July 10, 2011
Background Scripture: Judges 2; 21:25
Devotional Reading: Psalms 78:1-8
Reading the Book of Judges, it appears that the most frequent and virulent disease occurring repeatedly in the life of Israel is the spiritual infection of disobedience. I counted six times in Judges when the writer says: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baal” (2:11, 3:07, 3:12, 4:01, 10:6, and 13:1).

Although other terms are used, this same pronouncement is used throughout the Old Testament, particularly those writers/editors telling the historic story of Israel. No matter how many times God’s special people confessed their sins and sought the Lord’s pardon, in no time at all it seems they were back at it again: Brazenly doing evil in the sight of God and forsaking Him for the pagan idols of their neighbors.

It is easy to find ourselves disbelieving that a favored people could act so faithlessly – that is, so long as we are considering someone else’s faithlessness.

Three symptoms

Basically, this spiritual disease had three major symptoms. First, the people blatantly broke the covenant relationship with God. They did the very things He told them not to do and failed to do the things He told them to do. They did not renounce God with their words, but with their deeds.

Throughout most of their history, the people of Israel were like the son in a parable told by Jesus; he promised his father he would go to work in the family vineyard, but then didn’t do it (Mt. 21:28-31). This son thought his status as son was so well established that he didn’t have to live up to it.

Second, despite warnings without number, the people of Israel often broke their covenant with the Lord by serving Baal, the male god of the Canaanites. Actually, in my Bible (RSV), “Baal” is named 60 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. There are also 19 mentions of  “Baals,” for many cities and towns had their local Baal.

In the New Testament the Baal is sometimes related to “Beelzebul,” the prince of the devils, and Jesus’ enemies identified him with this satanic prince (Mt. 10:25, 12:24. 12:27; Mark 3:22; and verses 15, 18 and 19 of Luke 11.) The point is not just that they worshipped other gods, but that they worshipped gods who led them into evil.

The final symptom of their deadly spiritual virus was their assumption that despite the Baals, despite the broken promises, despite their blatant infidelity, they truly believed they were okay and that God would keep the covenant that they had repeatedly and brazenly violated.

This was a kind of spiritual exceptionalism: We have the covenant with the Lord, so we can do as we please. So when the prophets came condemning their unfaithfulness, they couldn’t believe the prophets spoke of them, God’s chosen few.

Boomerang

It is at this point that I remind you of the words of Jesus: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone …” (Jn. 8:7). If we take some critical shots at the people of Israel, we must be careful lest some of our missiles double back like a boomerang and strike us instead.

Are there not similarities between the Israelites and ourselves? Do we not constantly break the covenant with the Lord? Do we not decide to sidestep some teachings of Jesus because they might put a crimp in our lifestyles?
First, we will win the battle against evil using Satan’s own weapons, and then we will restore the covenant once we have won. “We’re all for you Jesus, but we’re sure you’ll excuse us if we fight the battle on Satan’s own battlefield and with his own weapons!”

“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were round about them … and they provoked the Lord to anger” (2:11,12). Might that not be our own epitaph?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.