Judges 3:1-11

Hey, hey, good morning. Good morning. This morning we are at Judges chapter 3. Got to talk about anneal. So, let's have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into God's word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. What a joy and a blessing it is to get to read your word, to study, to learn about you, to find about your ways and walk before you. God, we pray that you would please help us to know who you are and to love you well. Please give us your spirit in Jesus's name. Amen. All right, here we go. Judges chapter 3. Now these are the nations which the Lord left that he might test Israel by them. That is all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan. This was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formally known it. namely five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sedonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Herman to the entrance of Hamoth. And they were left that he might sorry, yeah, that he might test Israel by them to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to be their sons, and they served their gods. So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot Yhovah, their God, and served the Baales and Asheras. Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned hot against Israel, and he sold them into the land of Kush Rishanam, king of Mesop Mesop Mesopentamia. And the children of Israel served Kashan Rishanam. Eight years when the children of Israel carried out or cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them, the son of Kaz, Caleb's younger brother. The spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel. He went out to war and the Lord delivered Kushen Rishiam, king of Mesopotamia, into his hand, and his hand prevailed over Kushan Rish Aim, and the land had rest for 40 years. Then Oneil, the son of Kaz died. Well, we'll 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 in response to this? So, what's this about? Well, this picks up where we left off last time with chapter 2, right? That in chapter 2, 22, the Lord had said, uh, so that through them I may test Israel whether they will keep the ways of Yhovah to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not. And now we get into chapter 3. And what do we find once again? Chapter 1. Now these are the nations the Lord had had left, right? So, okay. So who did he leave? Well, he left the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And so this is what he this it's just that next generation. This is only so that the generation of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it. And so the Lord's testing them and teaching them through this. But what how do they fare in this test? Well, look at verse six. And they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to be their sons or gave their daughters to their sons and they served their gods. They turn away from the Lord. They they start entering into covenant, intermaring. And and I'm when you start interacting and loving the Canaanites around you, you ended up behaving like them, right? Instead of them taking over the land and serving their covenant king with a determination, they assimilate into these pagan nations. And verse 7 summarizes this, right? So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. Right? This was disastrous. This was ruinous to them and a breaking of the covenant with God. They forgot the Lord their God. And they serve the bales and Ash, right? So the anger of the Lord is hot against them, right? His nose burns at them. And so he sold he gives them into the hand of the king of Mesopotamia. Okay. you want to go serve pagan kings or go serve pagan gods. Let the pagan kings rule over you. Well, they like their independence. They don't like being under subjugation. And so what do they do? Well, that the children of Israel cried out to the Lord in verse 9. So it's interesting, right? The Lord lets them go this way. The Lord allows for a Mesopotamian king to rule over them. And what's their response? They cry out to the Lord. And you know, many of us, if we could imagine we were in those types of situations, if we were the Lord, we would say, "Good rids, right? I I did all this. I I did all these loving things for you and and you abandoned me." But that's not the way the Lord operates here. No. What does he do? The Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel who delivered them, the son of Kennez, Caleb's younger brother. is the same offneal that started off in chapter 1. Remember we we had read about there uh when Caleb Caleb in verse 112 Caleb said whoever attacks Kath Sephir and takes it to him I will give my daughter Axa a wife and the son of Kaz Caleb's younger brother took it. That's why it had to get reintroduced in chapter one because now the very first judge is Anneil and he goes and and it this is one of these difficult things right so he's one of these shipim he's he's he's one of these judges so he's the first of this class of people who's delivering Israel out of the hand of their enemies the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel Right. But does that mean what does that role look like? Does that mean he becomes like Moses was judging the hard cases or is or is judging Shabbat here or is is is it this idea of of ruling over them or is it he's their vindicator, right? He's the one who's who's getting them out of the rule of somebody else. It's a lot of theological argumentation about what exactly a judge was. But no matter what, we see that he's the one who seems to be able to lead the people out from underneath the heavy hand. So, so he went out to war and the Lord delivered the king of Mesopotamia into his hand. So, the land had wrath for 40 years. Thenneel the son of Canaz died. That's it. So our first introduction to a judge is he rose up. The Lord gave him into the king of Mesopotamia to his hand. There was peace for 40 years and he died. It seems like though every time one of these judges is raised up not every time but regularly as we go through there seems to be a period of almost returning back to the Lord also. Right? So it's this idolatry, oppression, crying out to the Lord. The Lord raises up a judge and then there's deliverance and there's peace for that period of time. We're going to find out next time though that they go right back into those sinful ways, this pattern up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down. It's like a, you know, have you been on one of those roller coasters before and there's the the bunny uh jumps, right? Well, I don't know what those things are called, but where you go up a little hill and down a little he hill quickly in sequence. It's kind of what the book of Judges is like. It's kind of kind of give you a whiplash if you're not careful. So, what's this section about? Well, it's about the Lord, the people's apostasy, the Lord handing them over, them crying out to the Lord, him raising up and delivering them. But this, what's this really about? This is about their apostasy. And yet the Lord is gracious. So in in my Bible, you know, I would underline verse 9, right? Because that's where it's speaking of Anneil's victory. But I would also make sure to underline verse 7. So the children of the Lord did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baales and Ash. But then verse 9, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer of the children of Israel who delivered them, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. I think both of those, right? Because the people sin and yet somehow God is still gracious. And I think that's where we're see called to do, right? We are not called to do whatever we want in our own eyes. This is this is a this is we should not read the book of Judges and go, "Oh man, we should just we should act just like them." No, we look at the book of Judges and we go, "God, forgive me how often I act just like them. But thank you, Lord, for your patience and grace and kindness. Now teach me, give me your spirit to walk not in those ways to but to be like fill me with your spirit. I think that's what we're called to do. to recognize our propensity to apostasy. How easily it is for us to assimilate into this wicked world and instead to walk by the spirit and not by the flesh, looking to Christ, knowing that he has in him he has delivered us from being slaves to sin. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you are so gracious. You are like a heavenly father that when we sin and mess up, then we've we've really done wrong. We know that we can come to you because you are willing and able to help us. You know our sin. You know our guilt. You know how quickly we stray. But you, Father, are good and just and wise. You are holy and compassionate. Please, Lord, deliver us from our sins. Deliver us from ourselves. Teach us to walk in your ways. You've saved us unto good works. So, please let us abide in Jesus. And let us hate sin and love you in Jesus's name. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ. And I'll see you next time. Bye.