Judges 2:1-23
At last the angel of the Lord left Gilgal and came to Bochim, the place of weeping. God had not failed His people — He still loved them and sought their blessing, but they had failed to lay hold of His way of blessing for them. There were tears, but the tears were for their own losses and sorrows, not because they had failed to give the Lord His place. How often it is so with us: many tears are shed for the sorrows we bring upon ourselves by our own self-will. The Lord feels for us in these sorrows too, for His Word tells us, “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63:9. Yet we must suffer in His government for our folly, but when we turn to the Lord how good He is! Let us not question His goodness, remembering that it always honors Him to have us count upon His grace, but let us always be real before Him. Let us acknowledge that He is faithful even in afflicting us, and own our failures and shortcomings in His presence.
So here the angel of the Lord reminded the people that He had been faithful, but they had not obeyed His voice, and because of this their enemies who remained in the land were now thorns in their sides. The people then wept and sacrificed to the Lord. But alas, it was not long until they turned away from the Lord again, for our tears mean little unless there is true repentance toward God. In spite of their tears the people of Israel had lost the sense of what was due to the Lord and began to worship false gods, Baal and Ashtaroth.
This brought down the government of God upon them and “He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them.” As we read these things they ought to be a voice to us, for too often when trouble comes we take it as a matter of course or blame others. Let us look to the Lord in our troubles and sorrows and see His hand in them. We may find there is some carelessness or some “idol” that has come between our souls and Him which is the cause for which He has sent them. It is very easy for us to fall into idolatry today, just as Israel did, only our idols may be new clothes, a new car, a beautiful home, or anything that comes between our souls and the Lord. Then the Lord has to send “spoilers” among us too, as He did here with Israel. They spoil our nice things, or at least our enjoyment of them, and then how empty they all seem. Oh, may the Lord keep us from setting our hearts on anything here, for if we do, we will surely be disappointed.
When the children of Israel felt the sting of the spoilers and were greatly distressed, then they cried unto the Lord and He raised up judges among them. These judges, as we have remarked before, were used of the Lord to remind the people of their sin and to deliver them from their enemies who oppressed them. But, alas, as soon as they were delivered they forgot the Lord and refused to listen to the judges who spoke to them in His Name. How often it is so with us. We cry to the Lord in our troubles, but when He does deliver us then we forget His goodness and go back to our old ways. There is always a “needs be” in every trial and it will result in blessing to “them which are exercised thereby.” Hebrews 12:11.
ML 08/09/1953