Judges 3:7-11.  This is the first of seven cycles in the book of Judges.  In verse 7 we see the people turing away from God and worshipping false gods.  The first part of the cycle is sin.  The word for sin in the Bible means to miss the mark.  It was used in archery tournaments when some one missed the bulls eye the score keeper would yell, “Sin.”  The Israelites had missed God’s mark, He alone is the true God and worthy of honor.  Verse 8 is the second step in the cycle, servitude.  God would allow one of the nations around the Israelites to conquer them.  They would then be subject to the king of that nation and be his servants.  Verse 9 contains the next step, supplication.  That English word means to humbly beg. It comes from two Latin words “under” and “favor or grace”.    The Israelites would beg and plead with the true God for help.  They had broken God’s law and the only real hope was if God would be gracious and give them mercy.  And that is just what God did.  He sent a deliverer, in this case, Othniel.  You might think of God’s actions as salvation.  Othniel beat the  oppressing king and then was governor over the Israelites.  The word for judge in the book of Judges has a different meaning from our word judge.  Judging was a part of what it means but in languages similar to Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) it was also used for kings.   Now we will see several times that there was no king in Israel at this time (although God was supposed to be their king) but these “judges” did act as rulers, like governors.  As long as the deliverer was alive the people would have peace, there would be a sort of silence.

What impresses the me most is that God was merciful.  They had earned His wrath and were suffering for their sins but as soon as they turned back to God he helped them.  Also, it is interesting that as long as the deliverer was alive all went well.  Perhaps the deliverer was to them what the Holy Spirit is to us, a constant reminder to follow God.  And the Holy Spirit is forever.  Finally, it is interesting how each generation was sort of a new start and a new challenge.  We don’t go to Heaven because we were born in the right family or live in the right country.  That message is clear in books like Jonah and 1 Corinthians.  And it’s not good enough that God worked in the past.  We all need to walk with him today.  Just before Joshua died  he challenged the people to choose that day whom they would follow (Joshua 24:15).  We each need to decide how and for what we will live, God or our selves.

God thank you for your mercy.  I don’t deserve Heaven but you have made it possible for me to go there.   Thank you for the Holy Spirit who helps me live for you.  Help me listen to Him.  Let me choose to live for you each day not for myself.

Judges 2:6-3:6.  In “The Old Testament Connection” and “Intro to Judges” I mention that there is a cycle in the book of Judges.  The cycle begins in Judges 3:7, tomorrow’s reading. This first part of the book is an overview.  It tells us some of the background for what we will read in the rest of the book.  In vv. 6-10 we see Joshua and his generation die off.  This is the generation that came into and partially conquered the land.  Verse 10 tells us that the new generation was one that did not see all the great things God had done.  If you look at Judges 3:1-2, you might think God is kind of cruel.  “So each generation can learn war”, what is that all about?  Remember that God made the world a peaceful place it was only when we went away from God that bad stuff started happening.  James tells us that the source of fighting among us is our selfish internal desires (James 4:1-2).  The people that remained in the land had a natural tendency to fight.

In the book of Hebrews we are told that each of us must die, then we will be judged (Hebrews 9:27).  Physical death is inevitable.  It will happen.  More important though is our spiritual condition.  We are spiritually dead and need to have our relationship with God fixed.  Jesus said “What is the profit to you if you get everything in the world but wind up in eternity away from God?” (Luke 9:27).  If you have read “The Old Testament Connection”, you will know that the part of history we are reading in the Bible is the part that tells us how God is working to fix our relationship with him; it is salvation history.  Physical death is tragic but more tragic is spiritual death.  So it is with war.  When Israel was told to enter the land they were to push the inhabitants out.  This may seem cruel but as we read through the book of Judges we will see the result of not doing that; the Israelites will move away from God.  And the people around them will also lose respect for God.  And remember God didn’t make this mess we did.  He is working to fix it.

So a generation was born that did not see the works of God.  Their fathers did not obey God by pushing all of the Canaanites out of the land.  The result was going to be that the next generation would start to follow the gods of  the people around them (“Hey why can’t we all just get along; coexist?”) a violation of the first commandment (Exodus 20:3).  God is working for our best interest spiritually and physically but the spiritual must be fixed before the physical can be.  Interestingly that is probably why God put an angelic guard at the Garden of Eden, so Adam and Eve and their descendants could not eat of the tree of life and seal themselves in a lost state of existence (Genesis 3:24)).  So I think the point of Judges 3:1-2 links back to Judges 2:10.  These wars with the people around them will show each new generation that it is their God who has real power.  Our God is a God who sees and acts not like a dumb idol made out  of wood or stone.

A couple of other notes.  Judges 2:15 says that they had been warned and they were warned in Deuteronomy 31:16-22.  God knew exactly what would happen and warned Moses about it.  He even had Moses write a song about it (Deuteronomy 32:1-43, I know it doesn’t look like a song but it is.) and teach it to the Israelites so that future generations would know that God was in control.  Finally, the nations that they were living around were going to be a test for them (Judges 3:6).  Would they stay true to God?  “And they took their daughters for wives their sons and gave their daughters to be wives for the sons of the nations around them, and they served their gods.”  Even with God working directly in the lives of the Israelites they turned away from Him.  God fought their battles, even when they were unfaithful, and they still turned their back on Him.  Our relationship with God depends on direct and constant help from Him.  That is why the Law is a “ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:9) we cannot do it on our own.  Jesus had to die to remove the penalty of our sin and open the door for the Holy Spirit to live in us and direct us.  We need that kind of help, not dad telling us what to do, but dad holding the bike up while we learn to ride and there with us to grab us when we tip over.  And we always tip over.

God thank you for Jesus.  Thank you that you see him when you look at me.  Not because I look like him but because he is standing between you and me.  Thank you for your helper, the Holy Spirit.  Help me listen to Him and do the things that please you.  And when the battles come in my life help me see you working and show you to the “nations around me”.