GOD'S GRACE - PART 2 (Judges 2:16-3:6)
INTRODUCTION:
Two weeks ago, we began to look at a passage in chapter two that is a summary or a preview of the rest of the book of Judges, getting us ready for the introduction of the first judge that we will meet in chapter 3. We learned that God in His great grace in an act of compassion and love was raising up judges to deliver the people of Israel from those who oppressed and afflicted them, those God had sent to punish them for their apostasy. When Israel was in severe distress from their enemies God would with compassionate grace raise up a judge to deliver them. But Israel abused and scorned God’s grace, they did not repent or turn away from the idols they were worshiping, and when the judge would die, they would quickly turn back to their evil ways and become more corrupt than the generation before them. They continued to abandon the Lord and do evil in His sight, they were in a downward spiral in which they were drawn ever more deeply into the grip of evil which they had chosen. Grace that is abused, scorned, and ignored will not go on forever, so it should be no surprise that this passage about willful sin is followed immediately by an announcement of judgment. These verses will bring us to the end of the summary or the preview of the judges’ period as a whole that the author has given us in verses 16-19 which we looked at two weeks ago. This passage gives us the decision made by the LORD concerning Israel’s persistent sin despite all the grace that God has poured out on His people. In these verses we see the end result, the final verdict on the people of Israel’s behavior and the appropriate action that is to be taken. Let’s pray and then read our passage of Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Judges 2:16-3:6, I will read the whole passage again to pick up the context. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Judges 2:16-3:6,
“Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from 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 and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, ‘Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.’ So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. They were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses. The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.” (Judges 2:16–3:6, NASB95)[1]
GRACE SCORNED BRINGS JUDGMENT (Judges 2:20-23)
This morning we begin in verse 20 which brings us back to God’s anger, this verse uses the same phrase that was used in verse 14, again we are given that same word picture, “Yahweh’s nose became hot against Israel.” In verse 14 the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel because of her apostasy, here it is because of the same apostasy happening generation after generation, Israel has aroused God’s anger again and again and has suffered the terrible consequences. But each time God has eventually relented and raised up a judge and delivered them. Now in these final verses we learn that Israel is to learn a hard lesson: it is possible to provoke the LORD to anger, to abuse and scorn His grace once too often and suffer something far more serious than temporary punishment, temporary distress. The formal language of verses 20-21 shows us that we must imagine a court in session but with one difference. In this court the LORD is both the prosecuting attorney and the judge, and this judge is not like those He raises up to rescue Israel, here He is a judge in the judicial sense, He is the Supreme Judge about to render His verdict and His judgment. The court session begins with the reading out of the charge: “…Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice,” (Judges 2:20b, NASB95)[2] This charge stresses the seriousness of the offense and the situation to which Israel has come. Notice that Israel is not addressed directly, not like the angel of the LORD had addressed them in the first part of this chapter. Here they are spoken of in the third person and addressed as “this nation.” Their willfulness, their rebellion against God, their scorn and abuse of His grace has caused their relationship with the LORD to break down. Now they face Him as their judge instead of their deliverer.
This charge read against the people of Israel, the offense that they have committed is not merely against “the law,” it is against the LORD personally. He says that that have broken “My covenant” which “I commanded” their fathers and they have not listened to “My voice.” This reference to “fathers” is a reminder to those charged of their generational responsibility, in other words, they are not just any people, but the children of those to whom God made gracious promises, promises that were fulfilled under Joshua. This generational responsibility brought about an obligation to honor God and their fathers by grateful obedience, but by their behavior they dishonored both. What will the Supreme Judge do, the Judge of all the earth?
The facts are before Him, the charge has been made: a covenant has been broken and a test has been failed. Let’s first look at the test that is spoken of in verses 21-22 and then come back to the broken covenant spoken of in verse 20.
Verse 21 tells us that the test concerned the “nations which Joshua left when he died…” (Judges 2:21b, NASB95)[3] The fact that Joshua did not completely defeat and drive out the Canaanites from the land is clearly acknowledged in Joshua and here. Joshua referred to those nations left in the land repeatedly in his farewell address to the people in Joshua 23. In verse 4 he stated, “See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.” (Joshua 23:4, NASB95)[4] This is just one example where he refers to the nations that remain that they were to drive out. Going back to Judges 2, verses 22-23 tell us that the fact that they remained was not because Joshua failed to complete his task. Those nations were left for a purpose, verse 22 gives us that purpose, “in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” (Judges 2:22, NASB95)[5] This action of leaving some of the nations was not just Joshua’s doing alone, but at the same time it was God’s doing as verse 23 tells us, “So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.” (Judges 2:23, NASB95)[6] In this summary or preview given to us by the author we are now at the point that comes after Israel’s willful sin which persisted all throughout the whole period of the judges which is described for us in verses 11-19, and it is clear that the test has been failed. Israel did not walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did. They failed the test of faithfulness that the LORD had given them by not allowing Joshua to completely defeat their enemies, now they must face the consequences.
Understand that this failure by Israel was not just a legal failure but a relational one. This brings us to the most painful aspect of the problem that the LORD as their judge faces here. The “covenant” that they have broken is the framework for all the proceedings in this courtroom scene. But this is not a covenant that some other person or group has made. The Supreme Judge refers to it as “my covenant that I commanded.” So, this offense by the people of Israel is personal, it is against God Himself. This is always the essence of what sin is, it is an offense against God. It may also be an offense against ourselves as moral beings, and often it is an offense against others, but it is primarily an offense against God. This is because He is the Creator of us all and the One who rightly holds us accountable for our actions. The offense is greater for those who have been brought into a special relationship with God by His gracious redeeming work for them and in them (Israel in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament). This covenant relationship is more like a marriage or like the relationship brought about by birth, like that relationship between children and their parents. So, there is more to God’s relationship with His guilty people than the relationship between a judge and an offender. This relationship is much more multi-layered, it is deep and painful when broken. Something far worse than failing a test has happened, a covenant of a most personal kind has been broken. Justice is required, this covenant that God made with Israel recognizes this, that justice is required.
The covenant that God had made with the nation of Israel had two basic parts: the first part was promise and the second part was law. The promise part included among other things, God commitment to give the whole land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants. This commitment was unconditional and promised the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. In Genesis 13:14-17 we read, “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.’” (Genesis 13:14–17, NASB95)[7] This promise is repeated more than once to Abraham and it is also repeated to Isaac and to Jacob. This is the promise the angel of the LORD spoke of in Judges 2:1 where speaking as God said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,’” (Judges 2:1b, NASB95)[8] This commitment to give the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was basic to God’s covenant with them, and He promised never to break it.
The covenant, however, also had a law aspect to it. This part of the covenant was given through Moses at Mount Sinai, the law aspect is seen in that it is commandments with blessings and curses attached. These commands did not replace or overturn the promise, the unconditional promise that God had made to Abraham but presupposed it, what do I mean? It accepted it as fact, as Paul states in Galatians 3:17, “What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.” (Galatians 3:17–18, NASB95)[9] The people that God brought out of Egypt, redeemed from slavery, and gave His law to were Abraham’s descendants. He redeemed them out of slavery precisely because of what it says in Exodus 2:24, “So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Exodus 2:24, NASB95)[10] The Law clearly spelled out what the consequences would be for obedience or disobedience. Moses warned the Israelites during his lifetime telling them what would happen if they angered the LORD by turning away from Him and worshipping other gods. He said in Deuteronomy 31:29, “For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.” (Deuteronomy 31:29, NASB95)[11] Joshua also warned them In Joshua 23:16, “When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.” (Joshua 23:16, NASB95)[12] None of this meant the end of the covenant relationship, they would still be God’s people, and the promise on which His relationship with them was built would never be revoked as we read in Galatians 3. It did mean, however, that any particular generation could miss out on the enjoyment of what God had promised. One generation died in the wilderness, another would fail to get full possession of the land, and another would lose it all together and be carried off to a foreign land. The complete fulfillment of the promise will come only through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. But at any time, the covenant relationship could be experienced as blessing or as curse, the enjoyment of what was promised by obedience or the forfeiture of it by disobedience. That is the essence of the covenant as law, the covenant that God says in verse 20, “…My covenant which I commanded their fathers…” (Judges 2:20b, NASB95)[13]
God as the Supreme Judge must make a decision concerning the breaking of His covenant by the nation of Israel. Testing has failed, discipline has failed, grace has been abused and ignored, God the righteous Judge must decide what to do. God’s problem in dealing with sinners, whether His own people or not, is how to be both gracious and just. But this is not a problem that God cannot solve, the solution, however, will not come quickly or without pain. The complete solution is found only in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, where perfect love and perfect justice meet. Here in Judges 2 a ruling is made by God that is not as far reaching as the death of our Savior, but it fits perfectly with God’s character, and is perfectly suited for the situation at hand. The people of Israel have abused the grace God has shown them in promising to give the whole land to them as Abraham’s descendants and God even put the attainment of that promise within their reach through Joshua. They forfeited their right to the enjoyment of the covenant promise and have received instead what was predicted in the covenant law. This generation will not enjoy full possession of the land. The nations that were left in the land after the death of Joshua, left to test the faithfulness of the Israelites will now be left as a punishment for their unfaithfulness. The LORD will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left at his death. The fulfillment of the promise will be delayed, postponed, this faithless, willful, rebellious generation will not experience it. This is just as God said and it is a carefully measured judgment. Notice that God did not give full vent to His anger by revoking His promise and disowning His people. In that sense it is a gracious judgment. But in another sense, God does not ignore their unfaithfulness or willfulness, He punishes them as He said He would, so it is a just judgment. It is only a temporary solution, but a just and gracious one. We will see this same blend of grace and justice in all of God’s dealings with His rebellious people in the period of the judges and beyond. It is for this reason that the history of salvation does not stop here but continues throughout the history of Israel running as a scarlet thread through all their up and downs until it reaches its climax in Jesus Christ.
FAILING THE TEST (Judges 3:1-6)
As we come into the first six verses of chapter three, they mostly repeat what has gone on before. We might call them an epilogue; it sums up the action without adding much to it. It does list for us the nations the LORD left by not allowing them to be routed by Joshua and it reminds us of why He did this that it was to test Israel and it reminds us that Israel failed the test by worshipping Canaan’s gods. This is all things we have heard before, but a couple of things are added that have not been shared earlier. First, it gives us another reason that God did not drive out all the nations by giving them into the hand of Joshua. It was so the new generation would not simply receive what others had fought for but would learn to fight and to struggle themselves to take the land. Second, and more important, it tells us of the fatal step that was taken that brought about Israel’s slide into apostasy, they intermarried with the nations that they were living among. To look at these verses in another sense they might be given as a reflection on what could have been. Israel could have passed the test and continued to enjoy God’s blessing, but they didn’t. They could have grown through the struggle to fully claim what God had given them and be better for it, but they didn’t. They could have transformed Canaan from a place of idolatry to a place where the one true God was worshipped and honored, but they didn’t. Instead, they yielded to Canaanite culture. In New Testament terms, they became conformed to this world. Instead of conquest and victory it became assimilation and defeat, and the critical factor was intermarriage.
Intermarriage would plague Israel throughout the time of the judges and on into the rest of the Old Testament period. We will learn that the first judge married Achsah, the daughter of Caleb. The last judge, Samson, married a Philistine. Solomon brought ruin on Israel by marrying many foreign women and even the exile did not cure Israel of the problem. The leaders of the restored community did the same thing, married foreigners, and only drastic action by Ezra saved the restored community from ruin. But understand the issue was never primarily or essentially a racial one. Rahab the harlot, broke away from her Canaanite heritage, became a follower and worshipper of the LORD, the God of Israel, and a member of the community with no harm to Israel. Boaz marries Ruth the Moabitess, who took refuge under the LORD’s wings and went on to be an ancestor of king David and later of the Lord Jesus. This issue is not race but covenant unfaithfulness. It is Israelites pledging themselves in marriage to Canaanite women who worshipped the gods of Canaan and led their Israelite husbands to do the same. It has always been this way. The surest way to end up loving the world is to bind yourself to someone who already does. We must heed the apostle Paul’s warning in all our relationships, he wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14–15, NASB95)[14]
CONCLUSION:
As I come to a close this morning, let me be clear that the Bible’s teaching on this issue of not being bound to unbelievers is consistent and clear, but how do we apply this when we are told to be light and salt in the world? There is a fine line between being in the world but not of the world, we cannot remove ourselves from the world if we are to be a witness to the world. As we engage with the world we will become involved in relationships with people that will put us at risk of what Paul was warning us about, we must stay vigilante that we keep our relationship with Christ at the forefront of all our engagement with the world, we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit and not allow our flesh to dictate our choices. Israel failed because of intermarriage, they assimilated to the culture they were to drive out and destroy. We must be vigilant that we do not do the same in our relationships with those who are of the world. Intermarriage is just one aspect of a more general problem, but since this is the one that is highlighted in this passage its right that we reflect on this issue. So, I am now talking to you, young people, and those who are not married, Satan knows that sexual attraction is a point of vulnerability for young people, and he will use this to try to destroy your witness and testimony. Now I understand that not all who marry unbelievers end up as apostates, and in a minority of cases the unbeliever comes to faith in Christ, but this should be seen as an extraordinary act of grace, and not as something the person has any right to expect. Young people, unmarried people Scripture is clear that marriage with unbelievers is not God’s will for us and to take that path is an act of willful disobedience. It is not apostasy, but it may lead to it, as it did in Israel’s case. At the very least it will make oneness with your husband or wife impossible, and it will create other difficulties. We will see many sobering examples of this in the book of Judges especially in the life of Samson and the disasters that follow in the closing chapters of the book when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Young people, unmarried people do not make finding a husband or wife your first priority, but instead “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” because this is the only way to true fulfillment, whether that includes marriage or not. Judges truly is a text for our times, not only in this but in so many ways. We have read the preview and have already learned some valuable truths, as we move forward into the remainder of the book these truths will be reinforced and expanded upon.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.