Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance Presbyterian Charge

Sunday May 24, 2020

Message: Jesus, the Righteous Judge

Reverend Glynis Faith

Before I read this morning’s Scripture, I would like to give a little context leading up to our passages. The book of Judges is the beginning of a new era for the children of God, for they are now settling as a nation into their own land – land gifted to them by God.

The people have been saved from bondage in Egypt and lived for 40 years in the dessert. They entered the Promised Land and with God as their shield, they overthrew the Canaanites and took possession of the land. NOW, the Canaanites were a cruel and corrupt people. God instructed the people of Israel to fully destroy the cities, sparing nothing. All the inhabitants were to be driven out and all the shrines and symbols to their gods were to be destroyed. God did not want the cruelty, corruption and idol worship left to influence the people.

Now one would think that with everything they had been through and the miracles they experienced they would have learned to follow God’s directions, but they didn’t. They let some people stay and they allowed them to keep their idols and their alters to other gods. They accommodated, and gradually they even accepted some of these practices in their own lives. So now lets look in on what is happening…..

SCRIPTURE

Judges 2:1-19 New International Reader Version

The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim. There he said to the Israelites, “I brought you up out of Egypt. I led you into this land. It is the land I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

At that time I said, ‘I will never break the covenant I made with you. So you must not make a covenant with the people of this land. Instead, you must tear down their altars.’ But you have disobeyed me. Why did you do it?

I have said something else. I said, ‘I will not drive out those people to make room for you. They and their gods will become traps for you.’ ”The angel of the LORD spoke these things to all the Israelites. Then the people wept out loud. The people offered sacrifices there to the LORD.

Joshua sent the Israelites away. Then they went to take over the land. All of them went to their own shares of land. The people served the LORD as long as Joshua lived. They also served him as long as the elders lived. Those were the elders who lived longer than Joshua did. They had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.

Joshua, the servant of the LORD, died. He was the son of Nun. He was 110 years old when he died. His people buried him on his own property at Timnath Heres. It’s north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.

All the people of Joshua’s time joined the members of their families who had already died. Then those who were born after them grew up. They didn’t know the LORD and what he had done for Israel. The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They served gods that were named Baal.

They deserted the LORD, the God of their people. He had brought them out of Egypt. But now the Israelites served other gods and worshiped them. They served the gods of the nations that were around them. They made the LORD angry because they deserted him. They served Baal. They also served female gods that were named Ashtoreth.

The LORD became angry with the Israelites. So he handed them over to robbers. The robbers stole everything from them. The LORD handed the Israelites over to their enemies all around them. Israel wasn’t able to fight against them anymore and win. When the Israelites went out to fight, the LORD’s power was against them. He let their enemies win the battle over them. The LORD had warned them that it would happen. And now they were suffering terribly.

Then the LORD gave them judges. The judges saved them from the power of those robbers. But the people wouldn’t listen to their judges. They weren’t faithful to the LORD. They served other gods and worshiped them. They didn’t obey the LORD’s commands as their people before them had done. They quickly turned away from the path their people had taken.

When the LORD gave them a judge, he was with that judge. The LORD saved the people from the power of their enemies. He did it as long as the judge lived. The LORD felt very sorry for the people. They groaned because of what their enemies did to them. Their enemies treated them badly. But when the judge died, the people returned to their evil ways. The things they did were even more sinful than the things their people before them had done. They served other gods and worshiped them. They refused to give up their evil practices. They wouldn’t change their stubborn ways.

 MESSAGE

When you read through the book of Judges, you will note a distinct pattern:

• The people return to their sinful ways
• Consequences for sin are handed out
• People cry out to God
• God has mercy and delivers the people
• The people return to God

* and then the cycle begins again

It is so obvious when you read through it, and I recall years ago wondering why the people could not see it for themselves.

Why put yourself through such an ordeal? Why do we stray from God? Why do we enjoy the blessings of the Promised Land, but forget the Promise Keeper? It is puzzling?

As I was studying the book of Judges this week, something stood out that helped me see the answer to my own questions.

Verse 10 tells us “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, and another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.

Add this to the fact that the previous generation had not removed the idols and alters of the Canaanites, which remained as a stumbling block to the people.

Put those two things together, 1) The Word of God had not been passed down to the next generation. This can happen when we ourselves fall away and don’t keep God at the heart of all we do, and it can happen when our words and actions don’t match up. 2) The previous generation had not removed the stumbling blocks from their midst, they allowed the idols in their society to be worshiped along side God. 1+2= a generation that do not realize that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and abundant in love and mercy.

Verse 12 & 13 tells us “they forsook God,” “followed and

worshiped gods of the people around them,” “served Baal

and Ashtoreth.”

It saddens me to think of a generation that does not know God and does not know the story of God’s great love for Creation and all Created beings. It is a reality, however, that we now live in just such a time. We have a generation that has turned away from God and their children who are not being taught the Good News of Jesus.

Children today can name all the players of various sports teams, but they do not know the great patriarchs of the faith – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Children know all the Marvel superheroes and the villains, but they know nothing of Samson or Ezekiel, nor do they know the reality of the villain Satan.

This generation can memorize the patterns for winning popular video games, but they have not learned the pattern of conversing with their Creator through the Lord’s Prayer.

This lack of knowledge of God and of all that God has provided them leaves this generation vulnerable to the traps of temptations that surround them. This pattern is not just a pattern from the Old Testament – or a pattern that has no relevance for us today. This pattern is truly relevant to us today and it is important for us to pay attention to the past – to learn from it.

But let us not focus on what has gone wrong, instead, let us focus on the solution, let us focus on Jesus. In the book of Judges we find Jesus in verse 18, “Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them….”

The word judge is also translated as leader, and the three judges, or leaders we are most familiar with are Gideon, Deborah and Samson.

Gideon had a self-confidence issue and could not be confident that he was hearing God correctly, so he asked God to confirm with a sign. (I think many of us can relate to this, being fairly certain of what God has asked, but wanting confirmation) Gideon put a piece of fleece on the ground and asked God to confirm by bringing a morning dew to soak the fleece but to leave the ground dry, which God did. Still not confident, Gideon asked God for one more sign of confirmation, let the ground be wet and the fleece be dry, and it was so. So, Gideon trusted and led the people into battle, and God gave them victory over the enemy.

Deborah was courageous. When we think of females in the leadership of the church, Deborah generally comes to mind. God asked her to send a man by the name of Barak to lead the people out against their enemies, but Barak was afraid. His reply to Deborah was, “if you go, I will go,”  so she did, and the Spirit went with her, and the people were once again delivered from their enemies.

And then there is Samson, every little Sunday School child’s Superhero. Handsome, long flowing hair and super strong muscles. When Samson messed up, because that is what humans are prone to doing, even the superhero ones, he was smart enough to call out to God for one last helping hand, and Samson, by the grace of God, would free the people from their enemies.

So how do we make the connection to Jesus as our Righteous Judge. Well, listen closely to verse 18 again, “Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies…”

It was not the judges alone who led the people to freedom, it was the judges empowered by God that led the people.

Friends, on our own we can do nothing to defeat that which opposes God, but, when we put our trust in Jesus – when we put ourselves in His righteous judgement, when we step out in faith and follow His teachings, then He will lead us to freedom.

On our own we cannot empower the next generation to know the Good News of Jesus. On our own we cannot teach the love, mercy and grace of God poured out for us in Jesus. But when we take the time to know Jesus as our saviour, we can trust Him as the Righteous Judge that leads us in the battle.

As I follow the pattern of the judges, I feel a need to call out in prayer to God. God, help us to reach out into the world around us and show this generation the power of Your love and saving grace. Help us to tell the stories of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the stories of Creation, of sin and of redemption. Help us to share our faith through our words and our actions, pointing to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which opens freedom to all who will believe.

Friends, I challenge you to take time to read through the book of Judges and pay attention to that pattern. Read through it all at once, or sit and reflect on a chapter a day. As you read, prayerfully consider where we are today in the pattern you see. Ask God for truth. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Ask Jesus, our Righteous Judge, to walk with you.

I will close with this story.

Two young boys, Joshua and Peter, started kindergarten together and became the very best of friends. Joshua was well-mannered and studious, while Peter was impulsive and known for pushing boundaries. Although as different as night and day, these boys remained the very best of friends all the way through school.

After graduation Joshua went off to law school and Peter picked up a job at the local grocery store. They kept in touch for awhile, but eventually Joshua lost track of his friend as letters started coming back ‘return to sender.’

As the years passed, Joshua graduated law school and made a name for himself for his honesty and integrity as a defense attorney, eventually becoming a judge.

Peter’s life had not gone as well, often finding his impulsiveness leading him down the wrong paths. Peter too knew the legal system, only from the other end.

One day when Joshua was serving the court, he looked down to see a familiar face – the face of his dear friend sitting in the seat of the accused. Joshua knew the struggles of Peter’s childhood, and knew his friend would have to stay home after school to help his mom take care of his younger siblings, but Joshua had hoped life would turn around for his childhood friend.

Peter was devastated to see his friend this way – what must he think of him? What did it matter anyway, because he had messed up but good this time! Why could he not learn to think things through better?

The court case was heard, along with a reading of the multiple previous convictions for theft, public mischief and vandalism. There was no question as to Peter’s guilt in this charge, as he had been caught in the act. Joshua, had not choice in his capacity as a judge but to had down the appropriate sentence.

The penalty with its hefty fine was simply more than Peter could ever pay. For Peter, it seemed like his friend had become his enemy and it felt like his life was over.

After passing sentence, Joshua asked that the court be cleared and the accused remain with his council. Joshua then removed the robe that represented his office as judge and stepped down to speak with his friend. As a friend, Joshua took out his cheque book and paid his friends debt in full. “Dear Peter” he said, “my dear friend, if you should ever want to talk, or if you need anything, please come to me.”

ease pray with me:

Jesus, you are the Righteous Judge who convicts us of our sins, yet also paid the price for our sins. You are indeed our Righteous Judge, and we lift our hearts in praise and thanksgiving to You. Thank you, Jesus.  AMEN