Judges (Part 3) - Learning to Fight
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Ministry Team Fair Day!
As we move through this series in Judges, we will continually come back to a theme that runs the course of the book.
Judges was a time when “Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).
What we’ll see played out in Judges and reflected in our own lives are the repercussions of living before God as if he were not king, and living by simply doing what is right in our own eyes.
Our goal will be to return to a life of faith and love for Jesus that ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.
Judges (Part 3) - Learning to Fight
Focus: God allows trials to train our hands for war and our fingers for battle.
Learning to War
By the Spirit of the Lord
Being Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves
Learning to War
When God is leading us, he allows battles to test our hearts and teach us how to fight like him.
Judges 3:1-6 ESV
“Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. These are the nations: the five Lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.”
Too many of us reduce our Christianity to simply what we believe and not how we live.
To learn to live in the fullness of God, you are going to need to learn how to fight spiritual battles by faith.
God is a warrior who has never lost a fight.
God fights against the things that would bring slavery, ruin, destruction and death in our lives because of sin.
Moses rejoiced in this following God bringing the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt saying:
Exodus 15:3 (NLT)
The LORD is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!
Yahweh (transliterated “the Lord”) was the covenant name for the God of Israel by which he revealed himself and is mentioned more than 6000 times in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:14).
In fact, when we praise God with shouts of “Hallelujah”, it contains within it the word Yah, which is an abbreviated form of Yhwh speaking of the Lord’s timelessness and his being the “I AM”, the very foundation of all existence.
Jesus in John 8:58 said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
The Jews understood that Jesus was applying the name of God to himself, considered it blasphemy and attempted to stone Jesus.
Yet if this Jesus showed through his sinless life, sacrificial death on the cross for our wrongdoings and historic resurrection from the dead that he is who he said he is, then as we follow him, we have this same warrior God fighting on our behalf.
Years after Judges, a king after God’s own heart who would lead Israel with integrity of heart and skill of hand (Psalm 78:72) would say this about God:
Psalm 144:1-2 ESV
“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”
In judges, the other nations were left to teach war to the Israelites who had not known it before.
The other nations were also left to test the Israelites to see whether they were going to obey the commandments of the Lord as found in the law of Moses.
When the Israelites linked themselves through marriage to the surrounding nations, they began to serve the false gods of the surrounding nations.
This weakened their covenant commitment to God and stripped them of both the strength and backing of God to fight and win their battles.
How often do relational compromises in our lives strip us of a similar strength?
By the Spirit of the Lord
When we fight, it is not to be in our own strength but in the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Judges 3:7-11 ESV
“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.”
The first of the judges named was Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who we heard mentioned in the first chapter Judges.
What we can learn from him is that God raised him up as a deliverer to save Israel and that it was the Spirit of the Lord upon him enabling him to go to war, win battles and lead (judge) Israel.
In the same way, we are to answer the call of God by asking for the Spirit of the Lord to be upon us as well (Acts 1:1-8).
What is your relationship like with the Spirit of the Lord (otherwise known as the Holy Spirit)?
Do you interact with him daily as you read God’s word so that you might be empowered by the Lord as you go into your days?
Do you seek his leadership when deciding how to govern your relationships (including marriage - even when it is time for you to do so), resources and time?
Do you interact with the Spirit of the Lord when you are in your classes, in your workplace, when you are with family, friends or colleagues?
Do you look to him to overcome your own sin and encourage others in the deliverance that is available for them?
Do you depend upon him for divine wisdom in working deals, solving problems for your company, campus and city?
This is the purpose of a prayer life, where we cultivate a deepening relationship with God based on his word.
It is then and only then that we win our own battles over sin and have the strength, like Othniel to act as a deliverer for others.
Being Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves
God makes us wise as serpents and innocent as doves to win the battles he calls us to fight.
Judges 3:12-31 ESV
“And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their Lord dead on the floor. Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.”
We are delivered by Jesus to become deliverers for others, pointing people to true salvation found only in Jesus.
Ehud, the second of the judges mentioned, showed us how to walk with the wisdom and cunning of the Lord.
Ehud was a left-handed man, which meant that he was willing to operate outside of the norm and creatively as he sought to do the Lord’s will.
Ehud was coming against the oppression that was represented in Eglon, whose girth was a picture of the excesses of life that attempt to swallow up our love and devotion to God.
Ehud had to creatively plunge the sword into the belly of those excesses to see Israel freed.
When God’s word (the sword of the Spirit - Ephesians 6) begins to deal with issues in our lives, it may seem that what comes to the surface is unpleasant and stinks.
However, we can not be ashamed to deal with these issues because as Pastor Cole always says, “what God reveals, he intends to heal.”
What excesses in life are attempting to snuff out your love and devotion to Jesus?
Is it certain experiences that you feel that you need to have to be happy?
Is it a lifestyle or standard of living?
Is it companionship or the fantasy of it that pushes out time and devotion to the Lord?
“In sharp contrast with our culture, the Bible teaches that the essence of marriage is a sacrificial commitment to the good of the other. That means that love is more fundamentally action than emotion. But in talking this way, there is a danger of falling into the opposite error that characterized many ancient and traditional societies. It is possible to see marriage as merely a social transaction, a way of doing your duty to family, tribe and society. Traditional societies made the family the ultimate value in life, and so marriage was a mere transaction that helped your family's interest. By contrast, contemporary Western societies make the individual's happiness the ultimate value, and so marriage becomes primarily an experience of romantic fulfillment. But the Bible sees GOD as the supreme good - not the individual or the family - and that gives us a view of marriage that intimately unites feelings AND duty, passion AND promise. That is because at the heart of the Biblical idea of marriage is the covenant.”
- Tim Keller
Similar to Ehud, Shamgar was raised up by the Lord to save Israel with the use of an oxgoad by which he defeated 600 Philistines.
From this we can learn that God will use the tools of our everyday lives, in our responsibilities and our skill sets, to bring freedom to others.
*What skills, tools and experiences has God given you to be useful in bringing the good news of Jesus to others?
For every deliverer and judge that God would raise up to save Israel, they would all be a foreshadowing of Jesus, our ultimate deliverer and ruler whom David foresaw in Psalm 144.
As we are delivered through Jesus’ sinless life, sacrificial death on the cross for our forgiveness and triumphant resurrection from the dead for our new life in him, God calls us to follow in his stead to be deliverers like Ehud and Shamgar with the gospel of Christ.
To do so, like Ehud, we must learn to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves as we hold out the love and good news of Jesus in the midst of a hostile world.
Like Shamgar, we must make use of the time, resources and talents that he has made available to us.
Jesus would instruct his followers this way:
Matthew 10:16-42 ESV
“"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. "So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."”
Jesus has become both the wisdom and power of God to save our lives.
We learn to fight and win our battles as in repentance and faith, we remain in him.
Next week: SPECIAL GUEST PASTOR KORE BENDIX
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher