The Kindness of God
Judges 10
April 25, 2004

Introduction:  Tension in Scripture in explaining the Lord.

How far had Israel fallen?   V. 6

I. Picking up the pieces

            Abimelech's rule left Israel in chaos.  Internal strife and conflict left bodies and scarred towns in its wake.

1.      In need of a deliverer, 10:1-2

Nothing fancy is stated; only a brief pedigree, identification of his tribe, and hometown given.  But the simple words say it all, "Tola...arose to save Israel."  As in the previous section, the divine presence is noticeably absent from the record of the events but certainly not from the events.  God was working, raising up Tola to save Israel.  Why did Israel need saving?

(1)   The nation had consistency in only one thing, not following God's way.  Like sheep without a shepherd, a deliverer was needed.

(2)   Abimelech had destroyed what little infrastructure they had during the days of Gideon by killing his 70 sons.  He sought to dismantle any kind of stability in the nation, so that through dictatorial fashion, he might have control.

(3)   So chaos reigned.  It seemed that in all the confusion Israel didn't even know what it needed.

(4)   So Tola comes on the scene to save Israel - to save them from plunging deeper into the abyss of despair and lawlessness.

(5)   He "judged" Israel for 23 years.  A sense of law and justice had fallen away.  God raised up Tola to fill the gap and restore order.  Hence we see the kindness of God.  Did anything in Israel merit deliverance?  On the contrary, the Lord showed compassion just as He does so often in our lives.

Application:  Think of how many times in your life it seems that you were suddenly jerked from a descent you were on.  You could have plunged into incredibly damaging relationships or situations, but "out of the blue" - it seemed - you were caught, jerked in another direction, saved from some desperate plight.  Those were no accidents.  These demonstrate the sovereign kindness of God, halting you on your course of sin and destruction by the Invisible Hand; saving you from shame and sorrow and slavery, though at the time you did not recognize Him.

2.      Better than nothing, vv. 3-5

That's not a very warm way of introducing Jair the Gileadite!  He did judge Israel for 22 years, and in the process it seems that he aggrandized his own sons.  But at least there was some semblance of order, unlike Abimelech's reign.  The 30 sons on 30 donkeys in their 30 cities point to Jair making full use of his privileges.  Though it is certain that with 30 sons he had multiplied wives - like Gideon.  And in doing so he had abandoned the divine ordering of the family.  So I'm suggesting that Jair made such use of his office that he set his boys up for life.  He even gave them donkeys, which one writer says would be like giving each of them a Porsche! (fn 882 in Block, NAC, 340).  It was not a situation of humble, servant leadership - or so it seems.  But, it was still better than the chaos of Abimelech.  Perhaps God's kindness is two-fold in this case:

(1)   Israel had a judge to give them some type of civility lest they fall into chaos.

(2)   God showed them man's propensity for desiring recognition and displaying one's status.

Ralph Davis pointedly comments:  "In all our ways there is this subtle urge to secure our position, to display our status, to extend our influence, to guarantee our recognition.  Christ's servants seldom care to be servants (see Mark 10:35-45).  We have never gotten over the garden (Genesis 3:5) - our program to unseat the true king has a way of slipping out from behind our largest fig leaves" (131).  Such a reminder to awaken us is surely God's kindness displayed.

II. From bad to worse

            In previous chapters, we've found Israel going after the Baals and the Ashtaroth.  But that wasn't enough for them.  They were slow learners.

1.      Monotheists becoming polytheists, v. 6

Monotheism is the worship of one God - in this case the God of Creation and Covenant.  But though Israel was in covenant with Yahweh, they turned to polytheism - the worship of multiple or many gods - to satisfy their pursuits of sin.

(1)   Polytheism is really illogical.  Think about what takes place.  Worship, sacrifice, service, and prayers are offered to one god.  Then the same is offered to another and another and another.  Will the real god please stand up?!  The nature of God excludes the existence or claims of any other god.  If he is God, then he cannot be rivaled; e.g. Elijah on Mt. Carmel with the 450 prophets of Baal.  Yet commonly on every continent, multitudes pursue polytheism.  It is done without careful thought, yet it is done.  The problem with Israel, aside from polytheism, was that for good measure, they would throw in the worship of Yahweh.  Just like the sophists in Athens who lined their streets with statues or idols to 30,000 deities even though they only had 10,000 residents, just in case they are missing out, they worship the "Unknown God."  Israel often syncretized their religious worship of other gods with the practice of worshiping Yahweh.  Baal and Ashtaroth worship involved cultic prostitutes.  So did the gods of Aram (Syria) and Sidon, which would have been local variations of the same.  The gods of Moab and Ammon were Chemosh and Molech - both of which sanctioned human sacrifices as expressions of devotion.  The gods of the Philistines were Dagon, Ashtaroth and Baal-zebub (TOTC, Cundall, 138).  They would have been worshiped with all the superstition and immorality as the others.

(2)   Could Israel go down any more than this?  They had abandoned the God who had delivered them and shown them grace upon grace to follow after other gods.  The only appeal in these deities was the lusts of the flesh.  Nothing of holiness or honor could be found.  No transcendence, majesty, or sovereign rule was among these gods.  They gave themselves to disgusting displays of the flesh and pagan practices that even called for sacrificing their own children to these gods.

2.      God acting as God, vv. 7-9

Anger is an attribute of God just as is love.  It is no temper tantrum or sudden reaction that breaks forth in uncontrolled outbursts.  His anger flows from His justice.  As John Frame (The Doctrine of God, 465) points out, "There is no shortage of verses that ascribe wrath directly to God."  He adds, "God's wrath is terrible, but, in the course of history, the Lord is eager to defer that anger, to forgive those who turn from sin" (466).  In this case, God's anger is actually related to His love.  Why did His anger burn against Israel?  He was in covenant with Israel, so that a special relationship of love existed with them.  But as Israel rejected Him to follow other gods, "he is filled with holy jealousy, and the result is wrath.  When we see God's love not as a mere sentimental affection, but as a covenant commitment we see it as a jealous love that leads to wrath when it is abused.  So God's love and his wrath are not at odds with one another" (Frame 467).

So in righteous anger at the covenant love being rebuffed again and again, He sold them into bondage.  It took years of bondage to break through Israel's hearts until they cried out to the Lord.  What we must realize is that God's action in anger also displayed the divine kindness, for whatever was needed to turn Israel away from the gods of Canaan was surely kindness so that they might ultimately know again the grace of God.  He also provided a stark backdrop, that of suffering the horrors of bondage due to pagan gods by pagan people.  Israel had been so numbed by the world and their lust for it that they had forgotten the wonder and magnificence of God's grace.  So in kindness He sold His covenant people into bondage that they might eventually see their own folly and desire nothing but the Lord.

III. Mercy rich and free

            No one merits mercy or else it would not be mercy!  Any honest study of Judges points over and over to the distinct way that Israel deserved nothing but God's displeasure.  Yet we see sovereign displays of His mercy:

1.      A confession, v. 10

They finally admitted particular sin!  Previously they were just sorrowful at God selling them into bondage (2:15), but now they owned up to their sin.  Were they honest?  We have our doubts judging the account in Judges!  But perhaps some among them were genuine.  Yet they still deserved nothing.  Maybe they only wanted deliverance, and saw this as a quick route to freedom (v. 15).  Certainly, some were disingenuous.  But even that misses the point.  Mercy is displayed sovereignly not out of demand upon God.  We approach Him humbly for His favor.

2.      For the record, vv. 11-14

They needed a little lesson in history!  Israel had forgotten the multiple times of deliverance:  by Moses with the Egyptians and Amorites, by Ehud from the Moabites, by Shamgar from the Philistines, by Deborah and Barak from the Canaanite confederation, by Gideon from the Midianites.  But they had paid little attention to the past, living as hedonists for only the present.  Such is a grave danger in our own day that forgets God's past mercies and the future of eternity.  So, in mocking fashion, the Lord counsels them to call on the many gods they had been worshiping:  Let these gods deliver you.

            Application:

Consider how the world has never met the deepest needs of any soul.  The world doesn't free anyone from sin or bondage or evil habits; it does not forgive, regenerate, give a new nature, or provide for eternity.  The world only takes!

3.      Divine pity, v. 16

Still they cried; put away their gods, which evidently remained initially, just in case God didn't come through.  But the false "safety net" of other gods must be removed so that as sinners, we cast ourselves wholly upon the Lord.  The language shows something of the divine heart:  "He could bear the misery of Israel no longer" or "His soul was short with the misery of Israel."  How do you explain this?  Could they do anything for the Lord?  Did they deserve any favor?  Would he benefit by showing them favor?  "Our hope does not rest in the sincerity of our repentance but in the intensity of Yahweh's compassion" (Davis 136).  That doesn't minimize repentance since it is a divine command.  It "may be a condition but not a cause for God's restored favor" (Davis 136, fn 5).

 

In the final analysis, "he is the God whose holiness demands he judge his people, yet whose heart moves him to spare his people.  If it is a tension, its origin is in the bosom of God himself" (Davis 137).

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