what

I

can

find

is

the

first

mention

of

Levites

in

the

entire

book

chapters

1

through

16

I

don't

see

any

mention

of

the

word

Levites

and

then

you

get

to

chapter

17

to

21

and

10

times

you

find

the

mention

in

the

presence

of

Levites

now

why

does

that

matter

I

think

it

matters

for

a

number

of

reasons

but

I'm

inclined

to

think

that

here

are

these

judges

these

heads

of

families

and

they're

supposed

to be

guided

spiritually

by the

most

spiritual

among

them

the

Levites

were

the

ones

who

were

set

apart

for

ministry

to

God's

people

to

lead

them

to

consecrate

them

to

help

them

in

worship

to

sacrifice

in

their

place

to

teach

them

the

scriptures

they

were

the

designated

party

as it

were

the

spiritual

ones

among

God's

people

and here

they are

the

preeminent

examples

of this

moral

collapse

of a

nation

who has

abandoned

God

resident

first

in

the

very

tribe

that was

meant

to lead

the

people

to

him

the

Levites

themselves

chapter

17

verse

1

says

there

was

a

man

in

the

hill

country

of

Ephraim

whose

name

was

Micah

and he

said

to his

mother

the

eleven

hundred

pieces

of

silver

that

were

taken

from

you

about

which

you

uttered

a

curse

and

also

spoken

in

my

ears

behold

the

silver

is

with

me

and

his

mother

said

blessed

be

my

son

by

the

Lord

and

he

restored

the

eleven

hundred

pieces

of

silver

silver

to

the

Lord

from

my

hand

for

my

son

to

make

a

carved

image

a

carved

image

yeah

a

carved

image

and

a

metal

image

now

therefore

I

will

restore

it

to

you

so

so

when

he

restored

the

money

to

his

mother

his

mother

took

200

pieces

of

silver

gave

it

to

the

silver

smith

who

made

it

into

a

carved

image

and

the

metal

image

and

it

was

in

the

house

of

Micah

and

the

man

Micah

had

a

shrine

he

made

an

ephod

and

household

gods

he

ordained

one

of his

sons

who

became

his

priest

in

those

days

there

was

no

king

in

Israel

everyone

did

what

was

right

in

their

own

eyes

the

tragedy

the

tragedy

that's

painted

across

the

end

of

this

narrative

shepherds

are

present

they're

even

invoking

the

name

of

the

Lord

Yahweh

and

yet

I

trust

you

can

see

how

confused

this

people

actually

is

they

invoke

the

name

of

the

Lord

and

then

they

set

up

gods

and

a

shrine

and

they

worship

right

there

instead

of

worshiping

Yahweh

himself

well

this

confusion

seems

to be

isolated

until

you

get

to

verse

7

now

there

was

a

young

man

of

Bethlehem

in

Judah

of the

family

of

Judah

who

was a

Levite

he

sojourned

there

and the

man

departed

from the

town of

Bethlehem

in Judah

to sojourn

where he

could find

a place

he sojourned

he came to

the hill

country

of Ephraim

to the house

of Micah

and Micah

said to him

hey where do you

come from

he says I'm a

Levite of

Bethlehem

in Judah

and I'm

going to

sojourn

where I can

find a

place

and Micah

said hey

stay with

me

and you can

be a father

to me

and I will

make you

a priest

I will

give you

ten pieces

of silver

a year

and a

suit of

clothes

for your

living

and the

Levite

he was

going

bananas

berserk

he thought

what a

great

plan

how is

it

that a

Levite

who is

coming from

the hill

country

or coming

to the

hill

country

of

Ephraim

and this

is distant

from us

in terms

of

understanding

well what's

the significance

of the hill

country

of Ephraim

and in the

sense

the significance

of it

is that's

where Shiloh