Judges 2:1 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers, and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. v2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall thrown down their altars; but ye have not obeyed my voice; why have ye done this?"
Judges 2:16" Nevertheless, the LORD RAISED UP JUDGES which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them"
The angel of the LORD term appears more than 40x in the bible. Essentially it was thought that the person is Jesus Christ Himself.
The second chapter opens with a harsh judgement on the nation of Israel. I ended up in last blog - Bochim - the people wept.
Joshua let the people go and everyone went to their own inheritance to possess the land. This earlier generation served the LORD all the days of Joshua as well as the elders who outlived JOshua who had seen the great works of the Lord. Joshua died at 110 years old. Then the problem kicked in when the next gen x-y-z who do not know the Lord came in.
It is a scary thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.
How can we provoke the LORD to anger?
v2:11-19 :
1. Do evil
2. Serve Baalam, Baal, Ashtaroth
3. Follow other gods
4. Follow the gods of the people that were around them
5. Failed to listen to the judges but whore (prostituted) after and bow (worship) to other gods
6. Fail to obey the commandments of the LORD
7. Corrupt more than their fathers
What happens when God turns hot ?
a) God delivers us into the hands of the spoilers or raiders
b) sells us into the hands of the enemies
In this interesting history time, after Joshua died, the Lord RAISED UP JUDGES. The people were supposed to listen to the judges. And when times they did not, judgment was met .
The interesting pattern goes throughout this book of Judges. When it came to pass when the particular judge died, the people went back to the old days and corrupted more. But when they repented, they were delivered. We call it the 7 cycles of sin.
Reflection
Back in those days following Joshua, judges were righteous and they helped to judge, rule, deliver the nation. The Hebrew title is "Shophtim" - meaning "judges, rulers, deliverers or saviours" Purpose - maintain justice and settle disputes, to liberate and deliver.
Back then , the people often fall into a cycle of being corrupt after a while. But how about judges of today? Today, democratic nations are govern under the rule of law. National constitutions are drawn up individually in various countries on how the people in that country should be ruled.
Just earlier this month, something interesting cropped up in the courts with a member of the law society here. I often wondered why the term "called to the bar"?
Well the Bar is the body of legal practitioners who practice as barristers. The sudden barging in of this fellow member and the sequel of events that is now underway with the famous noodle in this little red dot - "Sumee" is funny yet, sad.
Sad. Has the bar been lowered? Has it been compromised? Has it been politicised?
Few more days to our 47th birthday ....Someone used the word "Repent" during the GE2011 Election. Indeed, how apt and important is this concept from this Chapter 2 of Judges. Hope is still there for those who are willing to repent. Afterall, our God is the Chief Justice of this nation. There is no one like Him. His nature is one of mercy and grace. Don't ever provoke HIm to be hot....the little dot may turn from red to black ashes indeed.
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