Judges Part 3

IV. Judges 2. A. This chapter consists of three sections: 1. vs. 1-5 deal with a relatively current corruption. 2. vs. 6-10 is a summary review of events following Joshua’s death. 3. vs. 11-23 is a general historical overview of the time of Judges and of idolatry. B. The angel from Gilgal reproved the whole nation in his message. v. 4. 1. This angel may have been the LORD Himself inasmuch as he said, “...I made you to go up out of Egypt...” (v. 1). God had spoken to Joshua at Gilgal, and near there appeared to him as the captain of the LORD’s host. JOS 5:9-10, 13-15. 2. They were reminded that God would never break his covenant with them. v. 1. a. This was a two-party mutually-binding covenant which required their obedience. EXO 19:5; LEV 26:14-39. b. When God would turn them over to oppressors, it was not because He broke the covenant. They did. DEU 31:16-17. c. Their breach justified God’s breach with no fault to Himself. c/w NUM 14:34. d. We should recognize and be thankful that our eternal salvation rests not on our compliant faithfulness which fails but on God’s faithfulness. ROM 3:3-4 c/w 2TI 2:13, 17-19 c/w 1PE 1:3-5. 3. They had made league with unbelieving idolaters and their tokens, a problem that has ever plagued the church. 1CO 10:20-22; 2CO 6:14-18. 4. Because they had chosen the false peace of compromise over the prescribed duty of victorious expulsion, God justly let the Canaanites abide to trouble Israel. v. 3. a. Canaanite gods/religion ensnared Israel to do as Canaanites. NUM 33:55-56 c/w PSA 106:34-36. b. This should remind us to personally make no peace with our sins lest God turn us over to them in judgment. ROM 1:24-26; 2TH 2:10-12. 5. The rebuke produced the desired result of humility (although short-lived). vs. 4-5 c/w 2CO 7:10; JAM 4:9. C. Compare JDG 2:6-10 with JOS 24:21-31. 1. In his closing days, Joshua oversaw Israel’s binding of themselves by covenant to always serve the LORD. 2. Joshua added that covenant to the book of the law of God (JOS 24:26) which thing must have been done under divine direction in view of DEU 4:2. 3. The great stone set up by the sanctuary would stand as a witness to their own sworn Judges 6-26-25 Page 4  promise to ever serve the LORD. JOS 24:26. a. This underscores the solemnity of sworn allegiance to God. c/w LUK 9:62; 14:26-33. b. Every time saints assemble for worship, they should ponder that they made a promise to Jesus Christ to not forsake Him. HEB 10:25-27. c. The book of the law itself was a witness against them. DEU 31:26. d. We also have multiple witnesses against us to warn us of sin and judge us when we sin: Scripture, the Spirit of Christ within us, conscience. 4. With this closing word, Joshua could with clear conscience say that he was pure from the blood of all men, having clearly informed them of their duty. c/w ACT 20:26-27. 5. “And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua...” (JDG 2:7). This is not to say that they were flawless but at least their religious service was to the one true God. 6. Another generation arose “...which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” (v. 10). a. This underscores the challenge of generational continuity of true religion, especially where the precepts of true religion are not impressed upon the next generation who enjoy the current fruits of true religion but have no appreciation of the former great cost and great deliverance. DEU 6:4-12 c/w PSA 78:1-8. b. With the conquest of the land of milk and honey came great prosperity and Israel would become like the Laodicean church of REV 3:17. c. “Everything in the world can be endured, except continual prosperity.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) D. vs. 11-23 set forth Israel’s ugly decline into idolatry via their indulgence of their idolatrous neighbors whose carnal religion catered to human lust. 1. They forsook the LORD for Baal and Ashtaroth (v. 13), male and female deities of the Canaanites and Phoenicians. a. This form of dualism was widespread throughout the world, assuming there must be male-female deities as there are male-female in all life on earth. b. These deities were deemed to be moved by sympathetic magic through the idolatrous customs of their adherents which tended towards gross licentiousness in imitation of father sun’s fertilizing light and heat upon mother earth. 2. They provoked God to anger and He delivered them into the hand of their oppressors until His “nevertheless” moment (v. 16) gave them relief according to His mercy and His name’s sake, not their righteousness. c/w PSA 106:7-8, 13, 21, 43-45. 3. “After Joshua's death, little was done for a long time against the Canaanites: Israel indulged them, and grew familiar with them, and therefore God would not drive them out any more, Jdg 2:21. If they will have such inmates as these among them, let them take them, and see what will come of it. God chose their delusions, Isa 66:4. Thus men cherish and indulge their own corrupt appetites and passions, and, instead of mortifying them, make provision for them, and therefore God justly leaves them to themselves under the power of their sins, which will be their ruin. So shall their doom be; they themselves have decided it. These remnants of the Canaanites were left to prove Israel (Jdg 2:22), whether they would keep the way of the Lord or not; not that God might know them, but that they might know themselves. It was to try, (1.) Whether they could resist the temptations to idolatry which the Canaanites would lay before them. God had told them they could not, Deu 7:4. But they thought they could. “Well,” said God, “I will try you;” and, upon trial, it was found that the tempters' charms were far too strong for them. God has told us how deceitful and desperately wicked our hearts are, but we are not willing to believe it till by making bold with temptation we find it too true by sad experience. (2.) Whether they would make a good use of the vexations which the remaining natives would give them, and the many troubles they would occasion them, and would thereby be convinced of sin and humbled for it, reformed, and driven to God and their duty, whether by continual alarms from them they would be kept in awe and made afraid of provoking God.” (Matthew Henry Commentary) Judges 6-26-25 Page 6