INTRODUCTION EXPOSITION

Transcription

1 Text: Judges Title: What God Despises INTRODUCTION The church dwells in a pagan world. The world doesn t look to God s commands to guide their conduct. It does what is right in its own eyes. Because of where the church dwells, she is always tempted to compromise. She is always tempted to soften her view of sin. Therefore, we must avoid. In Judges , we see three truths about compromise. I. Compromise Arises after Success (1.1-36) EXPOSITION First of all, compromise arises after success. In our text, this morning, we will see that Israel succeeded in their settlement of the land before compromising. A. The Promise of Success (1.1-2) Notice the promise of success in Judges The author writes, After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them? The LORD said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand. After the death of Joshua, Israel sought to settle in the land. So, they sought divine guidance. The LORD responded by announcing that Judah should go up first against the Canaanites. After revealing His guidance, He repeated His promise. He said, I have given the land into his hand. He repeated what He revealed to Joshua in Joshua The Scripture reads, After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses assistant, Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. The tragedy of their history is that, after receiving this faithful promise, they disobey their gracious God B. The Period of Success (1.3-19a) Notice also the period of success in Judges a. The author writes, And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites, And I likewise will go up with you into the territory allotted to you. So Simeon went with him. Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek fled but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. And Judah went

2 against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriatharba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achash my daughter for a wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb s younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah, his daughter for a wife. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and he defeated the Canaanites, who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. Judah also captured Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country. According to the author of Judges, Israel had a period of success when settling in the land. By using a series of reoccurring verbs, the author gives a report of their success defeat and capture (1.4, 1.5, 1.10, 1.11, 1.13, 1.17) By using two simple clauses, the LORD was with them and the LORD gave them, the author gives the reason for their success (1.3a, 1.19a). The tragedy of Israel s history is that, after having a period of success, they compromise. Israel s success when settling in the land illustrates that we must avoid compromise. Their success would quickly declined into compromise, and their compromise would eventually turn into worldliness. We must avoid compromise at all cost. We must advance in holiness. In 1 Peter , Peter wrote, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also shall be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. Compromise arises after success. Believer, don t think that past success in your walk with God will keep you from future compromise. Where have you been successful in the past? Have you been successful in regularly reading God s Word? Have you been successful in your prayer time? Have you been successful in your relationship with your husband? Have you been successful in your relationship with your wife? Have you been successful in your witness? Your success can quickly turn into compromise. II. Compromise Is Disobedience (1.19b-36) Second of all, compromise is dosobedience. In Judges 1.19b-36, the author writes, [B]out he (Judah) could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. The house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz). And the spies saw a man coming out of the city,

3 and they said to him, Please, show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you. And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahatol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphil or of Rehob, so that Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor them for them. The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijolin, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. According to the author, Israel was disobedient when settling into the land. The LORD had commanded them to destroy the people of the land because of their wickedness. In Deuteronomy 7:1-2, 16, the LORD declares, When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girbashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hibites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than yourselves, and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. And you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Unfortunately, Israel disobeyed God. In this text, we see the acts of disobedience through the repeating phrase did not drive out the inhabitants (1.19, 1.21, 1.27, 1.28, 1.29, 1.30, 1.31, 1.32, 1.33) Also we see the effects of their disobedience through the repeating phrases lived among them and persisted in dwelling in the land (1.21, 1.27, 1.30, 1.32, 1.33, 1.35). The tragedy of their history is that Israel compromised after success. Compromise is disobedience. Therefore, we should avoid compromise and advance in holiness. In 1 Peter , Peter wrote, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also shall be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. Believer, how do you compromise? How are you not pursuing holiness? Is it in your relationship with your wife? Is it in your relationship with your kids? Is it in your relationship with God? Is it through specific attitudes? Is it through specific actions? You must realize that your compromise is actually disobedience, and your disobedience can quickly decline into worldliness.

4 III. Compromise Has Consequence (2.1-5) Lastly, compromise has consequence. In Judges 2.1-5, the author writes, Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your father. I said, I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD. A. The Declaration of the Consequence (2.1-3) Notice the declaration of the consequence in Judges In verses 1, the angel of the LORD reminded the people of the character of their Deliverer. The angel of the LORD announced, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, I will never break my covenant with you. When the people heard these words, they were confronted with the character of their Deliverer. He is gracious and faithful. He redeemed His people and would not reject them. In verse 2, the angel of the LORD revealed to the people the conduct of their behavior. The angel of the LORD declared, [A]nd you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? When the angel of the LORD declared these words, he alluded to Exodus 34: It reads, Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it became a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim. In verse 3, the angel of the LORD revealed to the people the consequence of their failure. He declared, So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. The Canaanites, which remained in the land, would ensnare the Israelites into idolatry and immorality. In Exodus 23:32-33, the LORD declares, You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you. Dale Ralph Davis writes, What began as compromise became worldliness. What seemed reasonable proved lethal. Living with Canaanites led to worshipping with Canaanites. Tolerate Baal s people and sooner or later you will bow at Baal s alter. But it seemed like a rather small matter at the time. After all, Sinai didn t smoke when Israel did not disposs the Canaanites (25-26). B. The Reaction to the Consequence (2.4-5) Notice the reaction to the sentence in In verse 4, the people react with remorse. The author writes, As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. As soon as these words echoed into their ears, they were eclipsed with sorrow. According to verse 5, the people react with a sacrifice. The author writes, And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD. They offer a trespass offering in light of their disobedience. Even though they sought atonement, they would still receive the verdict. Matthew Henry writes, This was good, and a

5 sign that the word they heard made an impression upon them. But this was not enough; they wept, but we do not find that they reformed, that they went home and destroyed all the remains of idolatry and idolaters among them. Compromise has consequence. Like Israel of old, the LORD has also declared a sentence. He has declared a sentence because of our disobedience. He hasn t declared it against us. He has declared it against His Son. Since Christ is our sacrifice and bore our sentence, we should not think lightly of compromise. Since Christ bore the terror of God s wrath upon the cross, we should pursue holiness. In 1 Peter 1:14-19, Peter writes, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also shall be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. CONCLUSION The church dwells in a pagan world. The world doesn t look to God s commands to guide their conduct. It does what is right in its own eyes. Because of where the church dwells, she is always tempted to compromise. She is always tempted to soften her view of sin. Therefore, we must avoid compromise at all cost. As we recognize the horrors of the cross, we will be energized to pursue holiness. What is your attitude toward compromise? Are you complacent? If so, remember God s wrath poured out on Mount Calvary.