The Spiritual Degeneration of Israel
The Book of Judges tells of the decline in godliness that the nation of Israel experienced before the kings were established. Back in the book of Joshua, everything had been going well; they had been destroying the people of Canaan as God had said. So what happened, so that by chapter 21 things had gotten so evil? Study with me, as we look at chapter two of the book of Judges, and see what they did, or didn’t do, which ultimately led to their downfall.
First, let’s look at verse ten of chapter two. “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work which He had done for Israel.” These people did not know the Lord. Oh, I’m sure they knew “of” Him, but they didn’t really know Him. For example, I can say I know the President, but I really haven’t ever met him, talked with him, and gotten to know him. This is what their situation was like.
So, whose fault was it that they didn’t know? Well, it was partially their fault, but mostly it was the fault of the previous generation. It was up to them to teach their children, and that was not done. Now, it could have been that they did teach them, and they just didn’t listen, but it seems to me that this would be less likely.
Today, we can learn from this just how important it is to teach our children, as soon as possible about God and His Word, not just by our words, but by our example, too. It is also the work of the church to teach, but first and foremost, it must begin in the home.
Now let’s look at verses 11 through 15. Here is described the cycle of Judges. First they sin. Then the Lord sells them into the hands of their enemies. Then they cry out to the Lord for deliverance. The Lord raises up a judge to deliver them. Then they sin, and the list starts over. On and on this went for years and years. And it says that with every generation it got worse!
In Palm 1:1-2 we read, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” By the verses in Judges two, we see that they were doing the exact opposite of this man. And since the man in Psalms was blessed, so the Israelites were not blessed.
One of their big problems can be seen in Judges 3:6. “And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.” By intermarrying with the people of Canaan, and thus serving their gods, they fell away. We can see from this example how important it is to marry those that are christians.
Next, let’s read verses 16-19. In these verses we see that the people of Israel chose to without the longsuffering of God. He freely offered to love them and protect them, if they would only obey Him. Instead they chose to take their own path. But then, if they got themselves in trouble, the figured they could just cry out to God, and He would deliver them. Well, we see later in chapter 10 that God tells them to cry out to the gods they have chosen. Mockingly He says that surly they will deliver them.
From this we can learn how important it is for us to realize the many blessings He has given us. We must never take them for granted.
Last, let’s look at verses 20-23. The Lord is going to leave those nations which are left, in order to test Israel. Later in chapter three, we see, particularly in verse six, that they failed this test. Folly shattered their future.
We must be careful that we do not fall into the mistakes the Israelites did, lest we too shatter both our future, and that of our children.
