Gideon - "The Cycle of Sin of the Nation"
Judges 6:1-10
Introduction
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:11-12)
A loving parent will not allow their children to do wrong. A loving parent will discipline their child so that the child will not come to harm. When my daughter ran out in the street "without looking" she was disciplined. If I had done anything less it would have been negligent of me as a father.
The Lord disciplines those He loves. Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord does not permit His children to sin successfully.” Judges 6:1 says,
"Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD",
Israel had once again turned from the Lord to sin. The first verse is a recurring statement throughout Judges. The people seemed to have developed a pattern of sin and redemption in relation to God. Call it their/our "cycle of sin".
A Rescue - Delivered by God
The Lord had delivered the Israelites from their enemies. They had entered the land which the Lord God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were living in prosperity and safety as long as they obeyed the Lord.
The Lord had even cautioned them before/upon they entered the land. Deuteronomy 6:8 says,
When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
The Lord had brought them into the Promised Land. The people had prospered and grown wealthy. In every way the Lord blessed them.
A Rejection of the Lord
Unfortunately the people did not heed God’s warning. Once they became comfortable. The prosperity and successful went to their heads. They became proud in and of themselves. They would begin to ignore/forget all about the Lord God and take credit for everything. Deuteronomy 8:11 spells this out,
Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
The first part of the cycle is the Lord’s redemption from slavery and sin as they followed Him, then a period of prosperity. Of course as long as they obeyed and followed the Lord they remained free and prosperous. The Lord God blessed them in all that they did.
The people would begin to forget who it was that got them to the land and caused them to prosper. They would, gradually and over time begin to rely on themselves, they would become self centered and prideful. It was no longer God who prospered but as Deuteronomy 8:17 foretells,
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
A Reaping of Sin
They had turned their backs on the Lord once again and they were caught in sin and rebellion. As I quoted earlier, Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord does not permit His children to sin successfully.” The Lord loves all of us so much that He will not allow anyone to "run to ruin". He desires only the best for us.
The judgment of the Lord comes when they sinned. The Lord would allow them to reap the results of sin, a loss of the blessing of God, destruction, and slavery.
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
A Reminder of the Lord
Seven years of oppression and poverty by the Midianites and the people finally called on the Lord God, again. The Lord sent them a prophet who reminded them of what the Lord had done for them in the past. Judges 7-10 says,
When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”
This cycle of sin should sound familiar to many of us. It is the same with our lives. God prospers us. We refuse to listen to or obey His Word. We get prideful and take credit for what the Lord has done for us. The Lord allows us to get our own way. We fail and everything falls apart because we lose His blessing. We are not in His will nor are we willing to listen. We finally after much suffering and destruction call on Him and listen to His Word.
Many in our nation are currently and have been taking credit for what the Lord has done for us. He has blessed us. He has given us the prosperity. We have taken the credit and now we are reaping the rewards of our rebellion and pride. We are literally pushing the Lord out of every area of life.
A Return to Him
The good news is that if we are willing to repent as a people and again follow Him, He will again bless us just as He did the Israelites. The coming year will not be any easy year. Faith crises, job loss, financial collapse, poverty increasing, health problems, loss of all kinds, wars and rumors of wars are already upon us.
But where and what do we begin to do to ensure 2009 is a "successful" or at least a blessed year? D. L. Moody, the 19th century evangelist said, "The world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to Him."
We begin right now, right here with our life to have a blessed year. A revival of any kind always begins with on Lord, one Savior, one life at a time. We must be willing to follow Him only, to obey His commands of loving the Lord, loving others, and telling about Jesus. Where do we begin? Better yet let’s make it personal, where do I begin? Let it begin with me, right now. How about you?
