Amnesia Produces Apostasy

As we get into our text this evening from Judges chapter 2, verses 6. through chapter three, verse six. Uh remember we did part one, Judges 101.

Now we are in 102. Before we read From God's holy and inerrant word, let's ask him to bless it this evening. Oh Lord, you're not. Your name is majestic and wonderful. You have seen fit to give us this wonderful book.

We thank you for the reproof. The correction, the words of mercy and grace. And we thank you that you have called us deeper into yourself. We pray as we study the book of Judges this evening. That we would continue to see Christ from these pages.

We know that Oftentimes In this world. We are tempted. to leave your hand. Our hearts are prone to wander. Father, we pray that your word would be a guiding spirit to us.

To keep us near to you. May we know your voice. when we hear it. We pray all this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Judges chapter 2, starting in verse 6 through chapter 3, verse 6. When Joshua dismissed the people, The people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that. the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years.

They buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timneth Harris, in the hill country of Ephraim. north of the mountain of Gosh. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them, who did not know the LORD or the work he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals.

They abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed down to them, and they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And he gave him over to plunderers who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand. They're enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm.

As the Lord had warned. As the Lord had sworn to them. They were in terrible distress. Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they hoard after other gods and bow down to them.

They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord. They did not do so. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and He saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning. because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

But whenever the judge died, they turned back, and were more corrupt than their fathers. going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And he said, Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died. In order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did or not.

So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Now these are the nations that the Lord left to test Israel by them. That is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war. to teach war to those who had not known it before. These are the nations, the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Balhermon as far as Lebo Hamoth.

They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord. which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives. and their own daughters they gave to their sons And they serve their gods. This is the word of the Lord.

Sobering line to end on. As we contemplate this text, I want us to think about our own life for a moment. Right, think about um How we understand information in this life. I think we find that things become more understandable as we experience. time.

Right? As we get older, We become wiser in many ways. We learn more. We know how to do things. Right?

When we start driving for the first time, There's a whole host of things to worry about. If you're in that stage right now where you're, I see, oh, I see some head shaking over there. Training to become a good driver is very difficult. But it's also uh an exciting time. But something you've always heard about, say, like a gas gauge.

Doesn't really become that important until it's empty. And you're on the side of the road. You now value that gas gauge a little more.

Now, someone can tell you how to do something. Like, say, put a piece of furniture together, but it's not until you do it yourself that you realize just how annoying it is to put furniture together.

Now, see, this is important because the message of the Bible is plain enough. That we can understand most of it at face value, sure.

Now there are some things when we read this text that are not known by us. There are things that commentators fight over. But for the most part, the Bible is straightforward.

Now, I have to say, after becoming a father, I have a new understanding for the book of Judges.

Now, as by way of example, I remember last year I was preaching a sermon, and one of my children started singing Jesus Loves Me in the middle of it. It's just awesome. Very distracting. No one could concentrate, but it was beautiful, right?

However, that same child, who makes her father proud, also need constant direction in completing the most basic of tasks.

Now I know what you're thinking. That's how it's supposed to go with children. Yeah.

However I imagine the father looking down at his children, many of us far older than two. And wondering why we need constant direction in how to cease from sin.

Now, last week we went through Judges 101, I called it, which highlighted the first introduction to the book of Judges. We saw some tribes succeed, kind of. And then, when the rest of the tribes fail at doing what God told them to do, to take the land, they failed. And we did see the angel of the Lord walk from Gilgal to Boachim. To accuse Israel.

And then we did see repentance at the end. We ended on a good note.

Now, remember, last week's text was also not linear history, but an overarching introduction. As we look at today's text, we'll see that same thing. Joshua died a long time ago, but our text is bringing that back for us to see. We're going to revisit Joshua's narrative, but then we're going to get some different details about what's going on in Israel during the Judges' era.

Now, the theme of our text this evening is that covenant people must remember their covenant, God.

Now we're going to talk through the word remember tonight because it's used in a special way. It's not that we can just forget God entirely. But rather, that we have to fight this internal desire to not follow God. We must fight it.

Now the way we do this is through prayer and steadfast reliance. And the Holy Spirit. And by making daily choices to serve our God, and rather serve the world.

Now we'll see our theme in four areas of our text. Israel's amnesia. Faithless people. A faithless a faithful God. in Israel's apostasy.

You see, Israel's inability to submit and serve their God faithfully will lead to their apostasy. All while God proves Himself not only faithful, but merciful beyond all measure.

Now As we get into our text tonight and we Begin our first section here. I want to talk. about loved ones. You know, when when we lose a loved one, It doesn't take long for us to think about all the ways that person impacted us. Often When we lose loved ones, it can be very difficult for us.

Even though we are Christians and we are not people that mourn without hope, we have hope. the resurrection, but it's still hard when we lose someone close to us.

Now, in my office, I keep a bottle of sparkling grape juice. Uh and my on my desk is a memento of my grandfather.

Now he he thought sparkling grape juice was fancy. and uh he enjoyed it at meals when the family was together. But as a young kid, and even until the last time I saw him years ago, he would get out these plastic wine glasses and fill them with bubbly, as he called it. and then proceed to teach me how to live as a man of God in a weary world. He came into my life when I was about five, and he went to be of the Lord when I was 29.

Without fail, he'd have those same plastic wine glasses ready to go for a time of conversation with his grandson. Over twenty years of teaching that I hope never leaves my brain.

Now, it isn't hard to remember the influence he had on me, and yet my children will never know who he was, except through stories and pictures.

Now, Lord willing, his teaching lives on through me, and may God give me the ability to pass on godly wisdom to my children. This is important because Joshua also left a legacy worth passing on.

Now our text begins with a rehearsing of of Joshua 24 verses 29 to 31. If you read that text from Joshua's narrative, you'll see it's almost exactly the same. Joshua labors faithfully unto death, and those who knew him labored well for their God. But they didn't pass on the instructions and the legacy of Joshua. to their kids.

That's the difference between the two accounts. Verse 10. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Now, all that generation that knew Joshua, that had seen the Lord do mighty works in front of their eyes, they died. The next generation did not know the Lord.

Now, this doesn't mean that the new generation of Israel didn't know about the God of their fathers. But God was just that to them. the God of their fathers. They probably still did all the formal worship stuff. They probably still sacrificed.

They probably still did the Passover or all the other holidays, or maybe they didn't. We don't know. But we do know. is that they did not faithfully serve the God of Israel.

Now it's easy to give the older generation of Israel a hard time here. The first problem is that they did not do enough to teach the next generation. About they're gone And why is it imperative to worship him?

However, the text reminds us that it is not only a lack of proper teaching on the next generation, on the previous generation. but also a lack of desire. from the next generation. They do not have a desire to be holy.

Now we see this. We, the saints of the church, need to do the work in training the next generation.

However. It doesn't guarantee that some of the next generation won't go astray. At some point, they need to overcome our inability to be perfect examples and lay hold of their faith on their own. Joshua lived long, 110 years. He's really old.

Moses lived 120 years, which is even older. These are signs of great blessing at this time because it means they have more years to pass on their wisdom. The problem that happens is when the next generation arose, and suddenly they had amnesia about how to serve God faithfully. Yeah.

This is a gospel amnesia that produces idolatry and makes them blind to the truth of God's faithfulness. But As one commentator put it, excellently. He said, it is the blindness caused by sin. that makes us think the Lord has forsaken us. When in our sin we have forsaken the Lord.

You see, the people willingly choose to serve the gods around them. rather than be faithful to their first love. Yeah.

And there's something there's something else here though. Last week, we talked about the irony in Israel making slaves out of their enemies who would rise up and overthrow them. Because Israel was in Egypt in bondage, and they rose up against Egypt. See, we see the same thing here. See Exodus 1.8 Exodus 1.8 tells us that a time came in Egypt when a new king arose who did not know Joseph.

Now, what Pharaoh could forget the work of Joseph in saving Egypt in a mighty way? No, no, no. This means a Pharaoh arose who had no regard for Joseph. Thus, a generation arises that has no regard for Israel or for the God of Israel. They have an amnesia of sorts.

which leads them to unfaithfulness. See, unfaithfulness is found in Israel because they are not. Only allow their eyes to linger on the sinful practices of Canaan. But then they chose to en engage in the sinful practices of Canaan.

Now, there is a predictable pattern to sin. It begins with seeing the thing of temptation. And the enemy then encourages us to focus on that thing. And think it could be good for us. The enemy then stirs up a desire for that thing.

And then finally, the enemy pokes us to reach out. And take it. Does that sound familiar? It's Genesis 1 through 3. C Desire Take.

The people of Israel see the practices of the Canaanites. They kind of desire the practices of the Canaanites. That kind of looks like fun. Then they engage in the practice of the Canaanites. And then we get this in verses 11 through 13.

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD their God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals.

and the ashtaroth. Sure. Can you see the repetition there? The author repeats himself in this way to show you just how severe this problem is.

Now, you may not know this, and that's okay. Baal. is a male god. Ashtaroth is a female god. Small G.

Together they are small g gods of fertility.

Now they are of course not the one true God, capital G, of Israel. Our God is one. Serving these gods is a problem for Israel because God, Big G God, is the one who brings forth children. and an abundance of crops, not these false gods. But Israel is tempted to these gods.

Because the way one worshipped these gods... is by mimicking the gods coming together to produce life. The only way to get these gods to act and give you a great blessing. was to get them to come together as one flesh. Thus people would go to the shrines and act out their worship.

Now, this is fundamentally different from how our God acts. Read Genesis 1. Yahweh has no wife. He has no counterpart that he is wedded to. Relations between a man and a woman is a human thing.

Thus, the Canaanites believe that their gods must act like humans do. This continues throughout all of history, even to the time of Paul's day. with the the Greek pantheon of gods, even even our day. Over the course of all time, Man makes a god in his image. You see, our God makes us in His image.

And decrees that we are not to make images of him, because he cannot be comprehended with human hands or human minds. The Canaanites believed they had to coerce their God to act. Our God acts because he chooses to. Not because of anything we could do to please him. That's what makes him truly God.

He doesn't need us. We need him. But Israel persisted.

So what does God do? He gives them over to plunderers who harm them. and enslave them. I don't like that. I read that and I don't like that at all.

But God does what? He he intentionally ordains the suffering of his people? He gives them into the hands of their enemies. Their slaves rise up and overthrow them. Whenever Israel marches out to battle, the hand of the Lord is against them, putting them in terrible distress and defeat.

If our God is against us, then who could be for us? But even in this See how God points forward to the need for a rescuer. We need a hero that can set things right, and that hero is Christ. See, when Christ comes in the flesh and does the work to ransom our souls back to God. We don't hear the crying out of, if our God is against us, then who can be for us?

No, instead, we hear the words of Paul reminding us: if our God is for us, then who could be against us? You see, God putting his hand against his people means that God is still there. God has not abandoned them. He is punishing them and testing them, sure, but he has not abandoned them. Israel had broken their covenant with God, and does God let them out of their covenantal obligations?

Not at all. See, this is the major miracle of the Bible: that the God who rightly casts us down into the dirt would stoop to then lift us up. God has not abandoned Israel. They are his chosen people, not because of anything they could do. But because of God's great mercy.

Because our God is faithful. And our God is going to raise up deliverers to save his people. Verse 16, and the Lord raised up judges who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

Now, friends, if you leave a classroom of first graders unattended, you'll see the need for a deliverer to come. And not the kids of our church, of course. No. And the teacher comes back in the room, and hopefully, the kids are back on their best behavior, right? If a teacher is smart, and maybe plod their feet a little bit as they're getting close to the door.

Definitely works at bedtime. See, God loves his treasured people so much that he is going to send them heroic men to step up and lead them to victory. You see where he put his hand against Israel's success previously? The Lord is going to raise up judges. and his hand will be with them.

Verse 18. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge. And he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning. Because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

The Lord was moved to pity by their groaning. This is an amazing statement.

However, we must remember that our Bible and our catechisms remind us. That our God is not prone to emotional swings, and He cannot be enticed to act by our actions. See, the author here is trying to put what is happening with God into human terms. It is because of God's love for his people that he acts. But his actions were actually decreed from before the foundations of the earth were laid.

This was the plan all along. I'm going to bring us to 1 Peter because 1 Peter is one of the most important verses in all the epistles. 1 Peter 12. When I preached in 1 Peter months ago, we highlighted this verse. It's very important.

1 Peter 12. Make it your life first. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you. In the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven. things into which angels long To look.

See, the plan for the judges' cycle, or the judges' spiral, as we called it. was the plan all along. Why? For you. All of the words in the Bible are for you, that you would see the great connection to Christ.

See, the ups and the downs of the Judges' era is for you that you would see. You cannot hope to rescue yourself from sin. If Israel couldn't do it, there's no way you could do it. Only a faithful God can rescue us. This is proven.

If we read the verses around verse 16 and 18, let's look at verses 17 and 19. Yet they did not listen to their judges. for they hoard after other gods and bow down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. Whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers.

going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

See, God gave you this account so that you would see that there is no hope. Apart from him. If our God is against us, then who cares who's for us?

However, Because he is a faithful God. Not only is he for us, but he's going to give us a lamb without blemish. whose blood would mark the doorposts of our hearts. Not because of who we are or what we could do. But because we are God's treasured possession.

Verse 18 reminds us that the Lord is the true agent of deliverance, not the judge He raises up. Lest you, Israel, would be tempted to trust in the power of man. It is the power of God that rescues you. You see, God aims to teach us through this account. That while the cost is high, And the world will deride you.

Being a faithful follower is what God calls his people to do. Thus We must learn from Israel's apostasy.

Now we've been told that Israel has been serving other gods.

However, there is a tone shift. when we hit verse 20.

Now if you've ever started a fire, Without an accelerant like a gasoline or lighter fluid or a fire starter brick. You'll know that it's not a fast process. First you grab some sticks and some dry leaves, right? They call that kindling. And you get that going, and you fan the flame to add oxygen, but not too much oxygen.

Starting a fire. The right way. must be done in a nurturing way. You must protect the flame. Right, you must feed it.

You must give it airflow until it catches on some of the larger pieces of wood. When you're building a fire, you have to protect it. You have to protect it from the elements so that it would grow and that it would keep you warm, right? Verse 20.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And he said, Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers, and have not obeyed my voice. You see, Israel nurtured their sin. They protected their sin. Their acts of sin kindled the Lord's anger against them, causing it to grow and to grow until God acted.

At least this is how we understand it with our human minds. The truth is that our God is an all-consuming fire all the time. You see, God is not a parent who counts to 10, hoping their child obeys before they reach 10. If you're counting, you've just given them more time to disobey you. Remember, God is not prone to fits of rage.

In this instance, God allows for time. as a merciful act. even though Israel deserves retribution at the moment of disobedience. See, the final section features the Lord speaking through the author. Rather than the Lord disowning Israel, He narrates that he's going to use these judges' years to test them.

The final section features the Lord speaking through the author to us. Israel's apostasy is tragic. But we can read these verses and know that God is faithful throughout. Look at verse 23.

So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. You see, God affirms that he will drive these people out. He will not do it quickly. See, God waited 440 years and seven days to deal with the sins of Canaan. bringing the first instance of his judgment on Jericho.

400 years in Egypt, 40 years wandering in the desert, seven days marching around the city. Even more so. God waits thousands of years from the fall of man till the day the Son of Man will be lifted up. all for the sake of his treasured people. You see, he does not leave or forsake his treasured possession, his treasured people.

To him be all glory. The rest of this final section of verses highlights the nations who were all left behind to test Israel.

Now there's a lot of connections here to other parts of the Bible, and these names will persist for a long time.

However, I want to focus our attentions on the final verse of our section this evening, chapter 3, verse 6. And their daughters. They took to themselves for wives. And their own daughters they gave to their sons. and they served their gods.

If you're paying attention. to the cadence of the text. The author is building to this moment. The sin of Israel has been described many times. We can infer what kind of acts are being done at these pagan shrines.

However, This final verse of the second introduction of the book is very important. You see, marriage is no random act. God made marriage in the beginning. Anyone can try to redefine marriage in their own terms, or the fact remains that marriage is something God created. in order to remind us of our relationship to Him.

And it's almost as if the author is holding this up as the worst sin of Israel. Not that pagan worship is a mere trifle. But that because marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman, who you marry is important. When a marriage happens in the church, it is done under the authority of God and in the name of God. We ask Him to bless the union.

We take vows to each other and to Him. As well. When you marry, you bind yourself to the other person's family. Two families become intertwined. Their problems become your problems, and vice versa.

Their feast days become your feast days. Mm-hmm. And in case it wasn't clear, the next account in judges. which we'll get to in a few weeks here, is the account of Othniel. The man of valor who married a woman of wisdom, both were from Israel.

Israel bound themselves to the people of Canaan through marriage. God was very clear throughout the 40 years wandering in the desert. You shall not intermarry with the people of the land. You are a holy people, a royal priesthood set apart for your God. But they do not listen.

They are like horses that refuse to wear a bridle, who desire to be untameable. wanting to be wild beasts instead of living within the safety of their master's pasture.

So, the people of Israel are already married to their God, and by doing this detestable practice, they then marry themselves to false gods. Who oppressed them? Hurt them. and seek their destruction. And yet God doesn't leave.

What does God do? The Lord keeps his promises. God uses the time of the judges to prepare Israel And us. For a future judge that not only doesn't stay dead, but one who is obedient unto death. Secures our inheritance, and then takes his rightful place as the king over all things.

Because of our Christ, our inheritance is secured.

However, we have something in common with the people of Israel here. You see, God did not place us in our own Christian world. God did not see fit to place us in a covenant country. God saw fit to place us in a covenant community. In the midst of a broken world, in order that we would seek to make the world more like the church.

And God is not calling us to go out and do battle with unbelievers. No. Actually, it's the opposite. We're called to live among them. We're called to live among them, but also abstain from their practices.

We're not called to intermarry with them unless they come into the fold. See, our calling is to engage a godless culture. Train our minds to recognize falsehood. Teach our generations to do the same. See, God has given us the ability to know right from wrong.

We have the ability to know what is wrong in our culture.

However, it's not so much temple prostitutes at various shrines around us, no. In our day and age, it's all available for free. You don't have to leave the comfort of your home to visit the shrines of Baal. It doesn't take much looking around to see the effects of sin moving around every corner. Which is why God has given his church to the world.

As a gift. That we would shine a light into the darkness. See, the church is going to accomplish its mission. And we need to stop thinking that God only calls pastors to do this work. As Dale Ralph Davis puts it, we must ask God to call believers to be artists, journalists, politicians, and historians.

We need God to call believers to be mechanics, teachers, and all other worthy professions. If we're going to have an effective counterculture movement, We need to fully believe that God is Lord over all areas of life. Business, politics, economics, education, sex, science, art, music, especially marriage. If we're going to have an effective counterculture movement, That we need to give our all to the mission God has called us to. Mm-hmm.

So ask yourself. Do I believe that my life belongs to God and his work? And if you do. Ask yourself. When was the last time I physically participated in the Great Commission bringing the good news to someone?

If we truly believe that the world is dying out there, what are we going to do about it? It's very rare that you'll probably hear the call to evangelism from the book of Judges. But let me tell you. In the Judges' era, Canaan evangelized Israel. That's wrong.

It was supposed to be the other way around. Don't partake in the rich blessings of the Lord's Day worship in the morning and evening, and then get amnesia about the other things God calls us to do. Friends, we gotta work together. To teach the next generation of what our God expects of us. The Lord has put us here to test us as to whether or not we will be obedient to him.

And because of Christ's obedience, we can have success in this mission. Because of Christ's work, we can win the victory. The Lord's hand is with us. All we have to do is go out and do the work. My hope is to hear well done, my good and faithful servant.

Do you hope to hear the same? See, the Lord goes before us. Make no mistake, friends, with our God, we shall do valiantly. It is He who can and will change hearts, for He calls us to do it. And thus, as we Close this evening, and as we prepare to come to the table.

Be nourished. Tonight. by the true bread and true drink of our Lord. And then go forth and fear no darkness. My charge to you is this: remain faithful and aim to serve the Lord.

with fervor. And the glittering crown of life. will be yours. Amen. Amen.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you. that you call us to this great work. Lord, we do not do this work in order to gain your favor. Because your favor has been gained on our behalf.

By your precious and holy Son. Jesus Christ. He has won the victory. He is the true judge. Who does not stay dead?

All the other judges were raised up and then died. Jesus Christ. died and lives again, never to die. Again. And now he is seated at your right hand.

Interceding on our behalf. Father, help us. Give us strength, give us courage. Nourish us with your holy meal that we would stand firm for your truth in a world that hates truth. Father, may we do the work that you've put before us.

For you are mighty. And if you are for us, then who dares stand against us? To you be all glory. We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.