Week 3 Day 5- The Judges

After the death of Joshua, and when all of that generation died, there arose another generation who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done.  (Judges 2:10)  So, they forsook God and did evil in His sight.  God had told the children of Israel to drive out- completely wipe out- an entire list of people, but they do not listen.  Instead, they begin to intermarry and worship foreign gods.

What happened because of their disobedience?  God delivered the children into the hands of their enemies.  Whenever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them, for they "forsook the Lord God of their fathers" (Judges 2:12).

"God raises up judges to keep the people in check, but it's a Band-Aid on a ruptured artery.  They just won't stay on the straight and narrow with God."  (Seamless, p85) They act right under the leadership of the judge, but when the judge dies they rebel again.

We look at the Israelites and wonder how they could treat God the way they did, but don’t we do the same thing?  We get in trouble and cry out for help, God delivers and soon we slip back to where we were.

Several of the judges are familiar names- here are a few of their stories:

Deborah was a prophetess and the 4^th judge. Israel had been under the harsh rule of Jabin. She rose as a lady with leadership qualities as she called for help from a man named Barak to lead an army of men against their enemy, Sisera.  He said he would go, but only if she went with him.  God gave Deborah the ability to form an attack and gave them victory through the hands of a woman. After Deborah, the land had rest for 40 years (Judges 4-5).

We learn leadership values in Deborah.  She obeyed the Lord and accomplished the task before her. Our army probably will look a lot different from Deborah’s- it may be a small group of ladies or our family that God has entrusted to us.  The point is that Deborah took action. Barak feared going into battle, but Deborah listened to the voice of God.  We must be strong in battle and declare as she did, “march on, my soul, be strong” (Judges 5:21).

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and became greatly impoverished. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Judge 6:12 This greeting surprised him seeing that his tribe was the weakest in Israel and he was the least in his father’s house. God looked at what he could be with His help. He went on to tear down his father’s Baal altar, and form an army to fight against the Midianites. He started out with 22,000 against an army of 135,000 (odds were 4 to 1)- God said for those who are fearful to turn- he was left with 10,000 (13 to 1). God said it was still too many and they chose 300 (450 to 1)! They won the battle with those odds (Judges 6-8).

We may feel as as insignificant as Gideon felt, but God looks on the heart. What is in your life that is hindering you from conquering the enemy?  Gideon laid out 2 fleeces because of insecurities.  He gathered a large army, and God chiseled away at it.  With the odds of 4 to 1 and even 13 to 1, men could have taken credit- but with 450 to 1… it was undoubtedly GOD at work!  What are we holding on to that appears to be important, but is hindering us?  What does God need to chisel away from us?

Samson was the 12^th judge. God appeared to his mother before his birth and told her to let no razor touch his head- he was to be a Nazirite (separated) and would deliver Israel. God gave him supernatural strength and he began to deliver his people from the Philistines. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The Philistines offered her a large sum of money to entice Samson and find the source of his strength. It took her several tries, but he eventually told her- a razor had never touched his head. She had his head shaved and he was captured- his eyes were gouged out and he was put in prison. His hair grew back and he asked God to give him strength one last time for vengeance on the loss of his eyes.  His strength returned and he pulled down the pillars of the temple and killed more Philistines with his death than he had his entire life (Judges 13-17).

Samson is one of only a few births in the Bible that is announced to the mother by an angel. His potential was extraordinary, but he fell short on his calling.  His life personified the saying, ‘sin will take you farther than you want to go’. The sad words tell it all- ‘the Lord had departed from him’. Samson did not protect his calling. We learn from this story the importance of guarding our calling. There is no one else that can fulfill the plan God has for your life. “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Col 4:17 Maybe God is calling you to start a ministry-Seek God and He will show you what He wants of you. How sad it would be to stand before God and to not fulfill what He called you to do. Samson had a repentant heart and turned back to God before his death- He is mentioned in the “Hall of Faith” (Heb 11).

The book of 1 Samuel opens up with the story of Samuel.  We learn about a man named Elkanah who had 2 wives (that was his first problem!), Hannah and Peninnah.  Hannah was barren and Penninah had children.  Every year they would go and offer a sacrifice to the Lord.  Penninah provoked Hannah severely because of her barrenness.  Hannah cried out to God and made a vow to Him that if He gave her a son, she would give him back to the service of the Lord. As she prayed the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. She explained to him that she was pouring out her soul to the Lord.  He blessed her and asked God to grant her what she'd asked for.  She received that word in faith and she bore a son and named him Samuel.

Hannah was faithful to her vow about her son.  She weaned him (2-3 years), and then returned to offer their yearly sacrifice and presented Samuel to Eli.  Samuel stayed there with Eli and he ministered before the Lord, even as a child (1 Sam 2:18).  

Samuel represents the remnant of God.  I listened to a sermon by David Wilkerson called, "A Call to Anguish" (available on YouTube)- a few notes:

• Samuel represents the remnant. There was sin in the house because of the weak priest, Eli, and his wicked sons.  God will not put up with sin in His house.  God planted a vision in Samuel.
• The remnant is birthed through prayer and intercession. Hannah cried bitter tears for the birth of Samuel.  God is looking for a remnant today- a praying remnant- people who will seek Him with all of their heart, soul, and strength.
• God will anoint you and open doors for you as His praying remnant.  A true prayer life begins in anguish.

Samuel became the last judge over Israel. When he was getting old, the people asked for a king.  "The whole point for the Israelites was that God wanted to set them apart and make them different, but over and over again we see them wanting to be like everyone else." (Seamless, p87)

Samuel tells the people that God is their king, but they do not listen.  Samuel is distressed over this, but God tells him that the people have not rejected him, they have rejected God.