The Terrible Cycle of Sin and the Real Hero (October 14, 2018)

Review: Last week we saw how Israel under the command of Joshua finally took possession of the Promised Land. They won many battles against their enemies but unfortunately, they did not drive everyone out of the land as the Lord had commanded (Judges 1:27-36). In Judges we will see the consequences of this failure and what happens to the people of Israel following Joshua’s death.
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When reading through the book of Judges we will see a pattern begin.
(http://www.deanbower.com/jail/RoseCycleOfHebrewDisobedience.pdf)

Read Judges 2:11- 13. 
So, following the death of Joshua, with no leader, the people of Israel fall into sinful actions.
As a result, what does God do?

Read Judges 2:14-15.
God lets Israel’s enemies defeat them. Is God going back on his promise to prosper Israel?

To answer this question read Judges 2:1-2. 
God said that he would not break his covenant with them as long as the Israelites obeyed God and drove out the inhabitants of the land with their false gods. Since Israel did not obey the voice of the Lord (i.e. They did not drive the people out. Israel either lived with their enemies or made them slaves and they worshiped the false gods of their enemies), God did not have to give them victory over their enemies.

God, however, does not leave Israel defeated. Read Judges 2:16-23.
In vs. 18 we see that when the Israelites were oppressed by their enemies they called out to God, and so God having compassion for his people raised up Judges (were mighty warriors and leaders, not like the judges we think of today) to save them from their enemies.

Unfortunately, as we just read, Israel does not learn from their mistakes and continues the cycle. They repeatedly turn from God, become oppressed by their enemies, and then call out to God who raises a judge to save them.

After many repeats of this cycle, the Israelites once again find themselves oppressed by their enemies, (this time the Philistines) after turning from God. They cry out to God, but this time God says something very interesting to them.

Read Judges 10:10-14. Do you think that God really wanted the Israelites to follow other gods?

Read Judges 10:15-16. When God told them, He would not save them anymore, it forced the people to really think about what they had done. Instead of simply admitting that they had served other gods, they took action and put away all the foreign gods they had been serving in order to show God that they truly believed He was the only God that should be feared and worshiped. As a result of this act we read that God “became impatient over the misery of Israel” and so He once again raises a judge to save them. It wasn’t enough for them just to say they were sorry, their actions had to prove it as well.

Read Psalm 103: 
The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

The good news is that whenever we truly repent and choose to follow God, He is faithful to forgive us.

Let’s see how this pattern plays out in Judges 6.

Read Judges 6:1-6.
So, we see that Israel has returned to doing “what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” In response, God lets the Midianites oppress Israel for seven years. The Israelites then cry out to the Lord for help.
What do you think God is going to do?

Later in chapter 6 we read how God calls a man Gideon to save Israel. Read Judges 6:11-24.
Gideon is very fearful and doubts how he will save the people in Israel, so he asks God for a sign to make sure it is really God speaking to him. God gives him a sign and tells Gideon not to be afraid and that he will not die.

Despite this, as we keep reading we see that Gideon often is fearful. In Judges 6:25-27. God tells Gideon to destroy an alter of Baal but “because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.”

Later in the chapter we see how Gideon tests God again. Read Judges 6:36-40. Gideon is still fearful and does not truly trust what God has said.

God then tests Gideon’s faith (Judges 7: 1-7). Before going to battle the Midianites, Gideon starts with 32,000 men, but God tells Gideon this is too many. God does not want Israel to win and boast in their own power, so he tells Gideon to send home any men who are afraid. Gideon is left with 10,000 men. God, however, says this is still too many so, He tells Gideon that when his army goes down to take a drink of water only those that lap the water by putting their hands to their mouth will fight. Gideon is left with only 300 men. Acting in faith Gideon despite all odds, defeats the Midianites with only these 300 men. God gave them the victory.

After this victory, Gideon tells the people that he will not rule over them but instead it is God who will rule them (Judges 8:22-23). Despite this great acknowledgement that God is king, Gideon himself falls into sin when he makes a golden ephod for himself which we read became a snare/trap to Gideon and his family. We are not told exactly why it was a trap but it is clear that it took Gideon’s focus away from worshiping God.

Gideon along with other people in the Bible (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, etc.) are often called heroes. According to the Oxford dictionary, a hero is “a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” A hero is often someone that you look up to and want to be like.

           
Do you think we should try to be just like these heroes in the Bible? 
No, there were many times that these heroes made sinful choices that we should not repeat. For example, Gideon was often fearful and tested God which we are told not to do (Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7, Luke 4:12).

It has been said that there are no great men of God, only men of a great God. It is only by God’s power working through these people that they were able to achieve anything.

Read Hebrews 11. 
If these Bible heroes do set any good examples for us it is often in times where they show great faith in God. This is definitely something that we should strive for as well.

Is there anyone in the Bible that we should always try to be like?
Jesus is our ultimate example. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 we read how Paul tells us to be imitators of him but only as he imitates Christ.

At the very end of the book of Judges we read “in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

Christians should not be like this because we have a king, King Jesus. By following Jesus’ example, we will do what is right in God’s eyes.

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Going Deeper

You may have heroes in your life that you look up to and want to be like. It is important to remember, however, that we should only follow someone else example if they follow Christ's example. Take time to think of a hero in your life. You can use a table like the one below to write ways that their actions are like Jesus' actions and ways that they are not. No hero is perfect, so even though we may admire someone and want to be like them we should only want to be like them in ways that are God honoring. 

My Hero:
Ways My Hero is Like Jesus	Ways My Hero is Not Like Jesus

Praise God in Song: