JUDGES 2

1 ¶ And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

• Because of the personal pronoun I, many believe that the angel of The Lord here is none other than The Lord Jesus Christ. An OT appearance of Jesus Christ is called a theophany. The Angel of The Lord led Israel out of captivity and brought them into the land of Promise.
• God would be faithful to the end, but Israel would forfeit blessings and experience sorrow and oppression because of their failure to obey God.

2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.

• After being told by an angel of The Lord that they failed to obey Him, they cried, they had an emotional experience, they sacrificed unto the LORD – but when all is said and done, they did nothing about their condition.  As we will see, after they expressed sorrow for their disobedience, they did not go back and drive out the inhabitants.  This is what The Holy Spirit wrote about in 2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
• You see, there are two types of sorrow, one that leads to action, the other that is all emotion and basically it is a sorrow that is sorry they got caught. The Bible says that Esau wept profusely when he realized that he had lost his blessing, but there was no mention of his repenting. True sorrow leads to a change in behavior because it begins in the heart and then overflows into our actions. Because The Lord Jesus loves us, He calls us to repentance, not just admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
• Often times when a person is under the conviction of the Spirit because God is dealing with them on a particular issue or issues of their life, they are reaping the consequences of their failure, and they have this emotional experience: they weep; but weeping is of no value if you don’t change.
• As a result, the inhabitants of the land became a thorn in their side, and their gods became a snare unto them. Thus, the name of the place was called Bochim or weeping. Their sin was to be their punishment.  If we will not smite our sins, our sins will smite us. CHS
• Satan never has a good day. No he is a murderer and a destroyer. He is out to rip you off and wipe you out. Refusal to do battle with sin in our lives always leads to Bochim, the place of sorrow and weeping. Jon Courson

6 ¶ And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

• Please note something here in this verse beloved, oh this is so good. It was not Joshua they served but the Lord.  It was the Lord's work that caught their eye; they did not consider the conquest of Canaan a work of their own hands.  They saw what the Lord did for Israel.  Here is a proper view of life:  to see God's sovereign, gracious, purposeful work in our lives; to acknowledge His hand and glory in Him.

8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

• The best of men must finish their course in due season: even those who live longest die at last

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

• This is parenthetical information about the distribution of the land in the days of Joshua. The people served The Lord all the days of Joshua’s leadership, as well as the days of the elders (leaders of the individual tribes) who served under Joshua.

10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

• The first people in the land had wonderful memories of the miracles and wonders that God did to ring them up out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. But                after the death of Joshua and the leaders of the tribes, we see the failure on the part of the parents to adequately communicate to the children what God had done. 
• Back in Deuteronomy, God said that the parents were to gather their children and rehearse in their ears all the good things that The Lord has done for them in brining them out of Egypt, and into the Promised Land.
• Deut 6:4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
• The most important school a child should ever attend is the home. And the most influential theological teachers he should ever have are Mom and Dad. The first assignment a parent has after loving God is to store God's Word in his heart and teach it to his children.

• Because the parents failed to communicate to their children the works of The Lord, they gradually became more and more influenced by the prevailing culture and views of the pagan nations around them.
• It has been said that those who do not remember the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat it. Look around our nation today beloved…look around the visible church today beloved….we are losing our children not because they go to public schools, not because we have the internet…..mainly because dad and mom are too busy, too tired or too concerned about them getting a degree and a good job than giving their hearts and minds to Christ and serving Him. 
• It is impossible not to teach children about God, because not to teach them is to teach them plenty. Not to teach the infinite value of Christ is to teach that he is negligible. It is simply unloving and cruel to not give to our children the things that are most valuable and important in life.

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

• This clear statement of Israel’s apostasy recurs throughout the book. They served Baal, who was the rain god, the god of the intellect.

12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

• They forgot that God created them and rules as sovereign.
• They forgot that He sees everything.  Sometimes we think that if only a relative or friend or fellow church member doesn't see our sin that we've escaped notice
• They became intrigued with other gods and thus turned away.

13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

• Ashtaroth is the plural form of Ashtoreth (Gk. Astart?), a goddess of fertility, love, and war who was closely associated with Baal. She was also known as Ishtar, from where we get our English word Easter.
• Jer 2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
• A very grave and serious danger that each and every one of us faces is the temptation to see how closely we can flirt with the world and its allurements without being held captive.
• No man lives in a vacuum. We either serve The Lord or we serve other gods, plain and simple.

14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

• God’s anger is not a temper tantrum. It is a faithful anger that is a demonstration of His jealousy for our whole heart and hatred of sin. Psalm 106:34-43 assesses the behavior and the Lord's anger.

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

• What misery comes of departing from the Lord. God had threatened to deliver Israel into its enemies’ hands if it forsook him (Deut. 28:25; Josh. 23:13). He also warned that these nations would be snares and traps to Israel (Ex. 23:33; Deut. 7:16; and esp. Num. 33:55), which came true with a vengeance during the period of the judges (Judg. 2:14–15, 21–23).

16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

• Note the compassion and grace of our God beloved. The Lord raised up these judges to deliver them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. As I said last week there were 13 judges raised up (I think I erroneously said 12), 12 men and 1 woman, Deborah
• Judges highlights two truths that we must never allow to slip from the forefront of our minds:
• (1) The incredible bent and grip of sin in the human heart, and
• (2) The extraordinary miracle of divine mercy and grace shown in delivering us from sin through Christ

17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.

• Went a whoring after other gods. The metaphor of Israel’s committing adultery against God by following other gods is one of the most powerful in the OT. Ezekiel spoke against Jerusalem’s adultery (Ezekiel 16; 23), and Hosea’s ministry was inextricably linked with God’s command to marry “a wife of whoredom” (Hosea 1–3). Israel’s unfaithfulness was reprehensible to the God who had chosen, loved, and provided for his people.

18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

• Repented, moved to pity.

19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

• The Lord allowed these enemies to remain in the land to test the obedience of His people. Beloved, The Lord in His divine wisdom and providence will use difficulties and problems to test us, prove us, and show us where our hearts are.
• When the fiery trials that Peter speaks of sweeps through your life, your marriage, your family, the body of Christ, it will reveal whether you have been building with wood, hay and stubble or precious stones.

23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

• Because the Israelites were stubborn and continually disobeyed The Lord, He allowed their enemies to remain in the land. Many of the difficulties that you and I are facing in life are the direct result of our own disobedience to driving out the works of the flesh.

JUDGES 3

1 ¶ Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

• Prove, test. This testing was to see if Israel would truly follow the Lord (2:22; 3:4), as when God tested Abraham (Gen. 22:1) and Hezekiah (2 Chron. 32:31). Through adversity, God tested Israel in order to refine it.
• God left these nations behind to test the obedience of the Israelites as well as to teach the younger generation how to wage war by putting their trust in The Lord Himself.

2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

3 Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

• Note that the children of Israel dwelt with their enemies. It is always dangerous to be sleeping with your enemies.

6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

• When the Israelites married the people from these foreign nations, they fell into idolatry and apostasy.

7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

• Please note beloved that the Israelites were not blown away by their enemies, but rather they compromised with their enemies. Here again we see the tragic cycle of  forgetting God and serving other gods.
• The groves. The groves were dedicated to pagan deities. Much of the worship of these deities was associated with sensuality and immorality. 
• Dear ones, listen to me, nobody falls into sin. We walk into it one small compromise at a time. This is why we read
• Rom 13:11 ¶ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
• Whenever we compromise, we allow that leaven to pop a spiritual slow leak in our lives that will eventually result in a blow out and crash. Usually injuring or hurting other around you.

8 ¶ Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

• Beloved, The Lord allowed this king to be an instrument of chastisement for 8 years. His name means, double wickedness. The net result of turning back to the vomit, as Peter writes it always results in double wickedness.

9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother (1^st judge of Israel).

• Finally, after 8 years of oppression, they cry out to The Lord. The implication here is that they really prayed for help. They saw their sin, they passionately cried out to The Lord for help, and He sent them a deliverer.
• James 5. 16 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
• Do you find yourself in bondage tonight? Trapped? Snared? Cry out to The Lord beloved. The answer is not counseling, the answer is prayer from the heart. Truly, the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man or woman avails much. (Plug week of prayer…prayer room ministry….come here during the week and pray).

10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

• Othniels name in Hebrew means, the force or power of God. What was it that enabled Othniel to war so effectively against the enemies of God? The Spirit of The Lord came upon him.  Others in Judges who are reported to having The Spirit of The Lord upon them are Gideon, Samson and Jephthah.
• Othniel’s sole desire was to see his people delivered from their oppression  and bondage. That is the heart of God for each of us tonight as well beloved. If that is your heart, know this, the only power that can deliver a soul out of oppression or depression is The Holy Spirit of God.
• As Son of Man, what was the secret of Jesus’ earthly ministry? Simple, Lu 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
• Before Jesus ascended up into heaven, He left this promise to the church.
• Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
• I am not going to get into a discussion about the various views of what it means to be Spirit filled tonight. But this one thing I will say. There is no power to pray, serve, witness, or do anything as a Christian apart from the divine empowerment of the Spirit of God. I can not to argue about whether you call it baptism, filling…all I know is that I need it every single second of every single day.

11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

• The Spirit of the Lord was on Othniel, the first judge (v. 10), and he delivered Israel from Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. The land had rest for 40 years as a result of Othniels Spirit led leadership.  Othniel, you remember that he had captured the city of Kiriath-sepher and become Caleb’s son-in-law (see 1:13). This is the last appearance in the book of a leader from Judah.

12 ¶ And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees (Jericho).

14 So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

• Ammon and Aamalek. Sound familiar? After leaving Sodom, Lot’s 2 daoughters were worried that they would not have any children, so, they got their father drunk and had sex with him with the result being 2 children, Moab and Ammon. Who were the Amalekites? They were the descendants of Esau.
• Thus, the children of Israel were entrapped by people who were gripped by carnality and sensuality. 

15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

16 But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

• This 2-edged dagger is full of illustration about the Word of God. He gird it under his raiment.

·      Ps 119:11 ¶ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

17 And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.

18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

• Like our president is protected by Secret Service agents, Eglon was surrounded by many bodyguards, people who would taste his food and drink his beverages.

20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

• Note beloved that when the 2 edged sword went in, the dirt came out. It is estimated that this kind of a dagger would be between 12-15 inches in length. When Jesus was attacked in the wilderness by Satan, He unleashed the sword of The Spirit 3 times. He simply and confidently spoke the Word of God.
• Again after the sword went in, the dirt came out. Psalm 119.9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
• Beloved, that is why what we are doing right now is so important. One of the affects of the Spirit being poured out on the Day of Pentecost is that the church continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine. The important thing is that the Word of God goes through you and me, not that we open to this book or that book and just read it.
• Saints, day by day, week by week, month b y month, year after year, we are being changed whenever the Word of God goes into our hearts and changes our lives. If you are facing tough times, heavy problems, spend time in the presence of God and open up His Word. Let His truth pierce your heart.

23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

• When the Eglon of self has received its death-wound, the glad trumpet of freedom is blown on the hills. F.B. Meyers

28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

• It is the person who lives by the sword that has the authority to say, follow me. Isn’t that the call of Jesus Christ to each and every one of us here tonight? Follow Me.

29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

31 ¶ And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

• Other than a brief reference in 5.6, this is all that we know about Shamgar. What was significant about Shamgar was the weapon that he used. An ox goad was a strong pole about eight feet long. At one end was a sharp metal point for prodding the oxen and at the other end a spade for cleaning the dirt off the plow.
• Instead of complaining about not possessing a sword or spear, Shamgar gave what he had to the Lord, and the Lord used it. Beloved, we are so prone to be coveting someone else’s tools or talents. Don’t go there..use the tools and talents that He has given into you.