Reflections from Judges: Chapter 2

Reflections from Judges Chapter 2:

Choosing God over Self

Scripture

Key Scripture

“Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.” Judges 2:17 NIV

Observation

In verses 1-4, the Angel of the Lord spoke to the Israelites. Note that the Angel spoke in the first person, citing Himself as the one who led the Israelites out of Egypt. Therefore, this suggests that it was a divine appearance of God as the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.

The Angel of the Lord reprimanded them of their sin of disobeying His command to completely drive out the Canaanites and possess the Promised Land. Because of their disobedience, God told the Israelites that He would not drive out the Canaanites for them. The same Canaanites that they allowed to stay in the land with them will be a continuous source of grief and pain to them.

Verses 6-23 are essentially a re-introduction as well as a summary of the entire book. The Israelites who were alive during the time of Joshua and the elders served the Lord. But once that generation passed away, it was mayhem. They drifted farther and farther away from God’s commands and served the idols of the surrounding nations. The consequence was obvious. Once a strong nation, they were now faced with defeat in wars with their neighbors.

In His grace and mercy, God chose Judges from among them to save them from the series of troubles and captivity they faced. But they were so used to living in sin that they did not even obey the Judges. From one generation to the next, they spiraled deeper and deeper into sin, because they choose self over God.

Application

The Israelites turned away from God’s commands. From one generation to the next, they drifted farther away from God as they plunged deeper into sin.

As Christians, we are not immune from the temptation to drift away from God. Hebrews 2:1 NIV states it this way,

“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

As the writer of Hebrews warns, the foolproof way to keep from drifting away is to pay CAREFUL attention to Jesus Christ and what we have heard about Him through the Word of God.

Careful attention means that we consistently study and meditate on God’s Word with the intention to obey it and allow it to dictate the course of our lives. We will not become hard of hearing. Nor will we be sluggish, lazy, or undisciplined to the things of God.

Careful attention also means that we will refuse to allow ourselves to become trapped by the distractions and idols of our modern culture. We will not fill our minds with junk, leaving no room for abiding with Jesus Christ or hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

And careful attention means that we will share the Good News with the next generation and others so that they do not drift from the narrow path that leads to life.

If we choose to do nothing with our relationship with Jesus Christ, we will eventually drift into complacency, and disobedience, which opens the door for grief and sorrow.

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,” Deuteronomy 11:18-20

Questions for Reflection

Am I drifting? Am I a superficial Christian?

What is something practical that I can do to make Jesus Christ my priority?

Am I passing on my knowledge of God to others?

Prayer

Lord, I commit myself to abide in Your Word. Help me to stay on course with Your plan for my life. Warn me when I am at risk of drifting from You and empower me through Your Spirit to boldly share Your Gospel with others. Amen!

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Except where indicated, Scriptures are taken from the NIV.