A CHRONICLE OF DEFEAT
(Or, The Pathway to Failure)
We read the following in Judges 2:7-12 "So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger."
For some further background here, please read Joshua 23.
We read in Genesis the account of Abraham, and the great promises of God for a great nation to come.
We read in Exodus of that great deliverance of Israel from the bondage/slavery in Egypt and of the sustenance and protection they enjoyed for 40 years in the wilderness. And yet, that actual history seemingly had no effect on the subsequent generation. None of those tremendous experiences seemed to hold any relevant application to their lives or to their times. It seems they lost perspective - the bigger picture. It seems they lost their sense of mission. How could a people with such magnificent prospects fall so far? The message had seemed to be so clear. We read about it in Joshua 1:2-9 "After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Instead, we read in Judges the following chronicle of defeat:
Judges 2:11 "Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals;"
Judges 3: 7 "So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs."
Judges 3:12 " And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord."Judges 4:1 "When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord."
Judges 6:1 "Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,"
Judges 8:33-34 "So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;"
Judges 10:6 "Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him."
How did they get there?
There seems to have been a progression:
1. Incomplete Obedience
There is an excellent example of incomplete obedience in 1 Samuel 15:1-8 (we have hi-lighted to accentuate)"Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed."
Judges 1-2 reveal the nation's growing proclivity for leaving important things undone.
Judges 1:21 "But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem;"
Judges 1:27-33 "However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute. Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land."
There were several failures here on Israel's part:
a) Failure to totally obey God's divine mandate (yes, God's mandate, not merely God's opinion)
b) Failure to appropriate God's provision for overcoming.
God's promised blessings would have resulted from obedience.
Incomplete obedience brought consequences that continued in perpetuity.
Did they perhaps think that their obedience was going to be "easy", without difficulties?
God did not promise them ease, He promised them victory!
Battles would indeed need to be fought.
Likewise, believers should have no delusions regarding the Christian life.
We WILL face spiritual challenges, difficulties, yes, battles.
But God gives grace to be victorious and to overcome.
2. Rationalized Disobedience
An excellent example of rationalized disobedience is found in 1 Samuel 15:21
Please refer to the passage above from 1 Samuel 15. Following Israel's incomplete obedience, the prophet Samuel confronts King Saul regarding the incomplete obedience. After shifting the blame to "the people". King Saul rationalizes: "And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” (emphasis added).
So, what's really going on here? What's the real issue?
It seems that the people were actually saying that their plan was better than God's plan!
God must not have really meant what He said. Surely, he must have really wanted us to keep the best - and we can even use some for sacrifices to Him... They decided that THEY were in charge, not God.
Let's consider a practical application - which most of you will NOT like :)
It has to do with the speed limit on the highways...
Here are four examples of rationalized disobedience concerning speed limit laws:
1. Surely the speed limit is set too low at 55 mph. Somebody made a mistake and it really should be higher (do you hear the similarity of that argument to the one above in 1 Samuel 15?). And yet, is it not a challenge to authority, an expression of your belief that you are above the law and can make your own law to govern yourself, and ultimately disregard for the law?
2. "Even though the sign says 55 mph, the cops allow you to go 5 over the limit"
In this case we have bought into the lie that the law says one thing but means something else. So, the objective law is replaced by a subjective interpretation of what the law "really" means.
3. "Everybody else is doing 65 mph". So, the majority rules?, and if the majority disregard/disobey the law, then it's okay to do so? In other words, absolutes are replaced by relativity - acceptable behavior is now determined by peers, not by the law (whether civil, or God's).
4. "It would be unsafe to drive at the speed limit, because everyone else is going fast"
There are probably others we could list as well. But return in your mind to the example from 1 Samuel 15 and then think of examples in your own life where your responses have been like those above. Might be a good time to confess and repent and to compare those responses to that which we read in Joshua 1:7-8 "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."[For a topic somewhat related to our responses to God's commands, please consider viewing the lesson on "Making Excuses To God".]
3. They "forgot"
In the book of the Judges, we sadly read the too-often repeated phrase "They forgot the Lord their God."
We do not believe that "forgot" here is simply an oversight. It's not like going to the market to get groceries and you simply "forgot" to buy eggs because you did not write it on your list. It is more the idea of ignoring their knowledge of God. They "knew" that God was there, they just chose to ignore Him. They chose to no longer do the things they knew they should do. They lived as "practical atheists", meaning that while they believed in God, and actually knew much about God, they chose to live as though there was no God. It would sadly seem that throughout what the world calls "Christianity" today, there is much evidence of "practical atheism".
Incomplete obedience and rationalized disobedience, discussed above, go hand-in-hand leading to a willful forgetfulness that eventually puts the right things in a compartment in our minds that we no longer visit. Isn't it interesting how many times in the Bible we read about the need to remember, how the apostles wrote letters "reminding" the believers of things. We read in Numbers 15:40-41 "and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
Perhaps there is a parallel here as well to the words of Jesus to the church at Laodicea, where they seemed to be doing just fine, without God - had need of nothing, or so they thought, but God saw it differently: "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—"
4. They forsook
When one lives continually in "practical atheism", the result will be turning from God and turning to someone or something else. They "forsook" - the opposite of to seek? We read in Psalm 10:4 "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts."
We read in Judges 2:12 (and similar things in the verses that follow it) "and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger."
The people have no apparent "need" for God - and yet they choose another god instead. We read in Judges 2:1-2 what God says: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?" (emphasis added)
There always is, and always will be, accountability to the one, true living God. (see Heb. 9:27).
5. They reaped what they sowed.
There are always consequences for actions (and inaction).
Remember all the examples of incomplete obedience that we discussed above. In between those examples we read of the consequences. Please read thru Judges 2:3 "...But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” God had warned Israel ever so clearly on numerous occasions. Consider what God said thru Joshua in Josh. 23:11-13 "Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you."
Thot: Unconquered spiritual regions in our lives that we allow to surround us tend to separate us from vital, exclusive communion with our Deliverer and distract us from what is most important.
Another example of a lesson regarding the tendency toward moving away (the "law of entropy") is found in a book entitled "First Hand Faith", by Bruce Wilkinson, published by Multnomah. That book seems to have originated based on the text of Judges 2:10 "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel." Mr. Wilkinson puts forth a model whereby there are three chairs by which many people can be characterized. "First Chair" represents "First-hand Faith"; the "Second Chair" represents "Second-hand Faith" (or hand-me-down faith); and the "Third Chair" is characterized primarily by "No Faith". Here is a quote from that book: "Most Christians today are second chair believers. They know all about the faith, but it's not vibrant to them. It doesn't significantly shape their values or their lifestyles. They can talk about God in general terms but have no first-hand experience to pass on. Unfortunately, those who remain in the second chair typically raise third chair children. These are the young adults who are leaving the church in untold numbers. Many of these children want no part in the kind of empty faith they saw in their parents while growing up. They don't see how the Bible affects their lives, and they've got better things to do on Sunday morning than sit in church."
I would like to share a few observations from that book, as well as adding our own thoughts, based on the structure of the book. Note, these do not all fit perfectly, nor are they absolutes, they merely picture general characteristics associated with a moving away from God as demonstrated in Judges 2:10.
For some further background here, please read Joshua 23.
We read in Genesis the account of Abraham, and the great promises of God for a great nation to come.
We read in Exodus of that great deliverance of Israel from the bondage/slavery in Egypt and of the sustenance and protection they enjoyed for 40 years in the wilderness. And yet, that actual history seemingly had no effect on the subsequent generation. None of those tremendous experiences seemed to hold any relevant application to their lives or to their times. It seems they lost perspective - the bigger picture. It seems they lost their sense of mission. How could a people with such magnificent prospects fall so far? The message had seemed to be so clear. We read about it in Joshua 1:2-9 "After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Instead, we read in Judges the following chronicle of defeat:
Judges 2:11 "Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals;"
Judges 3: 7 "So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs."
Judges 3:12 " And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord."Judges 4:1 "When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord."
Judges 6:1 "Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,"
Judges 8:33-34 "So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;"
Judges 10:6 "Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him."
How did they get there?
There seems to have been a progression:
1. Incomplete Obedience
There is an excellent example of incomplete obedience in 1 Samuel 15:1-8 (we have hi-lighted to accentuate)"Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed."
Judges 1-2 reveal the nation's growing proclivity for leaving important things undone.
Judges 1:21 "But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem;"
Judges 1:27-33 "However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute. Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land."
There were several failures here on Israel's part:
a) Failure to totally obey God's divine mandate (yes, God's mandate, not merely God's opinion)
b) Failure to appropriate God's provision for overcoming.
God's promised blessings would have resulted from obedience.
Incomplete obedience brought consequences that continued in perpetuity.
Did they perhaps think that their obedience was going to be "easy", without difficulties?
God did not promise them ease, He promised them victory!
Battles would indeed need to be fought.
Likewise, believers should have no delusions regarding the Christian life.
We WILL face spiritual challenges, difficulties, yes, battles.
But God gives grace to be victorious and to overcome.
2. Rationalized Disobedience
An excellent example of rationalized disobedience is found in 1 Samuel 15:21
Please refer to the passage above from 1 Samuel 15. Following Israel's incomplete obedience, the prophet Samuel confronts King Saul regarding the incomplete obedience. After shifting the blame to "the people". King Saul rationalizes: "And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” (emphasis added).
So, what's really going on here? What's the real issue?
It seems that the people were actually saying that their plan was better than God's plan!
God must not have really meant what He said. Surely, he must have really wanted us to keep the best - and we can even use some for sacrifices to Him... They decided that THEY were in charge, not God.
Let's consider a practical application - which most of you will NOT like :)
It has to do with the speed limit on the highways...
Here are four examples of rationalized disobedience concerning speed limit laws:
1. Surely the speed limit is set too low at 55 mph. Somebody made a mistake and it really should be higher (do you hear the similarity of that argument to the one above in 1 Samuel 15?). And yet, is it not a challenge to authority, an expression of your belief that you are above the law and can make your own law to govern yourself, and ultimately disregard for the law?
2. "Even though the sign says 55 mph, the cops allow you to go 5 over the limit"
In this case we have bought into the lie that the law says one thing but means something else. So, the objective law is replaced by a subjective interpretation of what the law "really" means.
3. "Everybody else is doing 65 mph". So, the majority rules?, and if the majority disregard/disobey the law, then it's okay to do so? In other words, absolutes are replaced by relativity - acceptable behavior is now determined by peers, not by the law (whether civil, or God's).
4. "It would be unsafe to drive at the speed limit, because everyone else is going fast"
There are probably others we could list as well. But return in your mind to the example from 1 Samuel 15 and then think of examples in your own life where your responses have been like those above. Might be a good time to confess and repent and to compare those responses to that which we read in Joshua 1:7-8 "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."[For a topic somewhat related to our responses to God's commands, please consider viewing the lesson on "Making Excuses To God".]
3. They "forgot"
In the book of the Judges, we sadly read the too-often repeated phrase "They forgot the Lord their God."
We do not believe that "forgot" here is simply an oversight. It's not like going to the market to get groceries and you simply "forgot" to buy eggs because you did not write it on your list. It is more the idea of ignoring their knowledge of God. They "knew" that God was there, they just chose to ignore Him. They chose to no longer do the things they knew they should do. They lived as "practical atheists", meaning that while they believed in God, and actually knew much about God, they chose to live as though there was no God. It would sadly seem that throughout what the world calls "Christianity" today, there is much evidence of "practical atheism".
Incomplete obedience and rationalized disobedience, discussed above, go hand-in-hand leading to a willful forgetfulness that eventually puts the right things in a compartment in our minds that we no longer visit. Isn't it interesting how many times in the Bible we read about the need to remember, how the apostles wrote letters "reminding" the believers of things. We read in Numbers 15:40-41 "and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
Perhaps there is a parallel here as well to the words of Jesus to the church at Laodicea, where they seemed to be doing just fine, without God - had need of nothing, or so they thought, but God saw it differently: "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—"
4. They forsook
When one lives continually in "practical atheism", the result will be turning from God and turning to someone or something else. They "forsook" - the opposite of to seek? We read in Psalm 10:4 "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts."
We read in Judges 2:12 (and similar things in the verses that follow it) "and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger."
The people have no apparent "need" for God - and yet they choose another god instead. We read in Judges 2:1-2 what God says: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?" (emphasis added)
There always is, and always will be, accountability to the one, true living God. (see Heb. 9:27).
5. They reaped what they sowed.
There are always consequences for actions (and inaction).
Remember all the examples of incomplete obedience that we discussed above. In between those examples we read of the consequences. Please read thru Judges 2:3 "...But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” God had warned Israel ever so clearly on numerous occasions. Consider what God said thru Joshua in Josh. 23:11-13 "Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you."
Thot: Unconquered spiritual regions in our lives that we allow to surround us tend to separate us from vital, exclusive communion with our Deliverer and distract us from what is most important.
Another example of a lesson regarding the tendency toward moving away (the "law of entropy") is found in a book entitled "First Hand Faith", by Bruce Wilkinson, published by Multnomah. That book seems to have originated based on the text of Judges 2:10 "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel." Mr. Wilkinson puts forth a model whereby there are three chairs by which many people can be characterized. "First Chair" represents "First-hand Faith"; the "Second Chair" represents "Second-hand Faith" (or hand-me-down faith); and the "Third Chair" is characterized primarily by "No Faith". Here is a quote from that book: "Most Christians today are second chair believers. They know all about the faith, but it's not vibrant to them. It doesn't significantly shape their values or their lifestyles. They can talk about God in general terms but have no first-hand experience to pass on. Unfortunately, those who remain in the second chair typically raise third chair children. These are the young adults who are leaving the church in untold numbers. Many of these children want no part in the kind of empty faith they saw in their parents while growing up. They don't see how the Bible affects their lives, and they've got better things to do on Sunday morning than sit in church."
I would like to share a few observations from that book, as well as adding our own thoughts, based on the structure of the book. Note, these do not all fit perfectly, nor are they absolutes, they merely picture general characteristics associated with a moving away from God as demonstrated in Judges 2:10.
FIRST CHAIR
|
SECOND CHAIR
|
THIRD CHAIR
|
*First-hand Faith
*Genuinely knows God *Trusts in God *First-hand experiences with God *Lives to serve God *Has a heart for God *Godliness *Sees the Bible as the living, vital revelation from God *Has convictions - based on God's commandments *Asks: What does God want? *God is in everything in his life |
*Second-hand, hand-me-down,Faith
*Knows about God more than actually knowing God *Trusts in men who know God *Knows stories about the experiences of others with God *Goes through the motions *Has lips that honor God, but... *Compromising *Sees the Bible as a helpful guide for life *Has preferences - based on fellow Christians *Asks: What do you think? *Life is compartmentalized |
*No Faith
*Does not know God in any meaningful way *Does not trust in God *No experience and no genuine interest *Other things more important *Does not seek to honor God *Godlessness *Sees the Bible as a relic, as a work of men *Anything goes - based on culture *Doesn't care about either *God is not in all his thoughts |
Concluding comments:
The above certainly CAN be viewed as a progression, and as a chronicle of defeat.
However, THERE IS HOPE! and it is found in God's mercy!
If you have read through, and followed, the lesson above, you would (hopefully) agree that Israel's actions were deserving of judgment. And in many cases, that IS what happened. But while Israel abandoned God, God did not abandon Israel. The glimmer of hope and of light and of mercy is seen in a little verse in Judges 2:16 "Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them."
And even so, despite your present condition, whether as an unbeliever or as a backslidden believer, God offers you hope. God's path of victory for Israel is the same as it is for you and me - faith and obedience. If you will but put your faith in Him and be obedient to Him, you can have victory. You can choose to continue on the downward spiral that will be just another chronicle of defeat, or you can choose to believe God and obey God and see God deliver you and give you victory. There are many colleges, many seminaries, many churches, and many people, who have started well but are not finishing well. But the process is NOT irreversible, because of the grace of God. An unbeliever can believe the Gospel, repent of sin, and find God turns his or her life around - no longer continuing on the downward spiral, but instead living a new life, a godly life, a changed life. For the believer or for the church that has slipped away from their first love, from the things of first importance, there can be "revival" to bring new life to dry spirits and return people to the place where God wants them to be. The path from the second chair to the first chair may be Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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."
"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;..." (Deut. 30:15-20)