Daily Devotion for Saturday 11th April
Judges 2:11-23
Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and worshipped the Baals; and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were all around them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord, and worshipped Baal and the Astartes.
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them, and he sold them into the power of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring misfortune, as the Lord had warned them and sworn to them; and they were in great distress.
Then the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them out of the power of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen even to their judges; for they lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their ancestors had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord; they did not follow their example. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they would relapse and behave worse than their ancestors, following other gods, worshipping them and bowing down to them. They would not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel; and he said, ‘Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors, and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.’ In order to test Israel, whether or not they would take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their ancestors did, the Lord had left those nations, not driving them out at once, and had not handed them over to Joshua.
Reflection
In these verses we reach the introduction to the main section of the book. Vv.11-15 flesh out the repeated ‘problem’ of Israel’s disobedience, as foretold in 2:3. The references to God’s anger (v.12), to God selling Israel into their enemies’ hands (v.14), to bring misfortune upon them (v.15), fulfil the warning that God had given them about the consequences of their faithless behaviour. The writer is reminding us that there is an inevitability of failure and suffering if we turn from God and put our trust in the world’s ‘gods’, such as wealth and science, and act like wayward children; but it doesn’t mean that God has abandoned the covenant, or stopped loving us.
God intervenes to raise up judges (leaders) each time there is a problem; but the passage emphasises that whilst all went well for the people in the lifetime of the judge, the people didn’t grow in faith or learn to change their ways. When that judge died, they reverted to their previous behaviour; and often strayed further away from God.
The final verses present the whole scenario as being a divine test but I don’t believe this is how God acts towards us. The writer is using a literary device to raise important questions. Will God’s people remain faithful, as they encounter different cultures and alternative faiths; or are the temptations of the Canaanite world and its ‘nature’ gods just too hard to resist? Will they ever learn?
What about us – are we capable of focusing on God and abiding by God’s commands, in hard times as well as when we feel blessed? How do we live as faithful Christians in our multi-faith, multi-cultural world, loving our neighbours, without being lured to put our trust in their gods or those of the world?
The underlying challenge for us is about our desire to grow in faith. Are we willing to learn, to accept that there’s more to discover about God and what being a people dedicated to the service of God means? Or are we stubborn and set in our ways?
Prayer
Loving God,
we confess ourselves as your people;
but we want to grow in faith,
to know and serve you better.
Help us to resist the lure of false gods.
Forgive us when we become set in our ways
and show reluctance to learn;
when we go round in circles as churches,
unwilling to embrace new ways of mission
out of fear of the unknown.
Help us to trust your Spirit’s guidance
and your unfailing love as we step into the future.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.