Introduction

• The whole counsel of God

• Our desire to is to teach through the whole Bible – Genesis to Revelation
• Acts 20:27 – “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
• We have finished Joshua – and will continue on to the Book of Judges…
• We have already completed the 5 ‘book of the Law’ Genesis – Deuteronomy…
• Judges is the 2^nd of the 12 books of the History of Israel in the Old Testament…

• The outline of Judges… 

• There are 21 chapters / 618 verses – in the book of Judges…
• We will cover between 1-2 chapters a week (3 months) – highlighting key sections…
• Chapters 1-2 – Introduction – Israel partial victories / decline after the death of Joshua
• Chapter 3-16 – The period of the judges – 12 judges in all
  • 6 major judges – Othneil / Ehud / Deborah / Gideon / Jephthah / Samson
  • 6 minor judges – Shamgar / Tola / Jair / Ibzan / Elon / Abdon
  • The only difference between major and minor is the length of their stories
• Chapter 17-21 – The moral failure of Israel – the sin of Benjamin

• Overview of the book of Judges…
  • The book of Judges picks up where the book of Joshua left off…
    • The people had made a covenant – ‘we will serve the Lord’ – Joshua 24
    • But Joshua knew the people would quickly compromise their walk…
    • The book pick up with the death of Joshua – cover 350 years – to Saul as King of Israel…
  • When was the book written…
    • 1^st – The phrase ‘in those days Israel had no king’ – is repeated several times…
      • So the book was apparently written after Israel did have a King…
      • The author of the Book is thought to have been the Prophet Samuel…
    • 2^nd – The Jebusites still lived in Jerusalem during the time of the writing – Judges 1:21…
      • Conquered by King David – at which time he made Jerusalem the capitol…
      • So the likely time frame for the writing of the book is during the reign of King Saul
  • Who the book was written to…
    • Samuel was the last – and perhaps the greatest – of the judges of Israel…
    • But the people wanted to be like the others nations – they wanted a king…
    • I Samuel 8:5-7 – “Give us a king like all the other nations have… ‘They are rejecting me’, the LORD replied, ‘They don’t want me to be their king any longer.’”
    • The book of judges was written to show what happens when we follow ‘other nations’
    • Being a Christian means we are not like the world – we are different…
    • We follow the Word of God – not the world – and it makes us stick out…
    • There is always a temptation to want to blend into the crowd – to be accepted…
    • God calls us to be a peculiar people – I Peter 2:9 – we are not supposed to blend in!
    • Giving us the opportunity to tell others about the hope we have in us – I Peter 3:15

The need for Judges… (3 things)

• 1^st – The early victories of Judah…vs. 1-20 Read: Judges 1:1-4, 19
  • After the death of Joshua – Israel asked God who should attack the Canaanites… vs. 1-8
• For about 20 years after Joshua came into the Land – there was more war…

• Israel had won both the Southern and Northern campaigns – 31 kings in all…
• But there were still large portions of the Promised Land yet to be conquered…
• So Israel sought the Lord as to what to do next – continue to battle…
  • Victory over sin in our life – is a direct result of our relationship with Jesus…
  • The more time we spend with the Lord – the more we find we overcome our sin…
  • * I John 1:7 – “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
• God told Judah to go first – and they asked the tribe of Simeon to help…
  • Judah knew their enemy was powerful – and it was a battle they could not win alone…
    • God gave them a mighty victory – they killed 10,000 men at Bezek…
    • Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – “Two are better than one… if one person falls, the other can reach out and help, but people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.”
    • If we are struggling with a sin in our lives – we do not have to face it alone…
    • God has surrounded us with Godly men and women who are there to help…
    • By giving us accountability – be willing to ask us the hard questions…
    • By pointing us back to Jesus when we get lost and forget our way!
  • Judah cut off the big fingers and big toes of the King of Bezek…
    • He said – I had 70 kings with no big fingers or big toes – begging at my table…
    • What I did to them – the Lord has now done as well to me…
    • Galatians 6:7 – “God is not mocked, whatever a man sows he will also reap…”
    • Many people assume they are ‘ok’ because God does not immediately punish them…
    • They make mistake of interpreting God’s ‘patience’ for God’s ‘acceptance’…
    • God waits to punish sin only because He loves the sinner – II Peter 3:9
    • God is patient – longsuffering – to give time to repent and turn back to Him…
    • But if we harden our hearts – choose not to repent – our sin will not remain hidden
    • Numbers 32:22 – “Be sure your sin will find you out…”
  • God was with Judah – and they drove out most of the inhabitants of the Land…
    • But they could not overcome those in the valleys – they had Iron Chariots…
    • God does not give us victory over our sin in a single day – it is a process…
    • Instead He allows there to be constant challenges – so we keep depending on Him!
      

• 2^nd – Not a complete victory…vs. 21-36 Read: Judges 1:21-28, 2:1-4
  • A partial victory for the 12 tribes… vs. 27-36
    • The tribes of Reuben / Gad / and the ½ tribe of Manasseh – had victory on the east side
    • The tribes of Judah and Simeon had partial victory on the west side of the Jordan…
    • But the tribes of Benjamin / Manasseh / Ephraim / Zebulun / Asher /Naphtali / Dan…
    • Were all unsuccessful in driving out the inhabitants of the Land…
    • Though when they were strong they were able to force them to serve Israel…
  • Partial success because of compromise… vs. 21-26
    • Ephraim conquered the city of Luz – by agreeing to spare one of the inhabitants…
      • He showed them the way into the city and they killed everyone inside…
      • But they spared the man – he went out and built another city – and called it Luz…
      • They only ‘partially’ destroyed a city – and so it was able to be rebuilt!
    • We cannot make any ‘deals’ with sin – it has to be completely destroyed…
      • If we try and ‘compromise’ – our sin will end up just coming back get us…
      • That ‘one drink’ that could not possibly hurt – the ‘one time’ we go to the party…
      • The one little ‘white’ lie we tell – the ‘thing’ we take cause the owner has so much
      • When we give in to the sin – it opens the door for more and more sin…
      • We end up on a slippery slope that quickly draws us away from the Lord
      • Do not make excuses – the only solution for sin is to wipe it all out! 
    • Do not give sin a foothold – choose to be Holy!
      • Someone who has never taken drugs – is not very tempted by drugs…
      • But to a recovering addict – there is a constant battle to stay clean…
      • When we choose to give in to sin – we open ourselves up to repeated temptation…
      • Choose to be victorious – choose to depend wholly on Jesus…
      • Choose to HOLY – set apart from the world – dedicated the Lord!
  • Before the death of Joshua – the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) came to Gilgal… vs. 2:1-5
    • The same place where Israel had first entered the land – Joshua 4:19
      • To a place called Bochim – meaning ‘those who were weeping’…
        • There He said to the children of Israel – ‘You have broken My covenant’…
        • Israel was not to ‘make any covenants with the people in the Land’…
        • But they had made a covenant with the Gibeonites / and the man from Luz
      • They also were to make sure and ‘tear down all the pagan altars…’
        • So the Angel told them – ‘I will not drive out them before you – they will be thorns’
        • And the people wept there before the Lord – so they called the place ‘Bochim’!
    • Israel was NOT worshiping the false gods / or making friends with the people…
      • But because they did not wipe out all the places of false worship…
      • And because the pagan people of the land were still around…
      • God knew they would end up becoming a snare – causing the people to sin…
    • We often think it is no problem to leave ‘idols’ lying around…
      • Things that come from our lives before we were saved by Jesus…
      • A bottle of liquor in a corner – not that we ever intend to drink it…
      • But in a moment of weakness – it can be the door that takes us back to our old ways
      • Or the cell phone number of the person – not that we would ever text them…
      • After all it would be rude to just ‘cut them off’ – so we keep it ‘just in case’…
      • But it is those very relationships that can come back to destroy our walk in Jesus…
      • And in the end we are left with ‘thorns’ – ‘weeping’ and broken because of our sin!
  • The death of Joshua… vs. 6-9
    • The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua – he died at 110 years old…
    • We need to be very careful not to keep things around we know could stumble us…
    • We need to be careful whom we spend time with – who we are influenced by…
    • Surround yourself with godly men – those who encourage your walk in the Lord…
      
• 3^rd – The judges of Israel… vs. 16-23 Read: Judges 2:10-23
  • After Joshua – a new generation rose that did not know the Lord… vs. 10-15
    • The children and grandchildren of those who had come in the Promised Land…
      • Their parents did not pass to them their relationship with God…
      • Instead they left them in a Land littered with temptations / godless people…
      • As a result they turned their back on God – and followed after the world…
      • So in His anger God turned on Israel – and their enemies defeated them…
    • It is not enough that we believe in and follow Jesus – we need to pass that on…
      • God has no grandchildren – each new generation needs to get to know Jesus!
      • It is so important we teach our children to have a relationship with God…
      • Not just in words – they need to see God at work in our lives – see us walk by faith!
• God did not abandon Israel – instead He gave them ‘Judges’… vs. 16-17
  • The purpose of the Judges…
    • The ‘Judges’ were not someone who sat in a courtroom – upholding men’s rules…
    • Judges were the rulers / leaders of Israel – raised up by God to uphold His Law!
    • Israel had no need of a King – because God was the one and only King of Israel!
    • The judges were representatives of God to His people – to lead them in holiness!
  • But Israel did not listen to the Judges – they continued in their sin…
    • No one when they are caught up in sin – likes to be judged…
    • But caring for someone means you cannot let them go on in their sin…
    • Sin destroys lives – it is not loving to let someone destroy themselves…
    • Proverbs 27:6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…”
    • A true friend is one loves you enough to tell you when you are wrong

He knows when we are done – because He sees his reflection in our lives!

The cycle of sin… vs. 18-19

Israel would sin – be conquered (consequence of sin) – call out for help…

God would raise up a leader / Judge to save them – and they would return to the Lord…

But it did not last – after a (often short) period of time – they would rebel again…

This cycle is repeated over and over – 7 times in the book of Judges!

It is a the same cycle of sin we see repeated in our lives today…

When we walk with the Lord – we have victory and blessing in life (like Joshua)…

But over time we start to compromise – get drawn back into the world – into sin…

Things begin to fall apart – we find our lives shattered – dominated by sin…

So we cry out to Jesus – and in His grace He rushes in to save us…

And we are back walking with God – for a time – until we start to get drawn back…

The test for Israel… vs. 20-23

Because of their rebellion – God would leave the pagan nations in the Land…

God was going to give Israel and option – who did they want to serve…

The pagans would be a test for Israel – see whether or not they would obey the Lord…

You do not get to really know who someone is when life is easy…

The real test of character is how they act when life falls apart…

I Peter 4:12 – “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.”

God uses trials in life to turn up the ‘heat’ – let us see what we are made of…

God already knows – but He wants us to see what is in our hearts…

Jesus put us in the fire to draw out the impurities from our life (sin)…