DANGER! WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE REFUSES TO OBEY HIS WORD (JUDGES 2 :11,12)

Dear Members in Christ,

Danger! When God’s people refuses to obey His Word (Judges 2 :11,12)

One important lesson from the Bible, especially the Old Testament is the warning to Christians not to play the fool when it comes to obeying God’s Word. In the course of the history of God’s chosen people, we read in the Bible that they are often disobedient and they fall into sin. This lesson is the more apparent when we read the book of Judges.  

“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 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.” Judges 2:11,12

The people of God in the times of the Judges did evil and sinned against God. This cycle of sin and fall was seen to be cyclical. When God chastised them, they cried out and God graciously delivered them. Sometimes Christians can fall into the same trap and be entangled with the world.

The passage from the Bible tells us how the Israelites backslided so quickly. The text begins by saying the children of Israel “did evil in the sight of the LORD.” (Judges 2:11). When the Israelites received the commandments from God at mount Sinai, the first and second commandment prohibits the worship of idols. The people of God had neglected God’s Word. Ignoring God’s Word leads to sin and its disastrous consequences. This article explores the mistakes the people had made, leading to the judgement of God coming upon them.

A. The compromise – dwelling with and intermarriage with the Cannanites

One of the very descriptions in the book of Judges which points to the pitiful condition of the people was their compromise in allowing the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan to dwell in the land. The Bible describes this simply as, “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites.” (Judges 3:5). A simple and concise statement which speaks so loudly about their disobedience. They had forgotten God’s commandment to displace the idolators.

“And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.” Deuteronomy 7:2,3

The Israelites had somehow lost their collective memory of their forefathers who had fallen in the wilderness due to their disobedience and the neglect of the Word of God. So, their social and community conduct reflected this neglect. “And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.” (Judges 3:6). This act of intermarrying the Canaanites also means worshipping their idol gods (cf. Judges 3:6). God’s people can fall into sin despite the warning of God’s Word, how quickly they forget God’s Word and fall into sin!

Dearly beloved, let us not have a short-lived memory for Bible teachings. Let us be cautioned against ignoring the many biblical injunctions to grow and strengthen our spiritual lives. Even today, there are many Bible teachings which we find Christians often fail to obey e.g. worship of mammon, unequal yoke, spiritual coldness, unloving and unkind behavior etc. Let us learn to practice and live out the Word of God in our lives. 

B. It was God’s test  – to prove that there is no alternative to obeying God’s Word

For the people of God, the ancient Israelites, the consequence of their acts of disobedience were not apparent in the very beginning. Our God is gracious and longsuffering. God does not always act immediately when His children sin against Him. In the case of the ancient Israelites, God allowed His people to continue dwelling with the Canaanites to test them, a word which implies a means to try and to afflict them. We read, “Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan.” (Judges 3:1). It will become a painful test for His people.

“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.  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.” Judges 2:3, 4

As we read further into the Book of Judges, we find that the tribes of Canaan will prove to be a painful lesson for the Israelites. Dearly beloved, let us not tempt God by testing Him with compromise and disobedience. Let us not take God’s Word lightly or contemptuously. The history of God’s people shows us that neglecting to obey God’s Word has serious consequences. May God help us and grant us wisdom not to repeat the mistakes of the ancient Israelites. Amen.      

In His Service,
Rev. Lim Seh Beng, Pastor