This is the start of a study on the book of Judges (week1). Slide 1
Introduction to the book:
Slide 2
21 chapters spanning almost 400 years
From Joshua’s death to the first King; Saul
The title ‘Judges’ doesn’t mean courts and jurors, more like deliverers with a military sense.
There were 12 judges, 6 minor and 6 major Slide 3
As we see during those years, Israel continued a cycle of apostasy, oppression, crying out to God, then deliverance.
Before each judge we see, ‘.and the people did evil in the sight of the Lord..’
More of a downward spiral with each judge being worse than the one before.
When they entered the promised land under Joshua they took Jericho which was central, slide 4 then made their way south towards Gaza, then up to the north
It wasn’t a single nation, but numerous states with own territories, governments and armies.
The land wasn’t going to be taken in one single entry, but by each tribe
It was theirs for the taking
After Joshua’s death the people didn’t know what to do
They were now in the land, yet didn’t have full possession
What happened to cause Israel to go into decline after such a victory at Jericho?
1. They lost their fighting spirit
2. They lost their relationship with God
3. They sought other ways of dealing with life
They were disobedient:
· They were told to drive out the enemy
· They were told to utterly destroy them
· They were told not to make any treaty with them
They were to apply ‘herem’ law
Closely related to the Arabic word ‘harim’ used to mean sanctuary, a forbidden area, off limits to others.
The Hebrew word means, separating something, reserving it for sacred use; forbidden to man and consecrated to God.
They were to make sure no one got away and all the plunder was dedicated to the Lord.
The seriousness of not using harem law is shown later in Joshua 22:20 we read: When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’ "
I will speak more about this later as we go further into Judges
We have some who think the God of the OT is different from the God of the NT
Was God dealing harshly with the people there? No
He wanted no influences to come and take them away from Him
We begin in Chap 1: they didn’t drive out the enemy, why?
· They thought the battle was over
· They became comfortable now they had entered God’s promised land
· They settled in nicely with their neighbours and compromised what they could have had, so well, that they behaved like them
As Christians we get saved and think the battle is over
What else is there to do?
God has done it all!
We then settle into our Christian life and live comfortably with our neighbours.
Illust
Living with rats!
Do we allow them to live in our house?
Will we allow them to occupy one room or corner?
This is what it was like for Israel; they lived with the enemy
It was only when the enemy took over that they called on God
If we have rats and we may try to get rid of them, then we may also call someone to deal with the problem
This is what happened here
They enquired of the Lord Judges 1:1 through the priest Phinehas
We are to enquire of our high priest Jesus when we are faced with the enemy:
· Sickness
· Demon activity
· Depression
· Financial difficulties
· Lust
· Compulsive behaviour
· Greed
· Unforgiveness
· Family crisis; children away from God to name a few
He has obtained the victory, now we must take possession of the fullness that all God has given us
Where is the territory that the enemy lives in, in our lives?
Where is the real battle taking place?
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
When the spies went in to the land was it the enemy that put fear in them or was it all in their mind?
Hadn’t God said? It is written!
Unbelief the biggest obstacle, followed by fleshly desires
When we see Jesus tempted by the devil we read how suggestions were put into his mind Luke 4
We see how the devil lied to Jesus.
I will give you all this if you worship me….Jesus would have lost everything, not gained.
He was free already, we are already free!
Heb 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Adam and Eve were tempted by suggestive thoughts; they had everything already, but believed the lie that God was withholding something from them.
God doesn’t withhold anything from us; He’s freely given us all things
2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Was the cross enough to set us free? Yes!
Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Didn’t Jesus say on the cross,’ it is finished!’
So why are you living in defeat?
Why are you condemned?
Rom 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Do you find yourself in a downward spiral?
1. Like Israel you may have lost your fighting spirit
Put on the full Armour of God Eph 6:10
Whether we like it or not, we are in a battle; the war may be won but we have territory to claim
2. You may have lost your relationship with God
You may say ‘certainly not!’ But ask yourself if you love Him and serve Him like you did before.
Is He still the centre of your commitment?
He is the first thing on your mind when you rise and the last thing when you sleep?
Do you love to spend time with Him?
Ask yourself how much time do you spend with Him, compared to the time spent on fleshly desires and worldly pleasures
3. You may be seeking other alternatives in sorting out your life
People try many things to help various situations Illust
· Yoga
· Reflexology
· Christian counselling
· Herbal medicines
· Hypnosis
· An many other ‘New Age’ remedies
When people do this, they are saying, ‘God you can’t help me I’ll go elsewhere’.
Illust
We rid our house of rats, yet open the door for more!
Don’t give the enemy a foothold
Eph 4:27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
Read Eph 4:17-27
We have got so used to seeking others first, we don’t realise we do it.
Like Israel, we have become familiar with the surroundings and are influenced by the world and society we live in
We wonder why many fall away
So what can we learn from Judges overall?
· There are strongholds and territory still to be taken
· We must have no other influences in our life but God
· When God is for us, we will overcome
· When or if we allow the enemy a foothold we have forsaken God’s truth and slipped into unbelief or sin
· If we call upon God, He will deliver!
Over the next weeks we shall look in more detail at events and characters through the book and hopefully learn lessons for our lives today.
Please read through Chapter 1 before next week; even better, read the book.
Illust
Michael Wilcock said, ‘It has to be read before it can be read’.
