Last week we looked at a judge called Shamgar, whom the Lord used to save Israel. He was the 3rd of the twelve judges (some says 13) mentioned in this book.
• Author Samuel recounted the acts of these judges, from Judges 3 to 16.
• They are not written entirely chronologically, because the judges are from different places.
• Samuel wanted to highlight what really happened in those times.
We see this sad PATTERN repeating itself (which Bro Michael highlighted last week) – the pattern goes like this:
• The people did evil in the sight of the LORD
• The LORD gave them into the hands of their enemies
• The Israelites cry out to the LORD in their distress
• The LORD raises up a deliverer
• And gives the enemies into the hands of the deliverer
• The land has rest for X number of years
We see this typical cycle in the account of 1st judge OTHNIEL (org nail) - Judges 3:7-11.
As expected, we see this comment repeated throughout this book: “The Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD” (3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1).
• God’s hand of protection and blessing was lifted. His discipline came and Israel was oppressed by their enemies.
• In their misery, they cried out to God and God came to their rescue.
• The sad thing was this - Samuel summarised it in Judges 2:19
“But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.”
It was not just the cycles, they were spiralling downwards spiritually with each cycle. But despite this, God still respond to their cries for help.
GOD ALWAYS RESPONDS
God responds because He is gracious. God responds by grace, not by merit.
• Twelve times it happened in Judges, twelve times God showed up. Which means, every time. Every time Israel cries out, God responds.
• Jud 2:18b “…for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.”
• David writes in the psalms (couple of times): “the LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” (cf. Ps 103:8)
God never fails to respond. Jesus wasn’t joking when He says:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matt 7:7-8)
If we FEEL that God is NOT responding, it helps to understand this: (1) it is a feeling, and (2) we are probably reading Him wrongly.
• God answers our prayers. The classic line we know is that God answers with YES, NO, or WAIT. And because NO and WAIT usually comes with silence, we misinterpret that as a non-response.
• Trust me. When God is not doing anything, that itself is a decision. He has chosen NOT to do anything, and that’s His response. If He needs to do something, He would have done it.
NO and WAIT has two possibilities: (1) circumstances are not right; and (2) I am not ready – not prepared for it, not mature enough for it, not ready for it.
• God wants to do something TO you and not FOR you - build your patience, stretch your faith, correct your motives.
• Paul prayed for the “thorn in his flesh” to be removed 3 times but God did not. Paul says that is to “keep me from being conceited” (2 Cor 12:7)
God shows up each time Israel cries out to Him, despite their increasing corruption.
• God always respond. He responds by grace.
• No situation is beyond God’s rescue, and no one is beyond redemption.
• If man is condemned in his sin, it is God condemning him. Man has chosen it upon himself.
• Samuel says 2:19 “They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.”
A leopard can change his spot!
Ray Ortlund, in his book YOU DON'T HAVE TO QUIT, tells this story:
A teacher asked her class, “Can a leopard change his spots?” All the children shook their heads no, except one little girl who nodded yes.
The teacher asked that again, they shook their heads no, and again, except the same little girl who nodded yes.
The teacher asked why she said yes. The child said, “I don't understand. If the leopard doesn't like that spot, why can’t she just move to another spot?”
Salvation for Israel is possible because God responds by grace.
• Salvation is always possible with God. We are saved by His grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Choose to repent. If you refuse, you will stay put where you are.
GOD ALWAYS DELIVERS
I meant this in two ways – (1) He delivers Israel from their enemies, and (2) He is dependable. God promises and He delivers.
• Politicians over-promise and under-deliver. We can trust God to do a perfect job.
How did God rescue Israel? He raised up judges (leaders).
• Jud 2:18 “Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived….”
• Jud 3:9 “But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel…”
• Jud 3:15 “Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer-Ehud, a left-handed man…”
God raised up individuals to do His work.
• We don’t know much about them and we don’t need to. We just need to know that they are used of God to accomplish God’s will.
• We see the hand of God behind every judge that He raised up.
That’s the silver-lining of the book!
God can still find someone, in the midst of all the mess,
whom He can use to accomplish His will.
• They may be unknown and unlikely people; ordinary and imperfect (in fact, you can see the flaws in them), but God calls them and enables them.
Jud 2:18 “Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived…”
Jud 3:10a “The Spirit of the LORD came upon him [Othniel], so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.”
• The Holy Spirit empowers them for the task at hand. Can we believe this for ourselves? God is counting on individuals like Shamgar.
• Can we EMBARK from where we are, EMPLOY what we have (not focusing on what we do not have), and ENTRUST the results to God?
God always responds, God always delivers…
GOD ALWAYS WINS
It is never been about the judges, but God. He is the ultimate hero in every story.
• He uses Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and you and me, to do His work and save the lost world. And we are all empowered by the Holy Spirit to do that.
If God always win, then don’t you think we should be a part of it?
• Do we really believe this? That God will empower us and work through us to accomplish His will on earth?
• Or have we lost faith in God? Are we among the majority who has lost trust in God, or the remnant few who are still faithful and faithfully serving Him?
There is a thought in this text that scares me.
• Jud 3:11-12 “So the land had peace for forty years, UNTIL Othniel son of Kenaz died. 12Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord…”
• They couldn’t hold on to what God has given them or blessed them with.
The more frightening part is that this repeats itself.
• Jud 4:1 “After EHUD died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
• After DEBORAH (Jud 5) – Jud 6:1 “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord…”
• After GIDEON (Jud 6) – Jud 8:33 “No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.”
Author Samuel summed it up for us at the beginning (Jud 2:19):
“But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers...”
They have no conviction of their own; they take no stand for God.
• They allow whatever they hear and see (from the Canaanites living among them), dictates what they believe and how they live.
• They toe the line only as long as the judge was alive, when someone was watching over them, when someone was checking on them, just like Moses and Joshua had been for their forefathers.
Are we going to see the same symptoms today? Are we going to allow this?
• Can we take a stand for what we believe in? Are our faith anchored in God and His Word? Can we remain faithful?
• Or are we going to change when our spiritual leaders, elders, parents, pastors go away? When no one is going to check on us or tell us how to live?
Pray that we will grow up to be anchors for the Lord in our generation.
• Pray that we will grow up by growing deeper in the knowledge of His Word and His will.
• Take a stand for God. Stand by our conviction. Be committed to His Word. Live for the audience of ONE and serve Him with all that we’ve got.
God always respond, God always delivers and God always win.
Put your trust in Jesus Christ, if you have not done so. We need to confess and repent of our sin and receive His forgiveness. God is our Judge and Jesus Christ is our only hope.
PRAY: “Day by day, dear Lord, of you three things I pray. To see you more clearly, to love you more dearly, to follow you more nearly, day by day.”
