Judges 10:6-18

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are going to wrap up Judges chapter 10. It is perhaps one of the most challenging emotionally or encouraging chapters of the book of Judges. Let's have some coffee.
We'll pray. We'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your Word. It's perfect. And Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit, please teach us, help us to understand it. Teach us to walk in your ways. Teach us to know who you are. God, we need you this morning to convict us and to train us. In Jesus' name, amen. Here we go. Judges chapter 10, beginning at verse 6.
And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the ball. and the Asherahs, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him.
So the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines. and into the hands of the people of Ammon. From that year they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for 18 years, all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan and the land of the Amorites in Gilead. Moreover, the people of Ammon crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah, also against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed. And the children of Israel cried out to Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against you, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals.
So the Lord said to the children of Israel, Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, and from the people of Ammon, and from the Philistines? Also the Sidonians and Malachites and Moanites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I delivered you from their hand.
Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen. Let them deliver you in your time of distress. And the children of the Lord said to the Lord, or the children of Israel said to the Lord, We have sinned. Do to us what seems best to you, only deliver us this day, we pray. So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served Jehovah, and his soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled together and encamped at Mizpah. And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, Who is the man who will begin the fight against us, begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
Well, we'll go ahead and stop there. We need to ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? Well, Jared dies. And what do the people do? It's a sad cycle of what happens. They apostatize again.
All right, Jer has his cities, God raised him up to be a judge. 22 years they seem to have peace and now Israel again, it's evil. They were disastrous in the sight of their God, Jehovah himself. later on in other books of the Bible, right? Ezekiel called them like donkeys in heat, right? Just going wherever they can to go sleep with whoever they will spiritually, right? This is this idolatry. They're going after Baals, they're going after Asherahs, they're going to go serve Dagon, they're going to go serve the gods of the Syrians. They're just going everywhere and everywhere except to the Lord, the one who redeemed them, the one who bought them out of the land of Egypt, the one who called them to be his people.
And so he allows them to be oppressed once again. So the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. And he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, into the hands of the people of Ammon. They're harassed. It says that the Lord removes his countenance from them for a time and allows them to suffer because of their strain, because of their going away and serving these other gods. And so the people of Israel are severely distressed is what it says in verse 9.
So what do they do? They go back to their father, they go back to their God, they go back to their king, they go to the Lord himself, Yehovah, and they confess their sin. Verse 10, we have sinned against you because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals. co-mission and o-mission. First o-mission, right?
They had not served the Lord. They've not been serving Yehovah. They've not been walking in His ways. There were all sorts of commands, all sorts of blessings that they had, and they weren't utilizing any of that. Instead of co-mission, worse than that, they went and actively served the Babels.
And they're using this as what's called a synecdoche, right? Just one to talk about the whole, right? So serving the Baals is, I think, their way of saying we've served all these other gods also. I don't think they're making a half confession. They're saying we've gone into idolatry. And so the Lord says to them, right, and you can hear the Lord like you're, how do I, I know your pattern. I'm the one who brought up these judges, right? He's delivered them, right?
I delivered you from the Egyptians. This is what happened with Moses. I delivered you from the Amorites. This is what happens with Joshua. And from the people of Ammon, and from the Philistines. Also the Sidonians, the Amalekites, Samoanites, they oppressed you, you cried out to me, and I delivered you from their hands. Where God is saying, I've been delivering you. I've been your deliverer all these days, all these years. Yet, verse 13, and this is the sad part, yet you have forsaken me and served other gods, right?
They've turned their backs on the Lord. The Lord's face was shining upon them. It says covenant people, and instead they turned their backs and they went in the way of darkness. He turned from the light of his countenance, indulging in the disastrous and dark deeds in the flesh.
I've been delivering you, I've been here, I've been the covenant God this whole time, and yet you've gone and served other gods. It says, therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods you've chosen. He's saying, you have not loved me with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. The God who doesn't slumber or sleep, the one who sees everything. He has seen their idolatry and he's saying, you've chosen those gods. Remember what Joshua told them, right?
Choose this day for yourself, whom you will serve. If you're going to serve the balls, go and serve the bales, right? But if you're going to serve the Lord, serve him. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. These people are making a choice. They're making a choice to go in their idolatry.
Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of distress. You're going and worshiping the gods of the Philistines and it's the Philistines who are oppressing you. You're going and worshiping the Baals and the Asherahs and it's the other Canaanite people who have no problem with those gods who are oppressing you. And now you're gonna cry out to me? Go to your wood, go to your stone. Go to where your heart is and go cry out to those inanimate and dumb idols. Or say, I'm not going to deliver you anymore, right?
The Lord's not going to be played a fool. The Lord knows, the Lord sees. And how do the children of Israel respond to this rebuke from God? It's not easy to receive a rebuke from God. It's not easy to be corrected by the Lord. It's not easy to be taught by him. And yet I think he does it for a reason.
Sometimes the Lord tells us hard things because I need to be told hard things. I need to be told when I'm acting like a jerk or an idiot. I need to be told by my wife, when Brian, you're being inattentive and impulsive again. We need those reminders. We need to be told the truth.
And this is what the Lord tells them here. So how do the people respond, right? We have sinned. They confess their sins. And they humble themselves, they take responsibility for that. Do to us whatever seems best to you. They submit themselves under the mighty hand of God. Only deliver us this day, we pray. And so they say, okay, Lord, come what may. If you're going to forsake us forever, but give us peace today. And what do they do? What do they do specifically in verse 16?
See, repentance isn't just saying, oh, I feel bad, I'm sorry. Repentance is a changing of the mind that looks like changing of the heart and actions as well. Turning away from sin with a with a grief and hatred of our sin turning from it unto God notice what they do and They put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord Right, did you notice it they put off the foreign gods and They put on service to Yehovah They go and they serve him Now they do righteousness There was sins of omission, not serving the Lord, and sin of commission, serving the Baals. So how do they need to repent? Well, they need to actively put away serving the Baals and start serving the Lord, and that's what they do. It seems like they truly repent.
And what is the Lord's response? Verse 16, And his soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel. Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. So now who's going to deliver them? There's commentators today who will say that in this passage, when it says that, and he and his soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel, they're saying that like the Lord, Israel's a misery to him. He's not going to put up with them anymore.
I'm not sure that's the case, because the Lord does put up with Israel a lot more. Thanks be to God that he is a long-suffering and covenant God. And so here, what does the Lord tell us? No, he is still merciful. He sees our misery, even as sinners, and he's gracious. See, we have this picture in our mind that, oh, God was just so cruel and so mean in the Old Testament, and he was so horrible to those people. But here we find a God who sees their repentance and still shows them mercy. That's the God we serve.
What's the best verse in this? Well, in my Bible I have verse 13 double underlined. I also have verse 16 double underlined. 17 and 18, really what 17 and 18 are doing is setting up for the next judge, the judge of Jephthah. And he's a complicated fellow and we'll get into him later. What are we called to do? All scripture is given by the inspiration of God. It's breathed out by him. It is profitable. It gives dividends in teaching, doctrine, in reproof, in correction, and in training of righteousness, that the man of God might be thoroughly equipped, ready for every good work.
What is it today in your heart where you have been sinning by commission, doing things the Lord has told you not to do? Is it your lust? Is it your greed? Is it your self-righteousness? Is it your lack of mercy towards the poor? What is it that the Lord is doing? Convicting you of what you have been sinning against him with going and serving the materialism of this world The love of the things of this world the love of your own righteousness. What is it? But maybe the Lord is also convicting you we're proving you for a set of omission Things that you should be doing but you're not Is it that you've been forsaking the assembly of the Saints Is that you should be using words that impart grace to build other people up?
That you should be working with your own hands that you might be able to give to those who are in need? Is it that you find your prayers hindered because you are not loving your wife as Christ loves the church, being gentle and long-suffering, washing her in the water of the word? Is it that you have been impatient with your children, not putting on long-suffering with them?
Is the Lord rebuking us and correcting us even today? Because we chase after our own hearts, we chase after our own idols, and then we wonder why the things happen to us in this life. Even as God's covenant people, we turn back to the Lord. He has shown himself to be good in faith. Even though we are sinners, this is how God has demonstrated his own love towards us. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Don't walk in the darkness, but walk in the light. Confess your sin, turn from it unto God, and endeavor after new obedience. Go towards the light. Go towards God. He delivers. He saves. He's given us His Son. Let's pray.
Father, not all the miseries in our lives are because of our sin. We know that sometimes we just live in a fallen world. And yet, God, You know. You know the sins of our hearts. You know the thoughts that if other people knew what we were thinking, or they would be ashamed of us. You know, Lord, how much we love our own ways.
We don't want to serve you. We don't want to walk in your ways. Forgive us. Sanctify us. God, you made the promise to us that if we confess our sins to you, you are faithful and you are just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness. So God, we pray that you would please help us. Turn us from our sin. Turn us to you.
Only your spirit can do this. Thank you for Jesus, our righteousness, and our hope. In his name we pray. Amen. May God bless you. May you bask in the glory of Jesus Christ, your Savior. May you know that your Heavenly Father is gracious to you. And may the Spirit so sanctify you that you would serve the Lord and love Him all your life. I'll see you next time. Bye.