Judges 3.2: A Representation of Spiritual Warfare

The Lord left the nations of Canaan, not only to test the children of Israel, but also to teach them how to engage in battle. The Lord wanted them to learn how to be victorious in battle by depending on Him. Trials and obstacles in our lives can require different responses, depending on their cause and/or purpose. If the cause is sin, we need to turn from the sin and receive forgiveness. If the purpose is to strengthen us and to instruct us in the ways of spiritual warfare, we need to embrace the trials with open hearts and willing spirits and be willing to learn the lessons God is graciously teaching us.

We must recognize that present troubles may be a result of some unconfessed sin in our lives, I'm not saying it is absolutely, only that it could be. Examine yourself, your own heart and your situation. Judge all things by the Word of God. Ask the Lord to convict your soul of any sin in your life. Confess what He reveals to you and receive His forgiveness. Pray for deliverance from the problem and for complete restoration. I'm not sure when, but I will teach a series on deliverance. It may come after this series, so be on the lookout. Remember, God gave His only begotten Son to redeem you. James 1:2-4, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Pray for wisdom to know if the test you are facing is from the Lord. James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." God allows tests for the purpose of taking us to deeper levels of maturity and strength. Tests can also teach us about spiritual warfare.

The Book of Judges can teach us vastly about spiritual warfare if we view it through the lens of our own lives in our own time. We may not be in Israel in the year 1050 BC, but we do live in a world that has been infiltrated by the same entities that indwelt these people groups that inhabited ancient Canaan. As I brought out in this past month of Sundays, these entities are still worshipped in mainstream culture worldwide in our own time. The giants we face may not literally be tens of feet tall, weighing in tons, but they are very real and present dangers to our walk with God personally and to the lives of those we love. If we truly love people, created in the image of God, people who our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ bled and died for, then it is imperative we know these dangers and how to conquer them and further, how to teach them to do likewise.

"How wisely God permitted them to remain. It is mentioned in the close of the foregoing chapter as an act of God's justice, that he let them remain for Israel's correction. But here another construction is put upon it, and it appears to have been an act of God's wisdom, that he let them remain for Israel's real advantage, that those who had not known the wars of Canaan might learn war, v. 1, 2. It was the will of God that the people of Israel should be inured to war,

1. Because their country was exceedingly rich and fruitful, and abounded with dainties of all sorts, which, if they were not sometimes made to know hardship, would be in danger of sinking them into the utmost degree of luxury and effeminacy. They must sometimes wade in blood, and not always in milk and honey, lest even their men of war, by the long disuse of arms, should become as soft and as nice as the tender and delicate woman, that would not set so much as the sole of her foot to the ground for tenderness and delicacy, a temper as destructive to everything that is good as it is to everything that is great, and therefore to be carefully watched against by all God's Israel.

2. Because their country lay very much in the midst of enemies, by whom they must expect to be insulted; for God's heritage was a speckled bird; the birds roundabout were against her, Jer. 12:9. ( It was therefore necessary they should be well disciplined, that they might defend their coasts when invaded, and might hereafter enlarge their coast as God had promised them. The art of war is best learnt by experience, which not only acquaints men with martial discipline, but (which is no less necessary) inspires them with a martial disposition. It was for the interest of Israel to breed soldiers, as it is the interest of an island to breed seamen, and therefore God left Canaanites among them, that, by the less difficulties and hardships they met with in encountering them, they might be prepared for greater, and, by running with the footmen, might learn to contend with horses, Jer. 12:5. Israel was a figure of the church militant, that must fight its way to a triumphant state. The soldiers of Christ must endure hardness, 2 Tim. 2:3. Corruption is therefore left remaining in the hearts even of good Christians, that they may learn war, may keep on the whole armor of God, and stand continually upon their guard. The learned bishop Patrick offers another sense of v. 2: That they might know to teach them war, that is, they shall know what it is to be left to themselves. Their fathers fought by a divine power. God taught their hands to war and their fingers to fight; but now that they have forfeited his favor let them learn what it is to fight like other men.

II. How wickedly Israel mingled themselves with those that did remain. One thing God intended in leaving them among them was to prove Israel (v. 4), that those who were faithful to the God of Israel might have the honor of resisting the Canaanites' allurements to idolatry, and that those who were false and insincere might be discovered and might fall under the shame of yielding to those allurements. Thus, in the Christian churches there must needs be heresies, that those who are perfect may be made manifest, 1 Co. 11:19. Israel, upon trial, proved bad.

1. They joined in marriage with the Canaanites (v. 6), though they could not advance either their honour or their estate by marrying with them. They would mar their blood instead of mending it, and sink their estates instead of raising them, by such marriages.

2. Thus they were brought to join in worship with them; they served their gods (v. 6), Baalim and the groves (v. 7), that is, the images that were worshipped in groves of thick trees, which were a sort of natural temples. In such unequal matches there is more reason to fear that the bad will corrupt the good than to hope that the good will reform the bad, as there is in laying two pears together, the one rotten and the other sound. When they inclined to worship other gods they forgot the Lord their God. In complaisance to their new relations, they talked of nothing by Baalim and the groves, so that by degrees they lost the remembrance of the true God, and forgot there was such a Being, and what obligations they lay under to him. In nothing is the corrupt memory of man more treacherous than in this, that it is apt to forget God; because out of sight, he is out of mind; and here begins all the wickedness that is in the world: they have perverted their way, for they have forgotten the Lord their God." (Matthew Henry's Commentary via BlueLetterBible.com)

The disobedience and downfall of the children of Israel resulted from 3 factors:

1. They dwelt among the people of foreign nations.

2. They intermarried with them.

3. They served their gods.

The Israelites cohabited with their neighboring nations and turned their backs to the Lord’s commands. They began to assimilate into their sinful idol-worshipping culture. Consequently, God allowed them to reap the fruit of their sins. In His anger, God sold them into captivity to a pagan king. After eight years of suffering, they cried out to Him for help. God chose Othniel as their first Judge, and he saved them from captivity.

Just like God did not drive out the Canaanite nations for Israel, He allows us to go through situations that will test the genuineness of our faith. These experiences enable us to develop Christ-like character and obey Him irrespective of our circumstances.

Because of their sin, God sold the Israelites into the hands of their enemies. Still, He used multiple Judges to save them from captivity when they turned to Him for help. The salvation the Judges brought the Israelites was a dim reflection of the awesome gift of salvation we have through Jesus Christ.

God does not ignore our sins or pretend they don’t exist. There are consequences for sin. When the people of Israel continued in their sins, God justly judged them. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal death is the consequence for our sins.

We were all born into this world guilty of sin, enslaved by sin, and separated from God (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:2). Because of sin, we were all held in captivity to Satan, and spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-4). But thanks be to God who provided His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

God does not want anyone to perish in their sins. He would rather everyone repent and turn to Him for forgiveness (2 Peter 3:9). He is so merciful and willing to forgive everyone who comes to Him in repentance.

Those who repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ, believing and confessing Him as Savior and Lord, are assured of God’s promise that their sins are forgiven (Romans 10:9-10; Acts 3:19). God gives us a place of honor in His Kingdom and blesses us with eternal life instead of the death we all deserve (John 20:31).

Salvation is not based on our conduct or good works (we will never qualify), but on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. But after we are saved, God expects us to obey Him out of the faith we have in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Our lives should reflect the character of Jesus Christ as we consistently yield to the Word of God and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are to live holy lives out of reverence for God (2 Corinthians 7:1). In his letter to believers, Peter wrote,

“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” 1 Peter 1:17

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to HIs eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you." -1 Peter 5:8

If we continue to live a lifestyle of sin and refuse to repent, we can expect that God, as an impartial Judge, will judge our actions (Hebrews 10:29-31; Galatians 6:7-8). (In part, Beautifulinjesus.com/reflections-on-judges-3, accessed 11/18/2024)

Tomorrow we will dive into the second part of Chapter 3. The action will become a bit grotesque, discretion advised.