Who Shall Be Worshiped?

July 31, 2011

Lesson: Judges 10:6-16

Key Verse: Judges 10:16

Introduction

Again and again Israel turned to the idols for worship rather than keeping their faith in the Lord of Israel. Again and again the Lord raised up judges to bring deliverance to His people: “there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. And after him arose Jair, a Gileaadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.” (Judges 10:1-3). Lessons are hard to learn, especially when one takes his eyes off the Teacher. Israel waffles between two kingdoms, as if they can pay homage to both. The King of kings has this to say, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24).

Time of Trouble –Judges 10:6-9

How blatant can a child of God, on the one hand calling himself a Christ while with the other hand paying homage to the gods of this world. This is not foreign to us today as tyrants and other false gods are bowed down to with expectation the will not hurt us, and may even give us blessings. Israel, in the sight of the true Lord did evil: “and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him” (“gods” or “authorities” over against the Almighty’s word: “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me”). This is the nature of all sin that one places another authority, even self, in place of their Creator and Lord.

Therefore, “the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel.” The punishment was that He “sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.” These nations, by the hand of the Lord, oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight against the Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.” Though Israel was oppressed by the enemies of God, their oppression was of the Lord to the end that they would repent and He would bring them back into active fellowship with Him.

Discussion: What was the sin that brought God’s wrath upon them?

Humbled before the Lord –Judges 10:10-16

Again, “Israel cried unto the Lord, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.” Humility before God reveals that He alone is sufficient for what is needful in life. M. Henry give us this understanding: “It is necessary, in true repentance, that there be a full conviction of the utter insufficiency of all those things to help us and do us any kindness which we have idolized and set upon the throne in our hearts in competition with God. We must be convinced that the pleasures of sense on which we have doted cannot be our satisfaction, nor the wealth of the world which we have coveted be our portion, that we cannot be happy or easy any where but in God.”

The Lord reminds the children of Israel of what they already knew, but willfully forgot, that they were His children: “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” We thought our sin, convicted that this or that would bring us blessings. If we chose to serve other gods, ought not then these gods to grant us the grace and love we need. We take too lightly our choices, as if God should understand and put up with them. Do we have to hear him say to us, “Go”, before we will understand the gravity of our sin?

The children of Israel cried again, “We have sinned: so thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.” Even a continued punishment by the hand of the Lord is better than that of the world’s gods, if but we would be kept in the hands of our Lord. Knowing that the depth of sin kept them from their Deliverer, the people turned in repentance and followed it with the grace afforded them by the Lord: “And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved (His soul mourned for His people) for the misery of Israel.” The Lord had never left His people, they had left Him. We may act in sin as if it was our choice, but the Lord will not leave us without a pathway of repentance and faith to bring us back into active fellowship with Him. His people willfully sin against God. However, be taught in the time of temptation that “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:13-14).

May we have the Spirit of hope as we face times of evil, as did Paul: “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (2 Tim. 4:17-18).

Discussion: How and why does God bring us back to Him when we sin?

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2011 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.

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