Our text tonight is found in
Judges 2, if you would turn there with me please. Judges 2, beginning in verse
10. We looked at verse 10 briefly
in the last study. Let me say by way of introduction
that modern day religion has become nothing more than idolatry. Idolatry is the worship of something
other than God. And idolatry occurs when someone
or something becomes more important to one than the God of the Bible. In the Old Testament alone, there
were over 40 false gods mentioned. Some were made out of gold, some
wood, some stone, and some clay. There was the, The false god,
Amon, the chief god of Egypt. There was Asherah, a Canaanite
goddess. Ashtoreth, a goddess of war and
fertility. Baal-Pior, worshiped by the Moabites. Baal, a god of fertility and
rain. They had a god for everything.
Dagon, the god of the Philistines. You remember Dagon. They put
the Ark of the Covenant in the temple with Dagon. found Dagon
knocked over and broken to pieces. That's a good illustration of
what these gods are, they're nothing. Molech, you remember,
Molech was the god that they sacrificed children to, burned
children in the god of Molech. Artemis, the Greek name for the
Roman goddess Diana. Zeus, if you know anything about
mythologies, mentioned his two sons, Castor Pollux, and then
in the New Testament, there was even a God called the unknown
God, in case they missed one, they wanted to cover all the
bases. And religion today has made idols out of many different
things, but mostly, men and women have made gods and idols out
of their own imagination. You know, the Lord said, thou
thoughtest, or thou imagined, that I was altogether such a
one as thyself. And many today, well, they worship
Buddha, Muhammad, Allah, multitudes have even made an idol out of
a man named Jesus. I'm not talking about Jesus Christ.
I'm not referring to the God-man. I'm not speaking of the Son of
God. I'm not alluding to God the Son. I'm talking about the
Jesus of men and women's imagination. And I'm speaking of the Jesus
who Paul called another Jesus who is not another. A Jesus who
wants and tries and strives with sinners. The Jesus who's done
all he can do and he needs Your cooperation and help to accomplish
what he wants to do. That's not Jesus Christ. That's
a Jesus that men have imagined. Not the Lord of hosts whose hand
cannot be stayed. Not the Jesus who thinks and
it comes to pass, the Christ who purposes that it stands.
I'm talking about the one whose purpose is purposed upon the
whole earth. And Isaiah said, the one whose
hand is stretched out upon all the nations. That's the Christ
that I'm speaking of. Not the Jesus who needs the cooperation
of your will to accomplish his will. Isn't that most ridiculous?
People talk like that. They don't know the Jesus, the
Christ of the Bible. This is the Jesus of modern day
religion. And idolatry is rampant and it's
interwoven in every aspect of human life, especially in the
mainstream religion of this world. And this is why we must diligently
proclaim the gospel and teach the truth of scriptures to this
generation in which we live. Look again at Judges 2 verse
10. After Joshua and the elders in Israel died, we are informed,
and there arose another generation after them. Now look, this is
how they're described. Which knew not the Lord, nor
yet the works which he had done for Israel. Now this is the problem
that we have in the world today. Men and women don't know the
Lord. And they don't know what the Lord, the God of the Bible
has done. It's very apparent in how folks
describe God and His Christ. It don't take you very long to
realize they're not talking about your God. They're not talking
about your Savior. They've made Jesus be altogether
like unto themselves, and they have made themselves to be altogether
like unto God. And it's the exaltation of men
and the degradation of God Almighty. And it's led to a downward spiral,
just as the verses in our text tonight do. You read these verses
and it just breaks my heart. And I'll tell you something else
that breaks my heart. I have one child out of five that has
an interest in the things of Christ. I very often feel as
though I failed them in teaching them and the example that I lived
before them, but our generation must take some of the blame and
the action of this younger generation that follows. I think every generation,
every parent wants their children to have it better than they did.
I know my mom and dad did, and I think every parent does to
some degree, but friends, I'm not convinced that we have done
our children any favors. It may be a disservice. The love
of the world and the things of the world that this present generation
seems to love so much is sure evidence that our efforts to
make things better, or maybe the word easier would be better,
has backfired a bit. And it's the same concerning
the things of God. That's what we see in this text.
And I've heard many who are still alive, those who are older than
me, that even those who were in false religion 50 or 60 years
ago would cringe and blush at the things taught in churches
today. The things that are accepted today in religion. So we've got to be diligent in
holding proclaiming forth the truth. And we should personally
strive to set the example of how crucial it is to trust the
Lord, worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. And I know professing
believers who've prayed for their children. I've heard them. I've
heard them say, oh, how I wish the Lord would save my child.
And there's one who attended this church. I won't mention
any names. They had their child move here from another city and
started attending services here. And no sooner than they started
coming, that praying parent themselves stopped coming. Now neither of
them come. And some pray for family members
who live where there's no gospel preached. And when that family
member comes to visit, instead of bringing them to church, they
stay home from worship with them. I know this one. And I'm not
trying to preach any works tonight. I'm just telling you what's on
my heart. The gospel will never mean anything to our family or
to our children if they don't see that it means anything to
us. I don't know. Well, I know that we cannot change
the course of providence. God has his way in the armies
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay
his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Nor would we change
God's providence if we could. But like that woman who opened
up that alabaster box, a precious and expensive ointment to anoint
the head of the Lord, we should strive, I mean we should strive,
to fill the air around us with that sweet fragrance of substitution
and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. especially since
the preaching of the gospel is the means that God uses to save
them that believe. I cannot make somebody believe,
but we cannot lay the full blame to the world's false religion
and teaching when we are ourselves also to blame. Now here in Judges
chapter 2, we see that this new generation knew not the Lord
or His great works. And a great deal of that responsibility
and that fault fell on the generation before. And what was the results? Look at verse 11. And the children
of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam.
Verse 12, 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. And they forsook the Lord and
served Baal and Ashtoreth. You know, the decline in this
new generation was because they didn't know the Lord, nor were
they aware of all the things that He had done. And obviously
they weren't taught. What's the usual outcome of such
ignorance? What is the result of such a
lack of knowledge? Apostasy and neglect of God. We see it right here. Did you
notice in verse 11 that they did this evil in the sight of
the Lord? In verse 12 we're told that they
forsook the Lord God of their fathers, the very God and Lord
who brought them out of the land of Egypt, bowing themselves to
false gods. Their evil and their depravity,
depravity, was exposed in the very presence of the one who
was their God, their Savior, and their Deliverer. And really,
should we be surprised when our children and our grandchildren
do the same thing? Oh, may God lay upon our hearts
and give us the zeal to teach our children the things of Christ. Israel's actions are declared
here in terms of betrayal. You know, it's not just like
they ignored the Lord. They actually were progressive
Worshipping other gods. We're told in verse 11 they served
Balaam. In verse 13 they served Baal
and Ashtoreth. Those who are saved serve the
Savior. They worship God in the Spirit
and they rejoice in Christ Jesus and they have no confidence in
the flesh. I don't have any confidence in
my flesh or yours either. I don't. There can be no mixture
of truth and error when it comes to salvation. What fellowship
can righteousness have with unrighteousness? What communion can light have
with darkness? What concord or what consent
or agreement can Christ have with Bel-iah? What does a believer
have in common with an infidel or the temple of God with idols? None. Absolutely not. And the
command from God is very plain and very simple. Come out from
among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, touch not the
unclean thing. Now verse 12 tells us they provoked
the Lord to anger. That word provoked, that's a
strong word. It means that they promoted anger
from God. They roused God's anger. They
prompted God's wrath. They annoyed and irritated God. God is angry with the wicked
every day, and God's always the same. He always responds the
same way towards sin. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Romans 1 18. And idolatry, no
doubt, provokes the Lord to anger because God, being a jealous
God, and He is a jealous God, will not give His glory to another. He's not going to share your
affection with idols. And boy, we make idols out of
just about anything and everything. We all do. These actions brought
about judgment upon this new generation of Israel, just as
God had promised Joshua, and Joshua had told the people. Let
me show you that. We just looked at it just a few
weeks back. Hold your place here. Turn back
just a few pages to Joshua chapter 23. Joshua chapter 23. And in verse 14, Joshua says
these words. Joshua's about done. He's finished
his course, his departure's at hand. And he says in verse 14,
Joshua 23, And behold, this day I am going the way of all the
earth, and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls
that not one thing hath failed of the good things which the
Lord your God spake concerning you. All are come to pass unto
you, and not one thing has failed thereof. Therefore it shall come
to pass that as all good things are come upon you which the Lord
your God promised you, so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil
things until He hath destroyed you from off this good land which
the Lord your God hath given you. When you have transgressed
the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you,
and you have gone and served other gods and bowed yourselves
to them, then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against
you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which
He hath given unto you." Divine judgment. It always follows unbelief,
disobedience, and apostasy. Instead of continuing to give
Israel miraculous victories over their enemies, God said, that's
it. The Lord would now give Israel
to the hands of the enemy. And it all began by making these false gods and idols
affectionate to their hearts. Now back to Judges 2, that's
exactly what we see here, divine judgment. Look at verse 14 here. And the anger of the Lord was
hot against Israel. And He delivered them into the
hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He sold them into the
hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no
longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out,
the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had
said. And the Lord had sworn unto them,
and they were greatly distressed." And again, I remind you that
not all who have were of natural Israel, physical, natural Jews,
were of spiritual Israel. To some, even in the day of judges,
this was judgment. But to others, it was no doubt
divine chastisement. What's the difference? Well,
there's a great difference. The Lord's chastisement is always
done in love and kind correction of His true people. No doubt
some in this new generation learned a valuable lesson and were turned
and redeemed. There's no doubt in my mind.
Chastisement is for sons and daughters, and it's designed
to bring the Lord's people to call upon Him and to trust Him.
For them, this was not judgment. It wasn't punishment, though
no doubt it felt that way. But it was correction for children
whom the Heavenly Father loved. And it's the same for us today.
When God chastises us, it's because He loves us. And it's because
He's teaching us. And He's causing us to look to
Him and to trust in Him for everything. And this to me is the proof of
two natures. The old man and the old creature. However you want to describe
it, nature, man, it still plagues us with the infatuation and enchantment
of strange gods. Now, I know none of us here tonight
worship tree stumps or golden calves. The strange gods of our
heart take on a different name, the god of identity. The God
of position, the God of status, the God of ability, the God of
personal achievement. These are our idols. And then
there's the God of mammon, the God of money, the God of wealth,
the God of possessions. What about the God of vanity,
the God of appearance, the God of popularity, influence, and
fame, the God of vainglory, Then there's also the God of entertainment,
the God of technology, the God of hobbies. By nature, men want
the next new thing. I'm guilty of serving these idols.
What about this idol, the idol of family? How many folks put
their families before God? Especially the children. People
today don't have time for God. You know, children have so many
activities anymore that consume them and steal their parents'
time, and it doesn't leave any time or interest for the worship
of God. I've heard people use their children's
activities as an excuse for worship. Well, we would have liked to
have been there, but we had this and that and everything else.
You know, believers would do their children a great service
to raise them and bring them up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And the wise man Solomon wrote,
train or instruct a child in the way he should go, and when
he's old, he will not depart from it. Now that doesn't mean
that God gonna save every child that we try to teach the gospel
to, but when a loving parent does so, teaches them the things
of Christ, makes them aware that we have a sovereign God who's
ruling and reigning and bringing all things to pass according
to His own will and purpose, and that He's working all those
things together for His people's good. When they reach the years
of maturity and understanding, their hearts are at least seasoned
with the grace of God, and just maybe God will be pleased to
show them their need. And they'll at least know who
to turn to in time of need. The God that you've preached
to them for years. The God that you've taught them
about. And remember, no man can serve two masters. None can love
the world and love God. That's what God said. Love not
the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man loved the world, the love of the Father's not in him. And
these things, they're just so subtle. They start out so innocently,
yet they're so serious and they're so damning. God will not place
second chair to anyone or anything. There's so many things that take
us away from the worship of our great Creator. And God has to
correct, God has to chastise us in order for us to change
our way of thinking on these things. The scripture of divine
judgment given in verses 14 and 15 should come as no surprise. They're exactly what God had
promised them over there in Joshua chapter 20, 30 that we just read.
But what does come as a surprise to men and women is what we see
in verses 16 through 18. Though God does discipline His
people for their sin, He also remains faithful to His character
and He sends them deliverers, judges. Look at verse 16, nevertheless. Oh, I love that word. Just like
that little word, but. Nevertheless, in spite of all
these things, the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them
out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would
not hearken unto their judges, but they went a-whoring after
other gods and bowed themselves unto them. They turned quickly
out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments
of the Lord, but they did not so. And when the Lord raised
them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered
them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For it repented the Lord because
of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and
vexed them." And as I read those verses, I thought to myself,
how wonderful and merciful is it that our depravity does not
prevent God's mercy? In spite of Israel's sin, the
Lord raised up judges. As we discussed in an earlier
study, judges were deliverers, they were saviors, not someone
in a robe presiding in a court of law with a gavel, no. They were men of war. They were warriors who battled
and spoiled Israel's enemies. In verse 19, and it came to pass,
when the judge was dead, that they, Israel, returned and corrupted
themselves more than their fathers, and following other gods to serve
them and to bow down unto them, and they ceased not from their
own doings, nor from their stubborn way. Now what is wrong with us? No argument against our depravity. There's no excuse for our boundness,
that's what depravity is. There are many who confess to
being sinners, but only a true believer will confess to being
depraved. And then they'll put that word
totally before it. Completely depraved. There's
none that doeth good. There's none that seeketh after
God. There's none righteous, no, not one. We are all totally
depraved by nature. Most will tell you I'm not perfect,
but they believe that their good outweighs their bad. But here
we have great proof of what we are by nature. And when a judge
died, the next generation would act more wickedly than the previous
one. And they'd follow after other
gods, worshiping and bowing down to them. Now, what is that but
depravity? There are those today who insist
that man is every day in every way getting better and better.
The Bible, God's Word, begs to differ. But what makes grace grace and
what makes mercy mercy is that again, God again and again and
again delivered them in spite of them. And I've often said
that's a great definition for grace and for mercy. It's an
accurate definition too. God delivering us again and again
in spite of us. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. As sin reigned in the death,
even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ, our Lord. The word judges in our text is
plural. It's referring to all the judges
that the Lord raised up. I think it's very important for
us to understand that the Lord sent these judges one at a time,
and that pictures and points to Jesus Christ, our Savior.
The Lord Jesus is the single source of salvation and deliverance. There's not a believer alive
that thinks that they deserve the mercy of God. You won't find
one. Every child of God is embarrassed
Ashamed and sorry for their disobedience and depravity. But with Christ
as my judge, my deliverer, my Savior, in spite of who and what
I am in Christ, God shows me mercy. Now that's good news. That's good news. No wonder the
prophet Habakkuk asked the Lord in wrath, remember mercy. Don't give me what I deserve,
Lord. Give me what I don't deserve. Give me mercy. I deserve wrath,
but remember mercy. This chapter, nor this book of
Judges, ends with a happy ever after. The further we read in
this chapter and the further we read in this book, the worse
man seems to get. That goes to show you that when
man fell, he didn't just stomp his toe. Man fell into utter
darkness and depravity. But here's the gospel, and I'll
close with these words. Turn with me to Romans chapter
six. You can let your place and judges go. How glorious it is. to a sinner
that our salvation is not dependent on what we do, but upon what
Christ has done for us. I can't say that enough. But
it's not an excuse for us to sin. Romans chapter six, I'm gonna
read this whole chapter, and let's, as we read it together,
keep in mind the things that we've talked about tonight. Paul
asked, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so
many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his
death? Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death. that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness
of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with him, with Christ, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. You can't arrest a dead man for
anything, he's dead. Now, if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. And knowing that
Christ being raised from the dead, doth no more, death hath
no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise,
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it
in the lust thereof." Now, I know that we all sin and we're gonna
continue to sin as long as we live in this body of flesh, this
body of death, as Paul called it. But our bent is not towards
sin, and we hate our sin, we abhor, as Job said, I abhor myself,
I abhor the way that I am. And we cry unto Christ and we
cling unto Him, because we've been raised with Him in newness
of life. Verse 13, neither yield you your members as instruments
of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God
as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under
grace. What then, shall we sin because we're not under the law,
but under grace, God forbid? Know ye not that to whom you
yield yourselves servants to obey? His servants ye are to
whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto
righteousness. But God bethink that ye were
the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form
of doctrine which was delivered unto you. Being then made free
from sin, you became the servants of righteousness. I speak after
the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh.
For as ye have yielded your members, servants, to uncleanness and
to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members, servants,
to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants
of sin, ye were free from righteousness. And what fruit had ye then in
those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those
things is death. But now, being made free from
sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness
and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. God's revealed to His elect people
who and what they are. I know that I'm depraved, totally
depraved by nature. I know that if left up to me,
I'll choose the evil every time, but also know that mercy is God
not giving me what I deserve and that the wages of my sin
being death, I have a much grander hope of life eternal because
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ who loved
me and gave himself for me. The prophet Micah wrote this,
who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth
by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth
not his anger forever because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have
compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities
and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to
Jacob. Oh, that's talking about me.
It's talking about you. And the mercy to Abraham, which
thou has sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. Now that
is The God of the Bible, a merciful God, a loving God.