W HAT IS G OING ON IN A MERICA ? Judges 2

A MERICA What is going on?What is going on? Like the period of the Judges, 1350 to 1050 B.C.Like the period of the Judges, 1350 to 1050 B.C. In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6, 21:25)In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6, 21:25) Judges: The Dark Ages of IsraelJudges: The Dark Ages of Israel

T HE P REVIOUS G ENERATION 2:1 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? 3 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.’”

T HE P REVIOUS G ENERATION 4 When the angel [messenger] 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 [the weepers]; and there they sacrificed to the LORD. 6 When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

T HE P REVIOUS G ENERATION 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. (Judges 2:1-8) The next generation...The next generation...

T HE P EOPLE IN J UDGES All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10)All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10) 1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” (Exodus 20:1-4) 1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” (Exodus 20:1-4)

T HE C YCLE Israel would worship false godsIsrael would worship false gods The Lord would discipline them through their enemies (chapters 3-16) or internal strife (17-21)The Lord would discipline them through their enemies (chapters 3-16) or internal strife (17-21) The people would cry out for helpThe people would cry out for help God would graciously raise up judges to deliver them from their oppressorsGod would graciously raise up judges to deliver them from their oppressors They would disregard the judges and go back to their idolatryThey would disregard the judges and go back to their idolatry Cycle repeats – apostasy, oppression, deliveranceCycle repeats – apostasy, oppression, deliverance

T HE C YCLE Sin Servitude “Save us” Salvation Safety

T HE C YCLE Forgetting History Forsaking the Lord Fiery Discipline Fleeing “to the Lord” Faithful Mercy

T HE C YCLE The people respond to God’s blessings with sinThe people respond to God’s blessings with sin

T HE C YCLE 10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. 11 Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, 12 and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

T HE C YCLE 14 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. 16 Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.

T HE C YCLE 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered 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 oppressed and afflicted them.

T HE C YCLE 19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice,

T HE C YCLE 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” (Judges 2:10-22)

T HE C YCLE Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years. (Judges 6:1)Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years. (Judges 6:1) Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. (Judges 8:33-34)Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. (Judges 8:33-34)

T HE C YCLE 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon. 6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. 7 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. 8 They afflicted and crushed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they afflicted all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. (Judges 10:5-8)

T HE C YCLE Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. (Judges 13:1)Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. (Judges 13:1) Sin, servitude, “salvation”Sin, servitude, “salvation” Not just a cycle but a DOWNWARD SPIRALNot just a cycle but a DOWNWARD SPIRAL

T HE C YCLE S TOPS Then the cycle stopsThen the cycle stops Judges – the people are unrestrainedJudges – the people are unrestrained God gave them over to their wickednessGod gave them over to their wickedness Civil war, family breakdown, morality is ignored, economic chaosCivil war, family breakdown, morality is ignored, economic chaos In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

T HE C YCLE S TOPS Sin leads to servitude and forfeited blessingsSin leads to servitude and forfeited blessings We are being plundered as God’s disciplineWe are being plundered as God’s discipline God disciplined through Nebuchadnezzar (a political leader), or through locusts (nature), or through the Philistine armyGod disciplined through Nebuchadnezzar (a political leader), or through locusts (nature), or through the Philistine army

G OD ’ S D ISCIPLINE - E CONOMIC 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Think about what you have done. 6 You have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes…

G OD ’ S D ISCIPLINE - E CONOMIC 9 “You expected a large harvest, but instead, you find little. When you bring it home, I destroy it. Why?” asks the Sovereign Lord. “Because you all work hard for your own houses while my house is still in ruins! 10 Because of what you have done, the sky holds back its rain and the ground holds back its crops. 11 I have called for a time without rain on the land, and on the mountains, and on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, the plants which the earth produces, the people, the farm animals, and all the work of your hands.” (Haggai 1:5-6, 9-11)

G OD ’ S D ISCIPLINE - E CONOMIC 38 “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. 39 You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.” (Deuteronomy 28:38-40)

G OD ’ S D ISCIPLINE - E CONOMIC “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with disease and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. (Amos 4:9) God is using our leaders to hit us in the wallet as a form of disciplining our nationGod is using our leaders to hit us in the wallet as a form of disciplining our nation

A POSTASY Apostasy – falling away from the faithApostasy – falling away from the faith Abandoning God for idolsAbandoning God for idols

N O R EAL R EPENTANCE 17 They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered 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 oppressed and afflicted them. (Judges 2:17-18)

B UT, W E ’ RE N OT I SRAEL 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

B UT, W E ’ RE N OT I SRAEL We are accountable to God and have no guarantee of His covenant-faithfulness since only Israel received those promisesWe are accountable to God and have no guarantee of His covenant-faithfulness since only Israel received those promises

S ECULARISM The more secular America becomes, the more idols the nation will worshipThe more secular America becomes, the more idols the nation will worship More idols leads to more bondageMore idols leads to more bondage

A N ATIONAL P ROBLEM The nation as a whole is accountable – one man alone can’t be blamedThe nation as a whole is accountable – one man alone can’t be blamed Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)

I S T HERE A NY H OPE ? Ruth and BoazRuth and Boaz In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25) THE KING, THE Deliverer has comeTHE KING, THE Deliverer has come

W HAT IS G OING ON IN A MERICA ? Judges 2