Things Can Get Worse...

Judges 19: 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.”25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light. 27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home

The further we get into Judges, the darker things got. The unbelievable was going on: a Levite who was supposed to be a servant of God had a concubine; there was a lack of hospitality, which was supposed to be a characteristic of God's people; things looked a lot like Sodom and Gomorrah all over again. And if you read on, things got worse.  We are looking at a culture falling apart, and it's almost like looking in a mirror.  How much worse can things get?

How Far Will You Go?

 Judges 18:23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home. 27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

A couple of times in this chapter we are reminded that it was a time when everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes.  The tribe of Dan was still wandering around trying to settle down. They finally found a place they wanted to settle, which they took from a quiet, unsuspecting people. They also took their own priest with their own ephod with their own idol and set up their own place of worship. They were not keeping with the original plan of the unity of Israel and not acting like a people for his name. How far will you go to get what you want?

Fighting for What Really Matters

Judges 16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 

Samson had quite a wild life.  Set apart and called by God to deliver His people from the Philistines, Samson usually made it all about him. His great feats were often driven by his personal desires and punishing those who offended him.  But now that he had forfeited his freedom and lost his sight, all he could hear were the jeers of his enemies against God and for their false God. Samson had this one last chance to be the deliverer God had always intended. As he pushed the pillars, the walls came tumbling down, and the chronicler concludes: So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. When you are fighting for what really matters - the Glory of God, you can really make a difference.

Listen to the Words...

 Judges 11:26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

One of the most wicked peoples whom God wanted driven out of the promised land were the Ammonites. They, like several other peoples decided now was the time to strike against Israel, while they were floundering in their mission to take the land.  God sent a message through Jephthah to back off, but the Ammonites would not listen.  Jephthah then proceeded to make a rash vow to God if He would give him the victory over them. God did. God kept his word and made Jephthah keep his. Both the king of Ammon and Jephthah needed to listen to the works coming out of his mouth.

The History You Want to Forget

 Judges 9:26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

Judges 9 contains a lesser-known account of the self-proclaimed king Abimelech. It is a twisted account of self-promotion, mass murder, failed revolt, and especially, the infiltration of idolatry.  It is a fitting account to follow what we observed in Gideon's rule at the end of yesterday's study. Because of the events of this chapter, the city of Shechem became a by-word for generations.  This chapter shows how far people can stray when they turn from God to idols and worldly leaders. May we not contribute to a history we regret.

Weak Spot

Judges 8:24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 

We have already seen that Gideon was one of those hesitant leaders called by God, yet he went ahead and obeyed and serves Him as a judge over Israel.  He became a hero. But God does not hold back from showing and sharing the shortcomings of His leaders. Gideon saw this as his "golden" opportunity. Notice that his act became an idol to the people and a trap for Gideon and his descendants. It came back to haunt them.  Beware the dangers of short-lived success.  Often dreams come true become nightmares for all.  They can bring out the worst in any man. 

Taking a Stand! Hesitantly.

 

Judges 6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon is an interesting study. He wanted to do something great for God, but he wasn't always so sure. He "put out the fleece" (literally) and questioned his call. He obeyed God no matter what others believed (as long as they were not watching) and showed other signs of hesitation.  But take a stand he did, and he not only made a difference; he left a legacy. To take a stand you do not need to be loud, obnoxious and brash; you don't even need a lot of courage. You just need to take steps of faith and obedience when God speaks. Almost every great leader did hesitate at first (and often more than once.) What stand will you take today?