Judges 10:1-18

The Lord uses various judges to call the children of Israel back to the worship of the Lord.  Some of these men were more effective than others, but invariably, when these judges died; Israel would fall back into the worship of Idols.  Tola and Jair both judged Israel for over twenty years and it appears that they were able to maintain the focus of Israel on the Lord.  However once they died Israel once again began to worship idols and follow the gods of the nations that were surrounding them.  In their mind they must have thought that they were be more secure if they were more like the other nations around them.  The reality was that as they capitulated to these nations they were left vulnerable and were soon overrun, dominated and oppressed by these nations.  The attitudes and actions of Israel were met with corresponding reactions from God.

REJECTION OF GOD RESULTED IN INVASION: When Israel rejected God and went seeking after idols in order to be more like the nations around them they were invaded by the nations around them.  Rationalization is seldom effective in our lives.  When we become more like the world, we end up being overtaken by the world.  That is just the natural consequence of sin.  While sin may look pleasurable from the outside looking in, it always has negative consequences that far exceed any temporary pleasure that may come from it.  Israel rebelled against God for almost two decades and was dominated and oppressed by the nations around her.  Rejecting the Word and will of God will always result in invasions by the world that far exceed anything we expect or desire.  Dabbling in sin is dangerous business.

REMORSE TOWARDS GOD RESULTED IN INDIFFERENCE: Once Israel recognized the consequences of their sin were far greater than they expected, they became remorseful.  This attitude of sorrow was met with complete indifference from God.  Israel was sorry for the consequences of sin under which they were suffering, but that is not what God is looking for in the hearts of His people.  Sin brings suffering, but the desire to be free from suffering is far different than the desire to be free from sin.  Relief from suffering is simply a self-centered desire that does not move God to action.  It is like the child who is sorry that he got caught in disobedience but still clings to the love of sin.  When we become sad and sorrowful while suffering under the consequences of sin; we must examine our hearts to see if we are only remorseful over the consequences we face while still loving our sin.

REPENTANCE BEFORE GOD RESULTED IN INTERVENTION: Finally the people stop focusing on the consequences of their sin and begin to focus on the cause of their sin.  They recognize that they have been an idolatrous people and that their idolatry has brought the wrath of God upon them.  They now respond with true repentance and put away the idols that they were worshiping.  They are not only sorry about the consequences of sin; they actually turn away from sin.  When God sees this true repentance on their part, He begins to intervene on their behalf.  God’s intervention came in the form of calling the nations to war.  That may not seem like intervention, but it was.  God’s path to deliverance will always require an increase in our faith, trust and dependence upon Him.  That is simply the way that He works in the lives of His children.  True repentance will always be accompanied by faith and true faith is always accompanied by repentance.