3. Staying on Higher Ground: When “Freedom” Was Anarchy

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Hymns: 314 Nearer, Still Nearer 385 May the Mind of Christ, My Saviour 389 Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord

Judges 2

1 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. 8And 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. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. (Jdg. 2:1-15 KJV)

When ‘Freedom’ was Anarchy

(Judges 2:1-15)

“…and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel….the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD…they forsook the LORD of their fathers…and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.” (Judges 2:10-12)

OUTLINE

  • Examining Israel’s Failure
  • Disobedience and Its Consequences 

INTRODUCTION

When the works of God is not rehearsed for the next generation, the word of God is not taught and exemplified for the next generation, there will arise a new generation who is oblivious of her spiritual heritage and inheritance…the conclusion is that every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

Joshua and the elders who outlived Joshua were dead and buried. The legacy they left behind were clean forgotten by the new generation. What happened? 

  • Examining Israel’s Failure

Firstly, their forefathers failed to obey the doctrine of biblical separation both personal as an individual and ecclesiastical separation as a people. 

  • They were to make no alliance with the inhabitants of the land. (Judges 2:2a)
  • They are to destroy all the altars of idolatrous worship for the sake of their purity. (Judges 2:2b)

“…but ye have not obeyed my voice…” (Judges 2:2) was the rebuke that came through the angel of the LORD.

Secondly, “they did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim and forsook the LORD God of their fathers…and followed after other gods…of the people that were round about them and bowed themselves down to them, and provoked the LORD to anger….They forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth” (Judges 2:11-13) 

We are exhorted to be holy because God is holy. The tribes of Israel failed to destroy the idolatrous nations as instructed by the LORD (Judges 2:2). The idolatrous influences of the remnant nations were too overwhelming for the weak faith of this new generation. The failure to obey God’s instructions fully results in utter failure in just one generation. How difficult it is to build and how easy it is to destroy! 

One little disobedience leads to another. When we allow that one “little” sin to fester in our heart, the disease spreads and infects destroying the body

These are the evidences of Israel’s downfall which we must learn so that we do not make the same mistakes.

(a) “…but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.” (Judges 1:19) Did God not promise to help them against their enemies? “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 20:1) Why were they not standing up by faith against their enemies, in the strength of the LORD?

(b) “The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.” (Judges 1:21)

(c) “they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.” (Judges 1:25)

(d) “Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of ….but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

(e) “Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites…” (Judges 1:29)

(f) “Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites…but the Canaanites dwelt among them.” (Judges 1:30)

(g) “Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants…for they did not drive them out.” (Judges 1:31-32)

(h) “Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants…but dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land…” (Judges 1:33)

(i) “…the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain…But the Amorites would dwell in …so that they became tributaries” (Judges 1:34)

“A holy life is not ascetic, or gloomy, or solitary life, but a life regulated by divine truth and faithful in Christian duty. It is living above the world while we are still in it” observes a conservative Christian pastor. 

“Holiness is not exemption from conflict, but victory through conflict” – Israel failed to fight the good fight of faith against sinful idolatry and they paid dearly with their wrecked lives.

(2)Disobedience and Its Consequences 

Why does God want the inhabitants to be driven out so completely? 

The reason is seen in their wicked worship system. They practice a demonic and licentious worship system. Baal worship was a combination of sexual activity and human sacrifice. The inhabitants of that area of the world were farmers and herdsmen. Their income and livelihood were tied to the land, whether they were Canaanites or Israelites. So, the most important thing to all people was fertility. Baal means lord and Baalim means lords. Baal was the god of storm and the god of fertility. He was often pictured riding on a bull, one of the Canaanite symbols of fertility. One way in which Canaanites sought to pacify Baal was to offer their children as sacrifices. The children were to be offered without any display of emotions otherwise the sacrifice was worthless. Ashtoreth was the Canaanite goddess of regeneration and fertility. She was also considered as a goddess of war. Temple prostitution was a widespread practice and one that is thoroughly degrading. Also, intermarriages also led to former recognition of the gods and gradual infiltration of pagan ideas into the community of Israel.  

What was the message of the Angel of the LORD from Gilgal to Bochim?

Gilgal was Israel’s first camping place after crossing the Jordan. Here they erected two memorial stones taken from the bed of Jordan (Joshua 4:20), circumcised the males and kept the Passover. Gilgal means “rolled away” (Joshua 5:1-9), the act of circumcision symbolized the removal of the reproach from the people of Israel. Israel was a special people set apart by God as His living witnesses on earth, set apart unto holiness.

Bochim means “weeping” for the Angel of the LORD announced God’s chastisement for their selective obedience. This is a place of failure and defeat. Be warned that selective or incomplete obedience is disobedience in the sight of God. The Israelites in the time of the Judges paid heavily for their disobedience. Says Noah Quarshie, “It is the old story of “marrying a drunkard to reform him,” Israel was united with the Canaanite: and degenerated to the level of the worship of lust practiced by the heathen.”   

As a child of God, we have been freed from the bondage of sin. We are free not to sin. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us to help us to choose not to sin guided by the Word of God. However, when we abuse this freedom and choose to live an unrestrained life, our life degenerates into a state of anarchy or chaos. 

What are the consequences of disobedience?

The consequence of their disobedience was given by the angel of the LORD in Judges 2:3 “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.

“Sin pays, it pays in remorse, regret, and failure.” The children of Israel “lifted up their voices and wept” (Judges 2:4) upon receiving the pronouncement of God’s judgment upon them. It results in much sorrow!

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and safety is in absolute separation from even the appearance of evil. 

The Word of God is given to us to protect our souls from the wickedness of this world. It is like the traffic rules. As a motorist, observing traffic rules means stopping when the light turned amber and finally red to allow pedestrians to cross. The law protects the users. The pedestrian, therefore, crosses the road in safety. Similarly, when we fail to avoid the pitfalls of life taught to us in the Scriptures, we are as it was blown up by the mines in the minefield of this wicked world like in a war zone, perhaps a hand or a leg is blown off, causing a lifetime of disability and regret!

“Holiness is not the inability to sin, but ability not to sin.” The freedom that we have as born-again Christians is within the boundaries of God’s Word. The Word of God sets the boundary for our protection. Just like our parents set the curfew hours that we are not to come home after a certain time. When we obey, we are protected. When we disobey, we expose ourselves to the dangers of this wicked world, waiting to devour our very souls. Remember what the LORD said to Israel before they entered the Promised Land. Israel was exhorted to obey God’s laws for this is their wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations.  

Is it possible to be in the world and not of the world? The only way is in practising practical biblical separation. Separation unto holiness! Our study shows that it is not possible to co-exist with the evil world, it will devour us. The only remedy is in separating ourselves from these evil influences. Hence there is a need to build up a core group of like-minded friends of the same faith, to encourage one another and for mentors and friends of accountability whom you can go to for support/guidance when you are being tempted to fall away. 

The world out there is an evil world. We are living today in the last hours of history before the return of our Lord and Saviour. As in the days of Noah, unbelief was prevalent throughout the world. Only his own family was spared the destruction of the deluge of the global flood when they hid in the ark that they laboured to prepare in the years before the flood came. This world is reserved for judgment by fire. The only safety in Jesus, only Jesus is able to save us. 

My Resolve is to separate from sin unto holiness. 

(1) Cultivating a habit of mind of loving what God loves and hating what God hates and measuring everything in this world by the standard of God’s Word.

(2) Shun every known sin and to keep every known commandment.

(3) A holy child of God will follow after temperance and self-denial, labouring to crucify his flesh with his affections and lusts, curb his passions, restrain his carnal inclinations, lest at any time they break loose.

(4) Study and meditate, understand and apply God’s Word in my life. 

CONCLUSION

May the Lord strengthen His people with the resolve to follow Him. Amen.