Judges 2:16-23

The Lord Raises Up Judges

¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. ¹⁹ But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. ²⁰ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, ²¹ I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, ²² in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

By providence, I’m compelled to pray for others who are in a spiritual battle against the devil. Are we not all? We all must be always ready to pray! So much is at stake. Our enemy is powerful, yet we all in Christ are fully equipped.

First Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Jesus Christ said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Yes, we have an adversary, an enemy, who is the devil. That ancient foe who comes to thwart the plans and kingdom of God, if he could, which we know he cannot. However, we, as beneficiaries and recipients of God’s grace, do not stand defenseless against the wiles of the evil one, as cunning as he is. Notwithstanding, we have everything that God has given us to make us separate, uncommon, and holy like Him. As it says in Ephesians 6:13-18, we have the truth of God, the righteousness of Christ, the salvation of God, faith by grace alone, and the Word of God. We are completely clothed and equipped by Him who justifies us by his blood in atonement for our sins. We have been ransomed and purchased. Therefore, because we are His, we have learned from our Master how to pray in the Spirit. We must pray fervently, consistently, constantly, intentionally, and purposefully. We must pray not only as if that is our only hope in life and breath. No! We must pray because we are commanded and experientially, we know for sure that Jesus Christ is our advocate and our intercessor. We pray by believing. As we pray in the name of Jesus, Christ will indeed plead our case. And not only that but in our deep, earnest prayer, we have been given the Holy Spirit. When we are so entrenched in pain and sorrow that we don’t even have the words to utter and make any sense, even in our own minds. Nevertheless, the Spirit is there with us. He is interpreting our inexpressible moanings of sadness and taking them to the Lord for us (Romans 8:26). No wonder, God is blessed by those who have a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).

Broken! Broken because of the presence of sin! Broken because we have grieved the Holy Spirit! Broken because our own feet have tread upon the precious blood of Jesus Christ when we sin! And broken in fear that we have become disqualified or made a castaway to others as we present Christ and His gospel.

Our passage today is focused on what God does for His people even when they sin against Him. However, in our passage today, we have an extreme case because the people of God have rejected Him and gone to worship false gods. We know, when we sin, we have an advocate, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. He paid for all sins: past, present, and future. Therefore, He pleads for us before God and we need Him every hour, every day! Nevertheless, God will discipline His children just like a loving father does with his children. The Israelites, on the other hand, have rejected God. Yet, in both cases, we see the grace, mercy, and forbearance, or patience, of God. God intervenes and disciplines, punishes, tests, and proves those who are His.

In our passage today in Judges 2:16-23, we see a generation of Israel who did not revere and fear the Lord, the God of their fathers. They rejected Him. Therefore, God’s anger was against them. He handed them over to their enemies. Their enemies came to plunder the Israelites and cause them to pay tribute. In their distress from their cruel taskmasters, the Israelites humbled themselves and prayed to God. They ask God for deliverance. Every time, God would hear their prayers and have compassion on them. To help them and to bring deliverance, God would send them godly judges. The judges led them against their enemies and brought relief. However, this relief was only temporary. For after the judges of Israel died, then the nation would turn away from God again and be more wicked and rebellious than they were before. Over and over, this same scenario repeated itself with the Israelites.

This is a sad story. The people sin. They reject God and worship false idols. God becomes angry, God brings a nation to punish Israel. Israel is oppressed. They humble themselves and pray to God. God hears their cries and brings relief with a new judge who brings deliverance. In application, we have many truths to apply to our lives. First, the grace of God is available to all of God’s people. As we see from the rebellious Israelites, they did not deserve God’s forgiveness. Yet, when they humbled themselves and repented of their ways, God was always there. In the same way. we also can be sure to always depend on Him and His grace. Secondly, God was patient with the Israelites even as they continued to reject Him. Image, if it is possible, what would happen if God did reject His people? Because of His glory and for His name sake, so that all the earth be filled with His glory as the waters cover the sea, God was patient and did not reject His people. Thirdly, God is faithful to His promises. God promised the nation of Israel that they will go in a possess the land of Canaan. Even when Israel proved themselves unfaithful, yet, God was always faithful to His promises. We also share in the joy of knowing that our God is faithful to His promises. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will give eternal life to those who believe in Him. Those who have eternal life, are children of God and will never see the wrath of God. And the list of promises of God goes on and on. To enjoy, we, like the Israelites in the land of Canaan, must trust and obey! And finally, we must walk by faith to imitate Christ. The Israelites rejected God and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Those in Christ, on the other hand, have salvation all from God by grace through faith. This free gift of faith is how we can fully walk in His way. Our faith in Him is demonstrated by our prayer life. We who are His, know that He is able and we are not. Therefore, as children and babes in Christ, we must come to Him who helps us in our times of need. We need Jesus every hour. By faith, we pray with the power of the Holy Spirit and to become like Him. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1 John 5:4).

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My gracious, faithful, and patient Lord God, I worship and praise You for Your attributes that are revealed in Scripture. Because of who You are, I have come to trust and depend on You. Help me, O Lord, to obey your commands. Never leave them, Lord, Help me to trust Your promises. Give me faith so I may live to please you in all that I do and say. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!

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Faith is the Victory, by John H. Yates in 1891