Judges 1

We move to a new era of the History of the Chosen Race of Israel.  After years of being led by 2 great leaders – Moses and Joshua – now they were suddenly left without one.  How will they fare?  What will life be like for them?  Are there lessons for us today as well?

Well…. the only way we will know is if we spend time reading the Bible and reflecting on the passage….

Bible Passage:  Judges 1

What lessons did you learn from today’s chapter?  For me, a few things came to mind and I would just like to briefly share them….

Who Is Your Leader?

Moses had been a great leader used by God and Joshua was also one, as he succeeded Moses.  But there was no mention of a successor that Joshua appointed to lead the whole nation.  Instead, now the people were at a critical stage where they had to trust God more than they ever had before themselves… instead of relying on someone else.

Did you ever have someone in church whom you respected a great deal and they were wonderful leaders that provided guidance in your life of faith?  And you suddenly feel a sense of loss when they either pass on in the world or they have moved to another country….  I have and very often, I will tend to live in the past and wish that that person was still with me … just like the old days.

Now Israel had no king, no prime minister on earth – only God in heaven.

From now onwards in Judges, we would read that God would bring forth a leader for the nation as and whn required and when they have finished their job, they will ‘retire’ to the backgrond again.  This required that Israel have a real, abiding trust in God.

The situation that the Israelites were in can be compared to what we are facing today.  Surrounding them were people with the most terrible immorality and idolatory… and there were constant dangers to their walking with God.  The Bible and history tells us that the Canaanites were focused on mainly 3 things:  money, sex and their relationship with God and gods.

What we find out about man in Judges is depressing; but what we find out about God in Judges is spectacular.

The children of God started right in the first verse that they asked the Lord, saying “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?” And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”

With Joshua gone, they were left without a leader.  But that did not really matter… cuse thy simply called out to God.  Their focus was on God and not the man.

And what was the response from God?

He guided them.  Just as Jesus said the same in Luke 11:9 – So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Very ofen we think that God isn’t answering us, but it is really more of a matter of Him speaking in a way we wouldn’t expect Him to.

But the key question is this…. who is the your leader in your faith?  When the person that led you to know God is no longer around… do you know how to turn to God and not pine for the lost guide?  Do you know how to seek God always for directions in your life?

When the children of Israel did – God was with them and helped them overcome their enemies.  But when they did not seek God…. you will find that that was the cause of all their problems.

Brethen in Christ

So Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him.

Judges 1:3

I like what is written in this verse very much.  It showed that brothers and sisters working together will make the work much easier.

Here, Judah, in his wisdom, partnered with another tribe and theuy succesfully carried out their work.  This is how God wants the church to function – as a body, with each part of the body helping out other parts of the body.

We read that the Lord delivered the Caananites, and the Perizzites into their hands.  Seeking the Lord, obeying His guidance, and working together as a body always produces great results:  in this case, the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands.

It sort of reminded me of the tracting work that we had been doing for the last 2 Saturdays.  We thank God that we had quite a lot of members who signed up and wer willing to go around distributing the tracts.  On 12 June, we had between 60 to 70 members joining in and last Saturday (19 June) we had around 40 members.

And bcause everyone was so enthusiastic in doing the work, we finished distributing the tracts in no time at all, instead of the many hours that happened in the past.

Which Part of “Completely” You Do Not Understand?

Reading Judges can make you super angry.  I mean, when you read the mindless repetitiveness of the sins of the people of Israel, you want to tear your hair out of frustration!

In today’s chapter, you get an inkling of what was the main problem.

At first, there were pockets of Canaanites who proved to be very resilent and difficult to push out of the land.  And when the Israelites found that they were difficult customers, they compromised and tried to use them to their advantage by putting them under tribute or making them work for the Israelites.

But this was precisely the pronblem.  They did not drive them out COMPLETELY as the Lord commanded.

In our Christian life, it is inevitable we will meet with things that we may find that we are not strong enough in the Lord to deal with all the things that we see that needs changing.  But we need to grow in the Lord and not be slack in dealing with these problem areas.  We must never make a peace treaty with sin.

Just consider…

Even though God had promised them the whole land of Canaan, Israel was satisfied with less than what God wanted them to have and have provided for them.  They were satisfied with what they had.

What about our own spiritual lives?

God wants us to have the fulness of joy in Him!  Do we?  Or are we just happy to ‘get along’ without really obeying Him completely and drive out all that should not occupy our hearts?

Note that the Israelites did not forsake God.  They just simply decided that they would be satisfied with less. But if we are satisfied with less, we will never be able to be what God wants us to be.

So as we read the book of Judges… let us constantly examine ourselves and consider our ways… and learn from the mistakes of the people if Israel and be reminded of God’s constant grace, love and mercy over and over and over again.