Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
4 Aug 2013
Judges 2:20-3:11
The Period addressed/book/Judges/period of time defined by lawlessness, rebellion/moral failure among/people/Israel.
Whole attitude of Israel/time/judges can be summed up in the words of Judges 17:6; 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
That’s a pretty good description of our world as well!
• God had redeemed Israel from Egyptian bondage.
• He led them for forty years through a wilderness.
• He brought them safely/land/Canaan
• promised to defeat all their enemies
• If only they would walk with Him in holiness.
God commanded them to enter Canaan/conquer it, Deut. 7:1-6.
Commandments/ those verses/crystal clear/They were to:
• v. 1 Possess the land
• v. 2 Utterly destroy all the nations of Canaan
• v. 2 Make no peace treaties with them
• v. 2 Show them no mercy
• v. 3 Refuse to intermarry with them
• v. 5 Completely destroy every trace of their pagan religions
______________________________________________
The reason they were commanded to do this:
• Israel was/different from all/people around them
• Had been chosen by God.
• He had saved them, blessed them
• Promised them victory, if they would walk with Him.
God demanded total separation among His people.
God knew if Israel allowed themselves/entangled/Canaanites
• they would become corrupt spiritually
• Be drawn away from God, Deut. 7:4.
When that happened, God promised He would visit them suddenly, in His wrath.
Israel had their instructions/failed/carry out/Lord’s command.
• After a while, they became like their enemies
• Adopting/wicked ways/various Canaanite tribes around them.
• Israel began to worship the false gods/Canaanites.
• When they followed this downward path
• God allowed them to know His displeasure/His judgment.
________________________________________
Israel would follow a Judge until/Judge died, then they would revert to their wicked ways and the cycle would begin again.
This continued/Israel 400 years until they got their first king.
• The book of Judges is profitable for us today.
In its pages, we see that Israel faced many of the same problems that we face in our world today.
• They faced physical enemies; so do we.
• They faced problems from the world
• The flesh and the devil; so do we.
Few Sundays/bring a series of messages I am entitling Losers, Laymen and Leaders.
• Some Lessons From The Lives Of Israel’s Judges.
• God is no longer looking for judges
• He is looking for leaders.
Men/women who can stem the tide of evil that threatens to overtake the church in these dark days.
He is looking for people:
• Who will rise up, taking their stand/God/Bible.
• He can use to change the world for the glory of God.
• People He is looking/sitting in these pews today!
__________________________________________
Intro:
Israel refused to walk/Lord so the Lord refused to drive out all their enemies/land/Canaan.
• Forced to live alongside/very people/sent to destroy!
• Why did God leave the people in the land?
• Let’s look at the reasons
1. v. 1 He left them there to test Israel –God allowed the pagans to live around His people to test Israel.
• Tested to see how they would live when surrounded by the wicked.
• tested to see if they would keep His commandments or not,
• v. 4. They failed this test!
______________________________________________
2. v. 2 He left them there to teach new generations about spiritual warfare.
God wanted them/learn/lessons/battle their fathers had known.
God wanted them to be strong and to know how to fight the enemy when he came around.
• They failed this test too!
• Caused some serious problems among the people of Israel.
Israel proved:
• Could not be trusted to stand up against the enemy.
• They would rather join the enemy than fight them.
Let’s notice how God delivered Israel from a time of cruel bondage by raising up Othniel: The Lion Of God.
_______________________________________________
I. v. 5-7 ISRAEL’S COMPROMISE
• Verses give us the ugly details of Israel’s first great failure.
• stands as a stark warning to the people of God in any age
What Israel did then is what we see people doing all around us today.
Notice how they compromised the Word of God and the will of God to do the things they wanted to do.
A. v. 5 Interaction With The Canaanites – The Bible says that the children of Israel “lived among” the various tribes of Canaan.
• When Israel arrived in Canaan.
• commanded to destroy people without mercy
• Now they are living among them.
• took very short time for their former enemies to become their new neighbors.
Here’s the problem, Israel was be separate world around them.
• They were unique among all peoples/world.
• They had been chosen, redeemed
• Set apart to serve the Lord God Almighty
• God expected them to remain separate, Deut. 7:6-11.
Because they didn’t, they opened a floodgate of sin that would end with them facing the terrible chastisement of God.
Do I need to remind you that God’s redeemed ones are to be a separate people as well, 2 Cor. 6:17?
Need I remind you that we are a “peculiar people”, Titus 2:14?
• Not mean we are weird; means we “His special possession”.
• He loved us, He chose us, He send His Son to die for us
• He redeemed us and bought us, 1 Cor. 6:19-20.
• When we refuse/walk/His will
• honor His Word in our lives
We open/floodgates of sin that eventually overwhelm us and drown us in its turbulent currents.
It is a dangerous thing for a child of God to live like the world
around him!
______________________________________________
• When we get too close to the world around us
• we soon find ourselves entangled with them/their sins
Company you keep will determine how close you walk to the Lord
Why God has commanded His people to keep their distance from the lost world around them, 2 Cor. 2:14.
We must interact/world so we can be light/them and give them the Gospel.
• But, we must keep our spiritual distance.
It is a short step from walking/world to living like the world
__________________________________________
The same danger confronts wayward saints in our day!
• When we refuse/maintain our distance/world around us;
• when we continually yoke ourselves/people/things/world
• when we bow down at their altars
• We are sacrificing a generation/gods of this world.
We are:
• Teaching our children they free/treat God/His Word as they please.
• telling them that it is alright to disregard God
• His Word, His House, His worship and His will.
• Telling them they/free/chart their own course through this world.
Each step they took led them farther away from God.
• Each step farther from God.
• Verse 7a tells us that they “forgot the Lord their God.”
• They reached a place of total indifference toward the Lord.
_____________________________________________
That is where many in our day have come to!
• Most folk know Lord is there.
• They know God has/claim/their lives
• But they choose to ignore Him.
• He is there, but they don’t listen.
• He calls, but they don’t come.
They harden their hearts against God
• Against His Word and the call of the Spirit of God.
• They turn a deaf ear to Him and His call on their lives.
• As far as they are concerned
• God doesn’t matter, He might as well not even exist!
• That is a dangerous place to be!
____________________________________________
II. v. 8 ISRAEL’S CHASTISEMENT
That is where Israel was spiritually, but that is not where God would leave them.
Charles Spurgeon used to say, “God never allows His people to sin successfully.”
That is, you might do it, but you won’t get away with it forever!
There/always/price to pay for disobedience/rebellion against God.
If you are saved and you choose to walk away from the Lord, you might as well know that there will be a price to pay.
• God will bring His chastisement into your life, Rev. 3:19
• God does this, not to hurt us, but to help us to get back to where we are supposed to be, 1 Cor. 11:32.
_______________________________________
We are told that God “sold” Israel into the hands of a pagan king.
In other words, Israel gave themselves to paganism and God punished them by giving what they wanted.
They did not want to follow His ruled in their lives, so He allowed them to be ruled by a harsh, pagan king.
• They wanted paganism. They wanted their sin
• they wanted their false gods
• God gave them everything they asked for and more.
The same danger faces people in this room today.
• People sitting here today who/not as close/Lord/once were.
• Not attending church like you used to.
• Not as committed as you used to be.
• No longer faithful to the Lord like you once were.
• You just don’t serve Him like you used to.
• Other things have taken His place in your life.
• Little things like your pleasure, your desires, your toys; you know what I am talking about.
Well. Don’t be surprised when you reap what you have sowed.
You might reap your harvest in God selling you to the things you run after. But, you will reap your harvest!
The fact is, Spurgeon was right. “God never allows His people to sin successfully!” you will reap what you sow, Gal. 6:7-8.
If you fear the crop you might reap, the time to change is now, before any more damage is done! Come home today!
III. v. 9-11 ISRAEL’S CHAMPION
When Israel came to themselves, they called on God and He heard them.
• When they turned back to Him in their hearts
• He reached out to them in deliverance.
• He raised up their first judge, a man by the name of Othniel!
• Othniel is called “a deliverer”. means “a savior”
• And that’s just what Othniel was.
We are told that Othniel is “Caleb’s younger brother.”
• Othniel was a man of courage and bravery.
• He was an older man, some believe around the age of 75.
• He was battle tested. He was available and God chose him.
• Othniel reminds us that God can use anyone.
Regardless:
• Of how old we might be.
• Of our past.
• Of who we are or what we have for us or against us
God can use us for His glory if we will make ourselves available to Him.
• God delivered Israel through Othniel
• What can God do through you??????
_____________________________________________
The Spirit of God:
• Enable us to stand against the enemies around us.
• Make us powerful for the glory of the Lord.
• use us in ways that we can hardly imagine
But we must yield to Him and His power in and over our lives. That is the secret to power with God, Acts 1:8.)
God:
• Allowed Othniel deliver Israel/bondage of that pagan king.
• Empowered Othniel judge the nation of Israel for the rest of his life, some 40 years.
• Gave Othniel victory in his life because Othniel gave himself to the Lord!
Do you want:
• The Lord to use your life for His glory?
• To see Him do great things through you?
• To be free from the yoke of paganism?
• To see your family delivered from the bondage of sin and the world?
• Victory in your life?
If you do, yield to the Lord like Othniel did.
Allow the Lord to lead you/control you and He will use you for His glory
____________________________________________
Conc: I wonder, are you concerned about where you are spiritually with the Lord today.
Are you concerned about where your family is headed?
Would you like to be used of the Lord in a greater way?
Would you like to be more dedicated to Him?
If He has touched your heart on any level, you come and let Him do in you what He wants to do.
If He is calling, you need to obey His voice. That is the first step toward victory.
