Thursday, September 20, 2007
By Faith... Or Not? Israel's Exodus and Conquest, Part 26 of 41
TEXT: "And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32).
IDEA: Idolatry was not centered in the images but in a system of living that took people away from God.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand why idolatry had a grip on the Hebrew people.
In Hebrews 11 four men of war (some were called judges) are singled out for inclusion in God’s “Faith Hall of Fame.” They are found in verse 32: Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah.
I. When we talk about “judges” in the Bible, what are we talking about? Would they resemble members of our supreme court?
They were political, military, semi-religious figures who arose in times of national crisis. They were not necessarily aware of the role they played or the fact that God was using them.
A clear example of this in another setting is Isaiah 45:1-4 where God used King Cyrus and Cyrus didn’t know it.
They are not “models” of theology or behavior for us to follow.
II. What do you know about the centuries covered by the book of Judges?
How long is four hundred years? It is like looking back from today to the first Europeans who settled in Virginia in 1607-08.
The period of the judges was the “death valley” of Israel’s history. The final line of the book of Judges says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”
Seven different times the people turned their backs on Jehovah and embraced idols. They carted in idols from all the surrounding nations.
God used pagan nations to punish His people for turning away from Him.
The people would return to God crying out for deliverance from their enemies, and God in His mercy would bring a judge to deliver them.
III. Why do you think the people kept going back to idolatry?
Have you ever seen the idols that the people worshiped? What did they look like? They were usually crude and simple.
It was not the statues that drew the people away from God. It was a system of living.
Everyone bought into the system—from individuals to governments.
The Hebrews were considered odd and out of step. The system of having different gods for different needs made perfect sense.
Do you think we have a “system” similar to that today? In 1 John we read:
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father it is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17).
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen" (1 John 5:21).
