Pass or Fail

Introduction

We begin a series today on Judges, a writing filled with interesting and disturbing stories. We will not look at all the stories found in this writing, but we will look at many of the main characters. But this is more than just a collection of stories as if it is some fairy tale collection. This writing shows us something about human nature and about God. We learn something about our sin and something about the grace of God. Judges covers the time frame from Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land to Samuel and the anointing of the first king of Israel. And what we see is there is a pattern.

The cycle repeats throughout Judges: Israel commits spiritual adultery, they are oppressed by their enemies, they cry out to God for relief, God raises up a judge who delivers them, and then after the judge dies, the cycle begins all over again.

This first section today is basically introductory. It introduces the writing and establishes the cycle of sin and grace. But even with that, what is the point? What are we supposed to learn from this cycle and particularly from this first section? There are some fundamental truths about life and about God in this section. Let’s look at them.

The Truth about People

First, faith must be passed on. As you read through Judges and we get this idea of the repetition of sin, we are struck with why people can’t understand what they need to do. What we must realize is that these events take place over a period of generations. For a generation or so, the people understand what is expected in their relationship with God, and then a generation rises which does not see the need for God. Look at Judges 2:10. They didn’t know the Lord nor did they know what he had done for them.

What do you want your child to know? Who will teach them? We want them to know how to wash clothes, do a little cooking, how to sew on a button, and how to cut the grass. We want them to learn that “please” and “thank you” mean something. These are fundamental things we want our children to know. But what about their spiritual life? What are fundamentals? What do we want them to know? If we don’t teach our children, we are but one generation from walking away from the Lord. How are our children supposed to know what walking with God means if we don’t tell them? If we don’t tell them what God has done for us, how will they know? I’m not talking about doctrinal fundamentals, and they are important, but of the fundamentals about who God is and what he has done for you. Unless we tell the story of Jesus over and over, they will not know and like Israel will do only what is right in their own eyes.

Second, we must not let our children marry the world. In Judges 3:6, the Israelites allowed their sons and daughters to marry those who did not have faith in God. God was very specific in Deuteronomy 7:2-3 and Joshua 23:12—his people were not to intermarry with those who did not belong to Israel. We live in a different time. Parents no longer arrange marriages in the same way that they did during the days of the Judges. But we can teach them from early on the need to date only those who love God and who are seeking the Father. We can pray that God will lead them to a mate who loves Him. Who our children marry is too important to stand on the sidelines and just hope that they will make a good choice. We can’t make those choices for them, but we can from a young age encourage them about what they are to be looking for in a mate.

But if we are casual about the world, then our children will be casual as well. We demonstrate to our children how important our relationship with God is. They can see right through what we present here. Our children know us and they know what is important to us.

Third, we mustn’t treat God as an emergency repair service. Israel cried out to the Lord when they were in trouble. Until then, they cried out to their gods. They looked for their gods to fix things. Then when their gods couldn’t end the suffering they turned to God. We aren’t much different. Troubles arise. We work harder. We change our routine. We read our horoscope. We hold onto the issue trying to solve it. And then we cry out to the Lord. For some, the only time we talk to God is when we are having a problem. God is our spiritual AAA. When we break down, we call him. When we need a boost, we give him a ring. When we are stranded, we place our call and wait for him to meet us where we are. Israel found themselves attacked and when their gods failed them, they called on God. God was the fix-it God. And once things were fixed there was no need for Him any longer. The real measure of what God means to you is when things are going well. Do you still love God, talk with Him, and seek his wisdom, or is that just stuff you do when things go poorly? God isn’t an emergency repair service.

The Truth about God

First, God takes our sin and does something good with it. God wanted his people to completely drive out the other nations from the Promised Land. Israel grew weary in carrying out God’s plan. So God used the other nations not just to punish Israel’s disobedience but to provide an opportunity for training. In Judges 3:1-2, God uses these other nations for military training exercises. He knew that his people were the major piece of land between Egypt to the South and the Assyrian-Babylonian area to the North. Israel needed to learn military strategy. And the surrounding nations provided a means for such training. Even when we mess up, God takes those mistakes and somehow turns them to benefit us. God truly works things out for our good. Like the little girl we may still have to stand in the corner, but God reaches out in grace and gives us something to look at.

Second, God is merciful. Not only does God take our sin and do something good with it, but God extends his mercy to us time and again. As I read through Judges I am constantly amazed at the number of times Israel messes up and the number of times they suffer the consequences of their sin. But when they repent, God is ready to take them back and help them again. Why didn’t he just give up on them? Surely there were times he thought about starting all over as he had at the base of Sinai soon after the Exodus. God is merciful. While Israel presumed upon that grace, God never gave up on them. Yes, they were punished. Yes, they suffered consequences, but God always sent them a leader who would help them refocus on who God was. When we hear of God’s mercy it quiets our soul and makes us know that our God is merciful. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found—was blind, but now I see.”

Now some will say that emphasizing grace opens the floodgates for people to do the wrong thing. Just look at Israel some will say. Every time God was merciful they took advantage of his mercy and went back to evil. Yes, but that doesn’t change who God is. While Israel chose to take God’s grace for granted, while some will take God’s grace for granted, the answer is not to make God less merciful. For there will be some who will not take God’s mercy for granted. They will instead hear of it, rejoice in it, revel in it, and give their lives to God because they recognize that only grace can set them truly free. Our God is merciful. Will you accept his mercy today? Sin inevitably comes into our lives, but God is merciful. He doesn’t want sin in our lives. He doesn’t want to allow the consequences of sin to overshadow his mercy and love.

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