THIS WEEK IN SCRIPTURE                         September 23

Part IV

What The World Has To Do With Me Judges 2:1 - 13

Who am I and what does the world have to do with me? If you are of my generation, you may be caught between two generations. There is the generation of your children many of whom are going to college or who have just graduated; and there is that generation of your parents who are elderly and many of whom you may be caring for. In reflecting upon that older generation, they leave to us a legacy. As you read this each week during September, consider the legacy we are leaving to our children and the next generation.

Who were the Israelites and what did the world have to do with them? This scripture passage is about the time of the judges. The time of the judges falls between the death of Joshua and the reign of Israel’s first king, Saul. The leaders of the people during this time were called judges. The judges were both men and women whose prime purpose was to be military deliverers.

At this point, Israel has entered the promised land. They have not, however, been able to conquer the Canaanites in the fertile plains and valleys of the land. They have been able to march through it and raid it, but the only true control they have is in the hill country. So what the book of Judges is, is a record of the incomplete success of the Hebrews to conquer the less desirable hill country and the battles they have with the Canaanites to control the rest of the more desirable land.

This next fact is very, very important for us to understand. Because the Hebrew people controlled only the hill country, that made them neighbors of the pagan Canaanites. After a period of time these two very different cultures began to intermingle. What eventually happens is that the Hebrews began to adopt the ways of the Canaanites which was completely against their religious faith.

The results of this intermingling is twofold.  First, their moral and spiritual lives decline and become more pagan than anything else. And second, Israel loses its identity as a Hebrew nation and becomes little more than a loose confederation of tribes around the central sanctuary. That sanctuary was the Tabernacle of Shiloh.

The judges themselves were local tribal leaders, and heroes. They were not national heros or leaders, but local ones. What happens is that a local crisis will arise. At the time of each crisis, God raises up a military savior who saves the tribe from the crisis. Each time a crisis arises, God raises up a deliver.

The book of Judges records the history of Israel during a very turbulent, brutal, and pagan time when the religion of Israel was contaminated because of her close association with her pagan Canaanite neighbors. The problem was not the people, but their Godless culture. It was not a very proud time in Israel’s history and the writer of the book is in no way of approving of the ways of Israel. The book of Judges should be read as a story of the tragic judgment of God upon a people who fail to keep their true religious faith and assimilated their lives into the surrounding culture and into that cultures faith and beliefs.

Having said this, we now come to the second chapter of judges: 

Judges 2:1-13 (The Message)

Judges 2

        1-2God's angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I'll never break my covenant with you—never! And you're never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven't obeyed me! What's this that you're doing?

        3 "So now I'm telling you that I won't drive them out before you. They'll trip you up and their gods will become a trap."

        4-5 When God's angel had spoken these words to all the People of Israel, they cried out—oh! how they wept! They named the place Bokim (Weepers). And there they sacrificed to God.

        6-9 After Joshua had dismissed them, the People of Israel went off to claim their allotted territories and take possession of the land. The people worshiped God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the time of the leaders who survived him, leaders who had been in on all of God's great work that he had done for Israel. Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of God, died. He was 110 years old. They buried him in his allotted inheritance at Timnath Heres in the hills of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

        10 Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

        11-15 The People of Israel did evil in God's sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte! God's anger was hot against Israel: He handed them off to plunderers who stripped them; he sold them cheap to enemies on all sides. They were helpless before their enemies. Every time they walked out the door God was with them—but for evil, just as God had said, just as he had sworn he would do. They were in a bad way.

What has happened? The people of Israel have gathered together to hear Joshua speak. Today, however, they have a visiting preacher in the form of an angel. We need not debate about what form this angel took. The fact is that God had a message to deliver, and it was going to be delivered in a mighty way so as to cause the people to repent and go back home and correct the error of their ways.

The sad fact is that the damage had already been done. The ways of the Canaanites had already become so interwoven with the Hebrews that they could not rid themselves of the influences of what had already happened. The parents of the newest generation could remember how God had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness and had seen them safely through many battles into the promised land. But because of how these parents have allowed this pagan culture to influence and take over, there now arises a new generation, who, "...did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel."

The result was that this new generation, "did what was evil in the slight of the Lord." They served other gods. They provoked their own God to anger. Finally (because they did not repent like their forefathers) God gave them over to their enemies.

The record of the judges is not only a historical account of what happened to Israel in these early days, but it is a story of what can happen to us as individuals and as a generation today. As I care for those in an older generation and I see how strong their faith has become, I often think of if my faith will have the strong legacy of former generations. What has the world to do with me? How have worldly influences infected me?

What can we learn from our parent’s generation? What can we learn from the past generation of the Judges? This week we finish with the fourth lesson from this scripture.

The first lesson to be learned is that our individual sins affect others. Like it or not, you will either be a good influence or a bad influence on those who surround you. The testimony of judges shows that the next generation did not know the Lord because of the sins of the parents, which affected their children.

Second, we need to learn  that turning from our evil ways is the only way to spiritual recovery. When the angel of the Lord reminded the people of the covenant that God had made with them and that they had made with God, Israel repented and went back home and did what they could to change their ways. But the succeeding generations refused to repent. Turning from evil ways - that’s the only way to recover spiritually. Pride and stubbornness have no place here.

The third lesson we learn from this scripture is that new commitments result in new directions. After the people listened to the message of the angel, they got on a new track and went in new directions.

Repentance always leads us in another direction. The simple literal meaning of repentance is turning completely around in your tracks and going in the opposite direction. There is no way that a person can be headed away from God, then repent, and then still be headed away from God. Commitment to the Lord calls upon us to go in a new direction.

The experiences of an older generation speak with a softer voice, but with a Wisdom that so many times leads us in new vital directions. They embrace God and more easily follow in whatever direction God leads for they are not afraid of change.

Part IV

The fourth lesson of this Scripture has to do with the affect that our culture has upon our religious faith. This basic truth is not to allow our world and culture to unduly influence our religious faith. To assimilate our world into our religious beliefs can very easily erode our faith to such a degree that we are left with nothing that resembles Christianity.

It is similar to this. If you put a frog into a pail of hot water he will jump out. But if you put a frog into a pail of cool water and then gradually heat it up, the frog will allow himself to be cooked. What happens is that the frog is unable to decide when the water becomes too hot to be able to bear.

The thing that causes most people to be caught in the pit of sin is drifting little by little, away from the Lord everyday. The best protection is to get out of the pot before it even gets warm.

Christianity is always only one generation from extinction. If we allow ourselves to assimilate the world into our religious faith, we can very easily become the parents of a godless generation. Who among us wants that?

The generation of our forefathers sought for us a better life than the one they endured. That’s true of every generation. But for most of that generation, they want for us to have a sure and vital faith. I can’t count the times I’ve seen mothers on Mother’s Day glow with joy as they sit with family in the church pew. It is not so much that family is there, but that they are in church with Mom and/or Dad.

Remember these four points:

1. Our sins affect people other than ourselves.

2. Spiritual recovery happens only when we turn away from our evil ways.

 THIS WEEK IN SCRIPTURE                         September 16

Part III

What The World Has To Do With MeJudges 2:1 - 13

Who am I and what does the world have to do with me? If you are of my generation, you may be caught between two generations. There is the generation of your children many of whom are going to college or who have just graduated; and there is that generation of your parents who are elderly and many of whom you may be caring for. In reflecting upon that older generation, they leave to us a legacy. As you read this each week during September, consider the legacy we are leaving to our children and the next generation.

Who were the Israelites and what did the world have to do with them? This scripture passage is about the time of the judges. The time of the judges falls between the death of Joshua and the reign of Israel’s first king, Saul. The leaders of the people during this time were called judges. The judges were both men and women whose prime purpose was to be military deliverers.

At this point, Israel has entered the promised land. They have not, however, been able to conquer the Canaanites in the fertile plains and valleys of the land. They have been able to march through it and raid it, but the only true control they have is in the hill country. So what the book of Judges is, is a record of the incomplete success of the Hebrews to conquer the less desirable hill country and the battles they have with the Canaanites to control the rest of the more desirable land.

This next fact is very, very important for us to understand. Because the Hebrew people controlled only the hill country, that made them neighbors of the pagan Canaanites. After a period of time these two very different cultures began to intermingle. What eventually happens is that the Hebrews began to adopt the ways of the Canaanites which was completely against their religious faith.

The results of this intermingling is twofold.  First, their moral and spiritual lives decline and become more pagan than anything else. And second, Israel loses its identity as a Hebrew nation and becomes little more than a loose confederation of tribes around the central sanctuary. That sanctuary was the Tabernacle of Shiloh.

The judges themselves were local tribal leaders, and heroes. They were not national heros or leaders, but local ones. What happens is that a local crisis will arise. At the time of each crisis, God raises up a military savior who saves the tribe from the crisis. Each time a crisis arises, God raises up a deliver.

The book of Judges records the history of Israel during a very turbulent, brutal, and pagan time when the religion of Israel was contaminated because of her close association with her pagan Canaanite neighbors. The problem was not the people, but their Godless culture. It was not a very proud time in Israel’s history and the writer of the book is in no way of approving of the ways of Israel. The book of Judges should be read as a story of the tragic judgment of God upon a people who fail to keep their true religious faith and assimilated their lives into the surrounding culture and into that cultures faith and beliefs.

Having said this, we now come to the second chapter of judges:

        Judges 2:1-13 (The Message)

        Judges 2

        1-2God's angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I'll never break my covenant with you—never! And you're never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven't obeyed me! What's this that you're doing?

        3 "So now I'm telling you that I won't drive them out before you. They'll trip you up and their gods will become a trap."

        4-5 When God's angel had spoken these words to all the People of Israel, they cried out—oh! how they wept! They named the place Bokim (Weepers). And there they sacrificed to God.

        6-9 After Joshua had dismissed them, the People of Israel went off to claim their allotted territories and take possession of the land. The people worshiped God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the time of the leaders who survived him, leaders who had been in on all of God's great work that he had done for Israel. Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of God, died. He was 110 years old. They buried him in his allotted inheritance at Timnath Heres in the hills of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

        10 Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

        11-15 The People of Israel did evil in God's sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte! God's anger was hot against Israel: He handed them off to plunderers who stripped them; he sold them cheap to enemies on all sides. They were helpless before their enemies. Every time they walked out the door God was with them—but for evil, just as God had said, just as he had sworn he would do. They were in a bad way.

What has happened? The people of Israel have gathered together to hear Joshua speak. Today, however, they have a visiting preacher in the form of an angel. We need not debate about what form this angel took. The fact is that God had a message to deliver, and it was going to be delivered in a mighty way so as to cause the people to repent and go back home and correct the error of their ways.

The sad fact is that the damage had already been done. The ways of the Canaanites had already become so interwoven with the Hebrews that they could not rid themselves of the influences of what had already happened. The parents of the newest generation could remember how God had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness and had seen them safely through many battles into the promised land. But because of how these parents have allowed this pagan culture to influence and take over, there now arises a new generation, who, "...did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel."

The result was that this new generation, "did what was evil in the slight of the Lord." They served other gods. They provoked their own God to anger. Finally (because they did not repent like their forefathers) God gave them over to their enemies.

The record of the judges is not only a historical account of what happened to Israel in these early days, but it is a story of what can happen to us as individuals and as a generation today. As I care for those in an older generation and I see how strong their faith has become, I often think of if my faith will have the strong legacy of former generations. What has the world to do with me? How have worldly influences infected me?

What can we learn from our parent’s generation? What can we learn from the past generation of the Judges? Let me mention this week the third of four lessons we need to learn and remember. (Next week we’ll finish with the fourth lesson)

The first lesson to be learned is that our individual sins affect others. Like it or not, you will either be a good influence or a bad influence on those who surround you. The testimony of judges shows that the next generation did not know the Lord because of the sins of the parents, which affected their children.

Second, we need to learn  that turning from our evil ways is the only way to spiritual recovery. When the angel of the Lord reminded the people of the covenant that God had made with them and that they had made with God, Israel repented and went back home and did what they could to change their ways. But the succeeding generations refused to repent. Turning from evil ways - that’s the only way to recover spiritually. Pride and stubbornness have no place here.

Part III

The third lesson we learn from this scripture is that new commitments result in new directions. After the people listened to the message of the angel, they got on a new track and went in new directions.

Repentance always leads us in another direction. Years ago, a Methodist bishop preached on repentance. What he preached was true, but an old circuit rider in the audience felt that the bishops educated discourse didn’t sufficiently cleared up for the audience as to what he meant. Respectfully, the old man stood up and asked, "Bishop, may I show these people what I believe repentance is?" The bishop told him to go ahead. “Show us what repentance is.”

The old man began to walk down the long aisle of the Church. As he did, He kept saying, "I’m going to hell, I’m going to hell, I’m going to Hell." Then he did an about-face and went in the opposite direction as he exclaimed, "I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven."

THIS WEEK IN SCRIPTURE                           September 9

Part II

What The World Has To Do With MeJudges 2:1 - 13

Who am I and what does the world have to do with me? If you are of my generation, you may be caught between two generations. There is the generation of your children many of whom are going to college or who have just graduated; and there is that generation of your parents who are elderly and many of whom you may be caring for. In reflecting upon that older generation, they leave to us a legacy. As you read this each week during September, consider the legacy we are leaving to our children and the next generation.

Who were the Israelites and what did the world have to do with them? This scripture passage is about the time of the judges. The time of the judges falls between the death of Joshua and the reign of Israel’s first king, Saul. The leaders of the people during this time were called judges. The judges were both men and women whose prime purpose was to be military deliverers.

At this point, Israel has entered the promised land. They have not, however, been able to conquer the Canaanites in the fertile plains and valleys of the land. They have been able to march through it and raid it, but the only true control they have is in the hill country. So what the book of Judges is, is a record of the incomplete success of the Hebrews to conquer the less desirable hill country and the battles they have with the Canaanites to control the rest of the more desirable land.

This next fact is very, very important for us to understand. Because the Hebrew people controlled only the hill country, that made them neighbors of the pagan Canaanites. After a period of time these two very different cultures began to intermingle. What eventually happens is that the Hebrews began to adopt the ways of the Canaanites which was completely against their religious faith.

The results of this intermingling is twofold.  First, their moral and spiritual lives decline and become more pagan than anything else. And second, Israel loses its identity as a Hebrew nation and becomes little more than a loose confederation of tribes around the central sanctuary. That sanctuary was the Tabernacle of Shiloh.

The judges themselves were local tribal leaders, and heroes. They were not national heros or leaders, but local ones. What happens is that a local crisis will arise. At the time of each crisis, God raises up a military savior who saves the tribe from the crisis. Each time a crisis arises, God raises up a deliver.

The book of Judges records the history of Israel during a very turbulent, brutal, and pagan time when the religion of Israel was contaminated because of her close association with her pagan Canaanite neighbors. The problem was not the people, but their Godless culture. It was not a very proud time in Israel’s history and the writer of the book is in no way of approving of the ways of Israel. The book of Judges should be read as a story of the tragic judgment of God upon a people who fail to keep their true religious faith and assimilated their lives into the surrounding culture and into that cultures faith and beliefs.

Having said this, we now come to the second chapter of judges:

        Judges 2:1-13 (The Message)

        Judges 2

        1-2God's angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I'll never break my covenant with you—never! And you're never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven't obeyed me! What's this that you're doing?

        3 "So now I'm telling you that I won't drive them out before you. They'll trip you up and their gods will become a trap."

        4-5 When God's angel had spoken these words to all the People of Israel, they cried out—oh! how they wept! They named the place Bokim (Weepers). And there they sacrificed to God.

        6-9 After Joshua had dismissed them, the People of Israel went off to claim their allotted territories and take possession of the land. The people worshiped God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the time of the leaders who survived him, leaders who had been in on all of God's great work that he had done for Israel. Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of God, died. He was 110 years old. They buried him in his allotted inheritance at Timnath Heres in the hills of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

        10 Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

        11-15 The People of Israel did evil in God's sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte! God's anger was hot against Israel: He handed them off to plunderers who stripped them; he sold them cheap to enemies on all sides. They were helpless before their enemies. Every time they walked out the door God was with them—but for evil, just as God had said, just as he had sworn he would do. They were in a bad way.

What has happened? The people of Israel have gathered together to hear Joshua speak. Today, however, they have a visiting preacher in the form of an angel. We need not debate about what form this angel took. The fact is that God had a message to deliver, and it was going to be delivered in a mighty way so as to cause the people to repent and go back home and correct the error of their ways.

The sad fact is that the damage had already been done. The ways of the Canaanites had already become so interwoven with the Hebrews that they could not rid themselves of the influences of what had already happened. The parents of the newest generation could remember how God had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness and had seen them safely through many battles into the promised land. But because of how these parents have allowed this pagan culture to influence and take over, there now arises a new generation, who, "...did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel."

The result was that this new generation, "did what was evil in the slight of the Lord." They served other gods. They provoked their own God to anger. Finally (because they did not repent like their forefathers) God gave them over to their enemies.

The record of the judges is not only a historical account of what happened to Israel in these early days, but it is a story of what can happen to us as individuals and as a generation today. As I care for those in an older generation and I see how strong their faith has become, I often think of if my faith will have the strong legacy of former generations. What has the world to do with me? How have worldly influences infected me?

What can we learn from our parent’s generation? What can we learn from the past generation of the Judges? Let me mention this week the second of four lessons we need to learn and remember. (In the weeks to come, I’ll mention two other lessons)

As I mentioned last week, the first lesson to be learned here is that our individual sins affect others. Like it or not, you will either be a good influence or a bad influence on those who surround you. The testimony of judges shows that the next generation did not know the Lord because of the sins of the parents, which affected their children.

PartII

Second, we need to learn from this story, that turning from our evil ways is the only way to spiritual recovery. Marvin Vincent once wrote:

                        “Mere sorrow which weeps and sits still is not repentance. Repentance is sorrow converted into action and a movement toward a new and better life"

When the angel of the Lord reminded the people of the covenant that God had made with them and that they had made with God, they repented and went back home and did what they could to change their ways. But the succeeding generations refused to repent. Turning from evil ways - that’s the only way to recover, spiritually. Pride and stubbornness have no place here.

In observing the older generation, many of whom we care for at Sunrise House, as they advance in age it seems as if they have no fear of change. In fact, in my experience as a pastor over the last 29 years, the older generation seems to have a better perspective on change. Though the world around them has changed, God has not changed and so the changes of the world do not so much affect them.

Come back and visit with me again next week as I expand on other lessons from this scripture.

May God Bless You,

Pastor Wayne Clay Harrison,

Pastoral Director of Sunrise House Adult Day Care