This is a part of a sermon series on the book of Judges. You can watch more here.
Sermon Manuscript
You know those moments where you look at your country and wonder, “What happened?” If you are a young person, you might be thinking, “Chaos in life is normal right?” We have pandemics, president assassinations, random people running for office all the time, right?” No, this is definitely a, “What happened?” type of moment in life.
It’s possible you have found yourself in a romantic relationship where you have wondered to yourself, “What happened?” Or maybe a test in school sneaks up on you and you wonder, “What happened?” Or we see this character flaw in our life that keeps showing up in our life, so that we wonder, “What happened?”
In the book of Judges, we see this pattern in the life of Israel where everything was trending upward, everything was looking positive, and then what feels like, out of nowhere, Israel goes a completely different direction. Let’s look at Joshua 24:
Joshua 24:16-17, “16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”
Joshua is giving this great charge to the people of Israel to be faithful to the God of Scripture, and the people respond, “Far be it from us.” Isn’t that nice? At this moment the people of Israel are in a sweet place with the Lord.
Israel is encouraged in their faith. They are listening to worship music. They are sending out texts with the prayer emoji. Everything looks so good! But, then we get to our passage this morning and it’s like, “What happened?” Let’s look at Judges chapter 1, verses 1-3:
Judges 1:1-2, “1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand. 3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him.”
Chronologically this is after Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, this is after Moses and the exodus from Egypt, this is after Joshua, the book of Joshua ends, Joshua has passed away but in Judges, the next book chronologically, the opening verses describe a potential crisis. Do you see it? Who’s going to go up for us against the Canaanites? Who’s going to lead Israel?
In verses 2-3 we see Judah and Simeon, tribes of Israel, step into this role, which is a reminder of the promise from God to secure the land that will bring forth a Savior that will bless the nations.
It’s possible you see this language of Israel fighting Canaanites and it creates this confusion, “Why does God hate these people?”
It’s not about that. There is a promise in Genesis to bring forth a people (Israel) who will birth a Savior (Jesus) that will bless the nations but for that to happen there needs to be land. Write that in your notes.
The book of Judges covers a 400-year history of Israel but it isn’t about Israel. All of God’s Word is focused on a promise to bring forth a Savior that will bless the nations.
In the book of Judges, we will meet “12 Judges.” These judges aren’t legal decision makers but military leaders who struggle with cowardice, child sacrifice, murder, idolatry, lying, so that it’s clear Judges isn’t about the glory of Israel.
It’s because all of Scripture is focused on a promise to bring forth a Savior that will bless the nations. Write that down. Jump down to verses 12-15:
Judges 1:12-15, “12 And Caleb said, “The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife.” 13 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. 14 Then it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.”
When I skip verses, it isn’t to avoid difficult passages. I am trying to keep us focused on the main things and in verses 12-15 we see an example of Israel fighting against the Canaanite people, so that Caleb, of Israel, is looking for someone to lead a battle against the Canaanites, which leads us to Othniel in verse 13. You with me?
First, Othniel is someone we will meet again in chapter 3 as a judge but here Othniel is a soldier taking a special mission where Othniel is rewarded with a wife in verse 13.
It makes sense for us in 2024 to read about a father giving his daughter as a prize and think to ourselves, “Is this what God’s Word thinks about women?” Are women just prizes to give away?
But we have to remember there’s no social services in this day. There’re no police. There’s no legal system to provide support to women, so that being “given away” in marriage wouldn’t have been something that was offensive but something that was celebrated, because the daughter is given to a soldier who can keep her safe in a world of chaos.
If all my wife had to keep her safe in a world of chaos was me, she would be in a difficult place. I need locks. I need 911. I need an alarm system but in Judges chapter 1 there’s no alarm system so as a daughter, there would have been very few women that could have protected themselves, we will meet some of those women in Judges, but for the most part you would have wanted to stay with your father who has kept you alive or be given to a soldier who will keep you safe. Does that make sense?
This is why we must study God’s Word in our day. There’s going to be some “Whack-a-do” showing up in our social media feed, probably wearing a collar and a robe talking about how verse 13 is oppressive to women and take this verse completely out of context.
But look at verse 14. In verse 14 we see the daughter isn’t described as a second-class citizen with no power or influence because in verse 14 she is persuading her father for land. Do you see that?
In verse 15 she is speaking up for the blessing of land that has access to water and she is so persuasive and so valued that her father gives her the “upper springs” and the “lower springs,” which means the father gives her more than what she asked. Does that make sense?
Please know, God’s Word isn’t putting down women. Genesis 1, male and female are made in the image of God. God’s Word doesn’t say all men and women are the same, because men and women are not the same. Men and women have same values, different roles and that’s a good thing. Write that down.
Now to be fair, the purpose of our passage isn’t to speak to Women’s Rights in 2024. The purpose of the passage is to show us that the new leaders of Israel, Judah and Simeon are on board with securing the land by driving out the Canaanites. It is to convey that Israel is heading in a good direction but jump down to verses 19-21:
Judges 1:19-21, “19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak. 21 But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.”
In verse 19 we see the people of Israel go into battle, but the Canaanite people had “iron chariots.” Do you see that in verse 19?
We saw these “iron chariots” in Joshua. In the ancient world iron chariots would have been like tanks rolling over Israel on foot, therefore, in Judges 1 we see the people are clear on the promises of God, secure the land, but they are struggling to follow through on God’s Word. Does that make sense?
Israel knows the Lord is greater than those “iron chariots.” Do you remember in Joshua? It’s the Lord who parted the waters of the Jordan River. It’s the Lord who brought down the walls of Jericho. It’s the Lord who paused the rotation of the earth so that the sun appears to stand still. It’s the Lord who rains down giant hail stones.
Israel knows about the faithfulness of God, Israel knows God’s command to drive out all the Canaanites from the land but when Israel is standing face to face with these “iron chariots” they start saying to one another, “I mean, we don’t need to drive out ALL the Canaanites, right?”
Look at verse 21. Verse 21 says, “But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem.” It isn’t the sons of Benjamin couldn’t drive out the Jebusites but didn’t drive out the Jebusites. Do you see that distinction?
That distinction is important because throughout the chapter we see that same pattern. If you scan the chapter we see Manasseh did not take possession of the land in verse 27 (these are tribes of Israel.)
In verse 29 Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites. Zebulun did not. Asher did not. Naphtali did not. Dan did not. Israel knew what God’s Word called them to do but in Judges chapter 1 we start to see a pattern of compromise that trickles throughout the people of Israel.
Listen to me church family, the same pattern we see in Israel is the same pattern we see in our life today. I have noticed in our spiritual journey with the Lord we tend to start off with the Lord in these incredible moments.
You might be 8-years old or 80-years old but in the very beginning moments with the Lord everything is awesome! Isn’t it?
In the early stages our faith in the Lord is simple and clear. He is God, we aren’t and we trust Him. He’s answering prayers. He’s connecting dots. He’s showing up, so that we feel very close to God. It’s great!
Inevitably there are going to be some metaphorical “iron chariots” that show up in our life. It might be something with our career, it might be a romantic relationship, it might be in an area of obedience to God’s Word, it might be an embarrassing character flaw being exposed, but something is going to happen in our life where we have to wrestle with this same pattern we see in Israel, “Are we going to trust in the Lord or are we going to trust in ourselves?”
Like Israel of old, many times we know what God’s Word says, we know what’s honoring to the Lord, we know what we should be doing in thought, word and deed, but there is a layer in our soul that says, “We don’t have to drive out ALL the Canaanites do we?”
What’s one little short-cut here? I mean, nobody is perfect, right? Everyone’s doing it. Look at all these other areas where I am so faithful! Surely the Lord doesn’t care about this one little area.
It’s not like we see immediate consequences, right? It’s not like we have a boss or parent telling us what to do? Does it really matter what we look at online?
Does it really matter what we say about people behind their backs? Does it really matter if we fudge the numbers at work? Does it really matter if we have sex before marriage if we really love each other?
Does it really matter if we learn God’s Word? Does it really matter if we pray? Does it really matter if we shrink back about our faith in Jesus while we are at work? It’s frowned upon! It’s what God’s Word describes as compromising our faith in the Lord.
In the moment we brush it off like it’s a cute little short-cut we have figured out but in the book of Judges we are we going to see those cute little short-cuts catch up with you and they are destructive.
I remember a few years ago, I would drive through tolls in Austin and as I would get closer to the toll I would shake my steering wheel to blur the image so that I might beat the system.
Blurry picture can’t read my License Plate to charge my account and at first, I did it to be silly like I was beating the system but the Holy Spirit pressed in on my soul, “What are you doing?”
It was a cute little short-cut on the surface but at the core of my heart I was making a decision to compromise my faith in the Lord, therefore, in the same way God’s Word is pressing into our soul, “In what areas of our life are we compromising our faith in the Lord?” Look at Judges 2, verses 1-2:
Judges 2:1-2, “Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, 2 and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done?
In verse 1 we see the angel of the Lord come to Israel, press in on their soul and ask, “What happened?” Israel was called out by God to make a covenant with Him and now Israel is making a covenant with the Canaanite people, so that the Holy Spirit is pressing in on them, “What is this you have done?”
This phrase, “What is this you have done?” is the same phrase that the Lord speaks to Adam and Even in Genesis 3 except this time it isn’t forbidden fruit but forbidden people. Israel is siding with the Canaanites instead of the Lord.
Maybe it’s because the “iron chariots” were scary? Maybe it’s because Israel was tired from the book of Joshua? Maybe it’s because Israel is stubborn? We don’t know but it’s clear the people of Israel are struggling to obey the Lord. Do you see that in verse 2?
Now, it’s possible this phrasing “obey” in verse 2 might be something that rubs us the wrong way because it sounds authoritarian and our American culture bucks against anyone telling us what to do but we have to remember when we see the word “obey” in God’s Word we have to remember the One who is giving the command to “obey.”
The Lord isn’t some wicked dictator barking down orders for us to obey or else. The Lord is benevolent and kind. The Lord is full of grace. The Lord is patient and we have seen all these characteristics throughout Joshua and we will see them throughout Judges therefore, the command to “obey” isn’t to hurt us or withhold from us but the command to “obey the Lord” is to help us and bless us. Do you see the difference?
Our children are older now but when they were young we would say to our children often, “Mommy and daddy love you.” Our kids would say, “We know!”
Then I would say, “How do you know?” Typical pastor conversation with their kids right but I didn’t want my children to just hear empty words, so I would ask, “How do you know we love you?”
Typically, our kids would say, “I don’t know, I am 5, man.” Didn’t realize I was going to get a pop quiz with my bedtime story, right?
But I would say, “You know we love you because we tuck you in at night, we take care of you, we giggle with you, we feed you, clothe you, give you presents” so when we ask you to do things, it isn’t to be hurtful but it’s because we love you.
Listen to me church family, when the Lord presses in on us through His Word, through prayer, through others by pointing us to His Word it isn’t to be hurtful, controlling or bring shame.
It is because the Lord knows there are areas of our life that don’t always line up with Him. He knows the temptation to compromise. He knows those iron chariots are scary.
Therefore, in those moments when the Holy Spirit presses in on us through His Word or His people we want to rejoice in those moments because it means the Lord is working in our life! Look at verses 3-5:
Judges 2:3-5, “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.”
The whole point of the command, to drive out the Canaanites, was to protect Israel from being ensnared by the influence of the Canaanites, yet throughout Judges we see it isn’t Israel influencing the Canaanites toward the Lord but the Canaanites influencing Israel away from the Lord.
Now more than ever, when we see ourselves wanting to compromise our faith in the Lord it isn’t some cute little short-cut we’ve figured out in life. It’s a big deal. We probably won’t see lightning bolts strike us down from heaven but eventually compromise will catch up and we will see compromise is destructive.
What a challenge for us this morning through God’s Word? What an opportunity to get on our knees, literally or metaphorically, and ask the Lord, “Where are the areas of our life we are compromising our faith in the Lord?”
Where we have said to ourselves, “Well, that part of God’s Word isn’t convenient for me right now?” Or, that part of God’s Word doesn’t make sense to ME, so I will do what I want to do?” Or, that part of God’s Word doesn’t line up with where we are in our culture, so I will just ignore those areas for now?
Compromise isn’t some cute little short-cut that isn’t that big of a deal but instead compromise is destructive, so that in verse 5 we see God’s Word reminding us of the gospel. Do you see that in verse 5?
The people see their sin of compromise, they weep for their sin and they set up animal sacrifices for their sin because they knew their sin was deserving of death and this animal is going to stand in their place as a substitute for their sin.
This pattern of sacrifice takes place in Israel over and over and over, until one day John the Baptist sees Jesus coming from a distance and says, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
It isn’t an animal that needs to be sacrificed over and over, but it is God in the flesh who steps in as our substitute to stand in our place to take the death that we deserve. That’s the gospel!
When we see layers of compromise in our faith we don’t need to hide from that or ignore that or make excuses but instead God’s Word invites us to turn to Jesus in repentance, receive His forgiveness and ask for His help to walk faithfully in Him. Let’s do that together.
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
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