Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1953

Judges 2:1-23¹And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. ²And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? ³Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. ⁴And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. ⁵And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord. ⁶And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. ⁷And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. ⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. ⁹And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. ¹⁰And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. ¹¹And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: ¹²And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. ¹⁴And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. ¹⁶Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. ¹⁷And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so. ¹⁸And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. ¹⁹And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. ²⁰And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; ²¹I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: ²²That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. ²³Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua. (Judges 2:1‑23)

At last the angel of the Lord left Gilgal and came to Bochim, the place of weeping. God had not failed His people — He still loved them and sought their blessing, but they had failed to lay hold of His way of blessing for them. There were tears, but the tears were for their own losses and sorrows, not because they had failed to give the Lord His place. How often it is so with us: many tears are shed for the sorrows we bring upon ourselves by our own self-will. The Lord feels for us in these sorrows too, for His Word tells us, “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63:9⁹In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:9). Yet we must suffer in His government for our folly, but when we turn to the Lord how good He is! Let us not question His goodness, remembering that it always honors Him to have us count upon His grace, but let us always be real before Him. Let us acknowledge that He is faithful even in afflicting us, and own our failures and shortcomings in His presence.

So here the angel of the Lord reminded the people that He had been faithful, but they had not obeyed His voice, and because of this their enemies who remained in the land were now thorns in their sides. The people then wept and sacrificed to the Lord. But alas, it was not long until they turned away from the Lord again, for our tears mean little unless there is true repentance toward God. In spite of their tears the people of Israel had lost the sense of what was due to the Lord and began to worship false gods, Baal and Ashtaroth.

This brought down the government of God upon them and “He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them.” As we read these things they ought to be a voice to us, for too often when trouble comes we take it as a matter of course or blame others. Let us look to the Lord in our troubles and sorrows and see His hand in them. We may find there is some carelessness or some “idol” that has come between our souls and Him which is the cause for which He has sent them. It is very easy for us to fall into idolatry today, just as Israel did, only our idols may be new clothes, a new car, a beautiful home, or anything that comes between our souls and the Lord. Then the Lord has to send “spoilers” among us too, as He did here with Israel. They spoil our nice things, or at least our enjoyment of them, and then how empty they all seem. Oh, may the Lord keep us from setting our hearts on anything here, for if we do, we will surely be disappointed.

When the children of Israel felt the sting of the spoilers and were greatly distressed, then they cried unto the Lord and He raised up judges among them. These judges, as we have remarked before, were used of the Lord to remind the people of their sin and to deliver them from their enemies who oppressed them. But, alas, as soon as they were delivered they forgot the Lord and refused to listen to the judges who spoke to them in His Name. How often it is so with us. We cry to the Lord in our troubles, but when He does deliver us then we forget His goodness and go back to our old ways. There is always a “needs be” in every trial and it will result in blessing to “them which are exercised thereby.” Hebrews 12:11¹¹Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:11).

ML 08/09/1953

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