Judges 2
Judges 2:1-9:
And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.
6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.
6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
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Judges 2:10:
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” |
God had freed Israel from Egyptian slavery. They were on their way to the promised land. The first generation of slaves didn’t make it there because of their unbelief and disobedience. They didn’t appreciate anything God did for them. He then waited for a second generation to rise-up. One who would believe in him and do what he asked them to do.
They spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, then had to cross the Jordan River which was at flood stage, a terrible time to try to cross the river, but against reason, the people were determined to follow God’s will. The priests stepped into the water. Then suddenly the tremendous flow stopped up-river and they were able to cross on dry land. Every Israelite crossed the river and God then instructed Joshua to have twelve men gather twelve stones from the middle of the river. When they were on the other side, the stones were placed as a monument for generations of people so they would know what God had done. Joshua told the people to tell the story of what had happened there to their children, grandchildren and their children. The stones were a memorial to the people of Israel forever. The reason the generation after the generation that crossed the Jordan never knew about it, was because their parents never told them. It stopped with that generation. The story was never passed down and it died with them. |
The Scriptures make clear that all true Christians have several things in common. Whenever the Church forgets this, the results are disastrous. Vague or confused ideas about conversion begin to spread, and the Church loses her ability to discern between the precious and the vile (Jeremiah 15:19). A generation arises that does not know the Lord, nor yet the works which He has done for Israel (Judges 2:10). During such a time, true converts – sincere but poorly taught – struggle to obtain assurance that they are truly born again. At the same time, false conversions begin to multiply. --Free Presbyterian Magazine; What do all true Christians have in common? February 2021
"“If a revival came to the business world, it would quickly cross all denomination lines and spread around the world. If revival comes to America, it will come through the market place.” ”
-Richard Blackaby: president of Blackaby Ministries International
-March 20, 2018
-Richard Blackaby: president of Blackaby Ministries International
-March 20, 2018
Gideon was conditioned by his own fear.
He was afraid of the enemy, but the angel still referred to him as “mighty warrior.”
These verses could seem comic and ironic if the reader does not know the plot twist. Following God’s will, Gideon ended up defeating the Midianites leading a 300-men army. These verses could seem comic and ironic if the reader does not know the plot twist. Following God’s will, Gideon ended up defeating the Midianites leading a 300-men army
“Of course, he was not a valiant warrior at that point, but he became one. I realized that whenever God looks at people, He sees what they could be. God was telling Gideon that he was meant to be a mighty warrior,” Blackaby explained.
“When God looks at you, he doesn’t see your past,” he continued. “He doesn’t see the mistakes you have made. When God looks at you, He sees the person he wants you to be.”
He was afraid of the enemy, but the angel still referred to him as “mighty warrior.”
These verses could seem comic and ironic if the reader does not know the plot twist. Following God’s will, Gideon ended up defeating the Midianites leading a 300-men army. These verses could seem comic and ironic if the reader does not know the plot twist. Following God’s will, Gideon ended up defeating the Midianites leading a 300-men army
“Of course, he was not a valiant warrior at that point, but he became one. I realized that whenever God looks at people, He sees what they could be. God was telling Gideon that he was meant to be a mighty warrior,” Blackaby explained.
“When God looks at you, he doesn’t see your past,” he continued. “He doesn’t see the mistakes you have made. When God looks at you, He sees the person he wants you to be.”
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Judges 6:25-26:
Now on the same night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down |
One of the first tasks given to Gideon by the Angel of the Lord was to tear down his own father’s altar to Baal and to use the wood from the Asherah that was beside it as firewood for a burnt offering.
I have always found this to be rather interesting especially in light of the fact that in his first encounter with the Angel of the Lord, Gideon was able to reference great and mighty acts of Yahweh which he had heard from the fathers among whom would have been his own father: Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” (Jdg 6:13) How did Gideon hear about this? Where did this history come from? Would it not come from his own father? It is truly enlightening as to the idolatrous nature of man to behold the ease by which he can set the holy and the profane side-by-side, on equal footing, without any sense of contradiction. The fathers passed down stories of how Yahweh proved that the gods of Egypt were not gods only to turn and bow the knee once again to those things which are also by nature not gods. I contemplate this passage from time to time to remind myself that it is very easy to couch our language with religious terms, to cite with precision Scripture, confessions, doctrinal statements, and the like and yet at root be an idolater. I do not negate the importance of such precision, only to remember that theological precision is not antidote to idolatry if the theological belief is not one that is held in faith and does not promote reverence. True theology melts the heart, for it is in sound theology where one meets his Lord and King. I also remind myself that if those who hold to sound theology can nevertheless have an idolatrous heart, how much more so will those be who have unsound doctrine as their guiding light? It is the nature of man to be a lover of self, and to desire his own good and pleasure above God. --To Him Be The Glory |
God finds Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress, because he was afraid of the Midianites, and greets this fearful man with one of the most ironic greetings in the Bible: "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor." Gideon essentially says, "Well, if you're with us, why is all this bad stuff happening?" God responds, "I have chosen you to say Israel from the Midianites." Gideon says, "You have to have the wrong address. I am from the weakest clan in Israel, and I am the weakest person in my father's house. You can't really mean me." And God said, "I will be with you."
God's response to Gideon's fear of Gideon is very helpful. He didn't work to pump up his self-confidence. He didn't work to help Gideon see that he brought more to the table than he thought. Gideon's problem was not first that he feared his inadequacies. His problem was awe. Gideon failed to fear God in the sense of "God is with me, and he is able." So Gideon was terrified at the thought of leading Israel anywhere. --Paul Tripp
God's response to Gideon's fear of Gideon is very helpful. He didn't work to pump up his self-confidence. He didn't work to help Gideon see that he brought more to the table than he thought. Gideon's problem was not first that he feared his inadequacies. His problem was awe. Gideon failed to fear God in the sense of "God is with me, and he is able." So Gideon was terrified at the thought of leading Israel anywhere. --Paul Tripp