7/8/2012
1. SPIRITUAL
DECLINE (JUDGES 1:1-36)
·
This book covers a period of approximately 300
years.
·
During this time Israel was:
1. Corrupted
2. And
oppressed by their neighbors
·
This came about because they began to walk by
sight rather than faith.
·
The "judges" were people raised up by
God to do a particular service for the Nation of Israel.
·
Their service was generally of two categories:
1. To
avenge Israel
of their enemies
2. To
purge Israel
of their idolatries
·
The book of Judges takes its title from the
twelve men and one woman who served as judges.....during the period from Joshua's
death to the time of Samuel.
·
It is possible that the book was written by Samuel,
but the real author is unknown.
·
All the judges were themselves limited in their
capabilities.
·
In fact, each one seemed to have some defect and
handicap which was not a hindrance but became a positive asset under the
sovereign direction of God.
·
None of them were national leaders who appealed
to the total nation as Moses and Joshua had done.
·
The Israelites would be without a unifying
leader of approximately four hundred years.
·
The record is not continuous but rather a
limited account of a local judge in a limited section of the nation.
·
The theme of Judges is the backsliding of God’s
people and the amazing grace of God in recovering and restoring them.
·
The book of Isaiah outlines three steps that
cause national downfalls:
1. Spiritual
apostasy.
2. Moral
decline.
3. Political
anarchy; (which is the final stage of any nation down through history)
·
General Douglas MacArthur---"In this day of
gathering storms, as moral deterioration of political power spreads its growing
infection, it is essential that every spiritual force be mobilized to defend
and preserve the religious base upon which this nation is founded; for it has
been that base which has been the motivating impulse to our moral and national
growth. History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to
moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been
either a spiritual reawakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive
deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster."
2. SPIRITUAL
AMNESIA (JUDGES 2:1-23)
·
God proved shows us that if left to his own
devices, man will corrupt himself time and time again!
·
The Bible teaches that there is none that seeks
after God, there is none good save one, that is your Father which is in Heaven!
·
Verses 1-9: The Children of Israel are Rebuked
for their Disobedience.
The angel of the Lord,
mentioned here is variously interpreted; some think it was Phinehas, the high
priest, which is possible; others that it was a prophet, sent to the place
where they were now assembled, with an extraordinary commission from God, to
reprove them for their sins, and to show them the reason why God had not rooted
out their enemies from the land; this is the opinion of the Chaldee
paraphrasist consequently of the ancient Jews; others think that an angel,
properly such, is intended; and several are of opinion that it was the Angel of
the Covenant, the Captain of the Lord's host which had appeared unto Joshua,
Josh 5:14, and no less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. I think it more
probable that some extraordinary human messenger is meant, as such messengers,
and indeed prophets, apostles, etc., are frequently termed angels, that is,
messengers of the Lord-The person here mentioned appears to have been a
resident at Gilgal, and to have come to Bochim on this express errand.
(from Adam Clarke's
Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)
The angel of the Lord was
a theophany, an appearance of God in a form perceptible by the human senses.
(from The Wycliffe Bible
Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
An angel of the Lord came
up from Gilgal to Bochim. Jewish commentators generally have supposed the
reference is to a prophet or commissioned messenger, whom they conceive to have
been Phinehas the high priest. We are inclined to think, from the authoritative
tone of his language, that he was "the Angel of the Covenant" (Ex
23:20; Josh 5:14); the same who appeared in human form and announced himself
captain of the Lord's host. His coming from Gilgal had a special significance,
because there the Israelites made a solemn dedication of themselves to God on
their entrance into the promised land; and the memory of that religious
engagement, which the angel's arrival from Gilgal awakened, gave emphatic force
to his rebuke of their apostasy. Bochim, 'the weeping,' was a name bestowed,
evidently in allusion to this incident and the profound emotions of the people,
on the place, which was at or near Shiloh.
(from Jamieson, Fausset,
and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
The "angel of
Jehovah" is not a prophet, or some other earthly messenger of Jehovah,
either Phinehas or Joshua, as the Targums, the Rabbins, Bertheau, and others
assume, but the angel of the Lord who is of one essence with God.
(from Keil & Delitzsch
Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database.
Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
[The angel of the LORD
(not an angel).] The phrase is used nearly 60 times to designate the Angel of
God's presence. See Gen 12:7 note. In all cases where "the angel of the
Lord" delivers a message, he does it as if God Himself were speaking,
without the intervening words "Thus saith the Lord," which are used
in the case of prophets.
(from Barnes' Notes,
Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
The learned bishop Patrick
is clearly of opinion that this was not a created angel, but the Angel of the
covenant, the same that appeared to Joshua as captain of the hosts of the Lord,
who was God himself. Christ himself, says Dr. Lightfoot; who but God and Christ
could say, I made you to go up out of Egypt?
(from Matthew Henry's
Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database.
Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
2A. SPITIUAL ADULTERY (JUDGES
2:11-13, 17)
11 Then the sons of Israel did evil
in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals, 12 and they forsook the LORD,
the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and
followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them,
and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 So
they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
NASB
·
As a nation, they apparently did not understood
God as the One and only God!
·
They never realized that there is none beside
Him, that there is no other God.
·
Humanly speaking, it would be better to serve no
god at all if one is not going to serve the true God!
17 And 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.
NASB
·
Apparently, they did not see the hand of God at
work in the history of their nation!
2B. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE (JUDGES
2:14-15)
14 And the anger of the LORD
burned against Israel,
and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold
them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer
stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was
against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to
them, so that they were severely distressed.
NASB
·
There is a spiritual cause and effect
relationship that can be seen in all this!
·
When Joshua lived, and the elders lived who saw
the wonders of the Lord, the people worshipped God; and He blessed them for it!
·
When Joshua and the elders passed away, the
religious fervor of the people waned; God suspended His favor and would not
drive out Israel’s
enemies any more.
2C. DIVINE COMPASSION (JUDGES 2:16,
18)
16 Then the LORD raised up judges
who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.
NASB
·
How can one find a human explanation for the
infinite grace of God who will stoop down to deliver them that willfully disobey
Him, time and time again!
18 And 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.
NASB
The Lord enabled the
Judges to lead the people of Israel
victoriously against their foes. Both the victories and the defeats recorded in
the book of Judges are interpreted as acts of God.
(from The Wycliffe Bible
Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
2D. DIVINE TESTING (JUDGES 2:19-22)
19 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.
A strong Judge could
influence the people for God during his lifetime. The Judges did not form a
dynasty, however. At the death of a Judge, the people tended to lapse into
idolatry again.
(from The Wycliffe Bible
Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
20 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,
21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua
left when he died, 22 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.”
NASB
·
Either Israel
has now forfeited the promise of having the inhabitants removed or God is
acknowledging through His omnipotence that Israel will not return to the level
of obedience necessary to be in compliance with the covenant made by God.
3. SPIRITUAL
TESTING (JUDGES 3:1-6)
·
We find here that the Israelites had
intermarried with the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites,
the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
·
They married into all the tribes, even though God
had strictly forbidden it.
·
They were indeed a thorn in the flesh of the
nation Israel.
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