Judges
2:7:17 THE
BOOK OF JUDGES (1)
The
Bible is the chart of history. It affords a panoramic view of the whole course
of events from the creation and the fall of man, to the final judgment, and the
inauguration of the new heaven and the new earth. It gives us, not only events,
but their moral character. Events are shown in relation to their causes and
effects, and the judgment of God as to their character is revealed. Without the
Bible, history would be a spectacle of unknown rivers flowing from unknown
sources to unknown seas; but under its guidance we can trace the complex
currents to their springs, and see the end from the beginning.-
Dr. H. Gratton Guinness.
The
book of judges obviously takes its name from its contents, which are devoted to
the period in Israel's history when it was ruled by those called
"Judges". It covers roughly the first three hundred and fifty years of
Israel's history in Canaan. This is the period of the Theocratic regime, in
which God Himself is Israel's "King Invisible."
Many
dark doings and sad happenings make up the bulk of this book but the sin of
Israel is specially revealed so that we might learn from it. Jeremiah quotes the
Lord as saying, "I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit
thereof - but when ye entered ye defiled My land, and made My heritage an
abomination" (Jer 2:7). We cannot obliterate this tragic record, so
let us learn from it. It is a pathetic anticlimax to the book of Joshua, but it
is nevertheless one of the richest books of Scripture in the lessons and
examples which it contains.
The
Judges described here were not a regular succession of governors, but occasional
deliverers raised up by God, to rescue Israel from oppression, and to administer
justice. They did not assume royal authority but they acted as vice-regents of
Jehovah, the invisible King.
The
Nature of the book
The
records preserved for us in this book of the Judges are, of course, historically
true but they do not constitute a complete history
of the period with which they deal. The emphasis here is on the spiritual
significance of selected events. We have a number of events selected because of
their bearing on the main purpose of the book. It is the manner of this
selection which explains why much space is devoted to the periods connected with
Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, and the shameful lapse of Benjamin, while long
stretches of time are passed over in silence. It is this which explains,
although it may seem strange to us, that there is no mention of the High Priests
in the body of this book. The book of judges is not concerned with providing us
with a historical chain as with driving home a vital lesson.
The
Purpose of the Book
The
purpose of this book is to demonstrate how far the Israelites have fallen. The
generation who were contemporaries with Joshua were courageous and faithful. The
present generation had left their first love, and had now fallen into such a
state of indifference that Jehovah now found it necessary to rebuke them. As
each tribe of the present generation received its portion, they became so
engrossed in cultivating it, or so much fonder of ease than of war, that they
grew unwilling to help the others.
As
another generation arose, living among idolaters, the Israelites copied their
example, intermarried with them, and became contaminated with their abominations
(2:13; 3:6). The old inhabitants of the land, left alone, gathered
strength and the surrounding nations and tribes, the Syrians, Philistines,
Moabites, and Midianites, took advantage of Israel’s degeneracy to attack them
while the sin and idolatry, of the Hebrews weakened their powers of defence.
The
Significance of the book
The
Judges whom God raised up were living object lessons to preserve in Israel the
knowledge that true faith in Jehovah, the only true God, was the only way of
victory and well-being.
The
people only responded so far as served the selfish end of the moment, that is,
the saving of their necks from bondage, and the grabbing of fleshly advantages.
They did not love Jehovah one bit more
for His patience nor did they simply serve Him from a sense of duty. Speaking
generally, the God of their fathers was simply a convenient resort in times of
extreme trouble. When things were comfortable, barefaced betrayal of Jehovah was
the order of the day. The people chafed under the disciplinary requirements of
God's high calling to Israel through Abraham and Moses. They neglected the book
of the Covenant, and turned quickly out of the way to indulge in the unclean and
forbidden.
From
time to time, out of sheer pity for His humiliated and groaning people, God
raised up these men, the Judges, whose exploits of deliverance, despite the
character and behaviour of the Judges themselves, were so clearly miraculous
interventions of Jehovah, in response to faith in Himself, that Israel was
forced to recognise Jehovah again as the one true God, and was encouraged to
return to the first faith and the first love. Yet these interventions had no
lasting effect. Israel's early obstinacy developed into incurable obduracy.
Israel's first three hundred and fifty years in Canaan is a pathetic anti-climax
to the Book of Joshua.
The
Lesson it Teaches
Note
the singular rather than the plural. There is above all one lesson to be gleaned
from this book. Why this tragic
landslide into sin? It is the answering of this question which forms the
controlling purpose of this book of Judges. Its intention is to expose the cause
and course of Israel's ruining downgrade in such a way as to sting the national
conscience into repentance and to return the nation to Jehovah. These things are
written in the Bible for our benefit. The
plan of the book reveals clearly its central lesson.
THEIR
FAILURE WAS DUE TO COMPROMISE
Every
page of this book contributes to the driving home of this central truth. Of
course, the exploits of the judges teach us that a return to the true faith
always brings renewed victory, although even in their teaching of this they
accentuate the main, stark reality that all failure is due to compromise.
How did it all begin? Well, in the opening chapter, we are told that the nine and a half tribes which settled in Canaan did not obey God’s command to destroy or even drive out the Canaanite nations. They allowed them to remain. The other two and a half tribes - Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of
Manasseh,
had already sadly compromised in choosing to settle in Gilead, on the eastern
side of the Jordan.
The
1st chapter of Judges gives us a list of eight incomplete conquests - by
Judah, Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan. The other
two tribes, Issachar and Simeon, are not mentioned, but the presumption is that
their behaviour was like that of the others. Incomplete mastery of an evil at
the beginning always means constant trouble from it afterwards, and often defeat
by it in the end. So it was with Israel and so it has been with others. Let us
beware for ourselves! It is no use taking hold of a nettle with a tender hand.
It is folly to try half-measures against sin! The Divine command to Israel was
austere, but necessary. Israel allowed quarter to the foe, and lived to rue it.
Next,
in the second and third chapters, we find the successive steps of further
compromise. Having only partially conquered the Canaanites, Israel now makes
treaties with them (2:2). God had already prohibited that. Then, having
entered into treaties with them, Israel intermarries with them (3:6).
This was another thing God had prohibited. Then, having mixed blood in marriage,
Israel descends to their ways, bows to their idols, forsakes Jehovah, and serves
Baal and Ashtoreth (2:13; 3:6).
Note
carefully these stages - incomplete victory, military treaties, intermarriage,
idolatry and apostasy are followed by humiliating captivity (2:14, etc.).
The
Judges were mercifully raised up to recall and deliver Israel. They stopped the
rot for the moment, but it set in again worse than before as soon as the grave
silenced each judge's voice.
In
chapter 2:16-19 we read: “Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them
out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not
listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed
down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in
obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18
And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and
delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for
the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them
and harassed them. 19
And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved
more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods,
to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor
from their stubborn way.”
The
tragic story of this book of Judges is one of, “failure through compromise”.
We will not enjoy God's promised rest for long if we tolerate partially crushed
sins to continue within us. If we continue with questionable things because we
think they seem harmless, we shall soon find ourselves controlled by the desires
of the flesh again, and find ourselves falling down from the heights to which
God had lifted us.
Failure
through compromise!
If only Israel had heeded the message of this book! If only the compromising
Church of today would stop ignoring it!
GOD'S
WORD TO HIS PEOPLE TODAY IS STILL THAT OF
2
CORINTHIANS 6:17-18.
"WHEREFORE
COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE, SAITH THE LORD, AND TOUCH NOT THE
UNCLEAN THING, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU, AND WILL BE A FATHER UNTO YOU, AND YE
SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, SAITH THE LORD ALMIGHTY."