Judges 10:6-16 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD,and served Baalim,and Ashtaroth,and the gods of Syria,and the gods of Zidon,and the gods of Moab,and the gods of the children of Ammon,and the gods of the Philistines,and forsook the LORD,and served not him. (7) And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel,and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines,and into the hands of the children of Ammon. (8) And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel:eighteen years,all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites,which is in Gilead. (9) Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah,and against Benjamin,and against the house of Ephraim;so that Israel was sore distressed. (10) And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD,saying,We have sinned against thee,both because we have forsaken our God,and also served Baalim. (11) And the LORD said unto the children of Israel,Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians,and from the Amorites,from the children of Ammon,and from the Philistines? (12) The Zidonians also,and the Amalekites,and the Maonites,did oppress you;and ye cried to me,and I delivered you out of their hand. (13) Yet ye have forsaken me,and served other gods:wherefore I will deliver you no more. (14) Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen;let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. (15) And the children of Israel said unto the LORD,We have sinned:do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;deliver us only,we pray thee,this day. (16) And they put away the strange gods from among them,and served the LORD:and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
To me,the Book of Judges is one of the saddest books of the Bible. The Israelites have come out of the wilderness into the land promised to them and we see in the Book of Joshua the wonderful victories that God has given them as they possess the land. Then we come to the Book of Judges.
Judges 2:10-13 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers:and there arose another generation after them,which knew not the LORD,nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. (11) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD,and served Baalim:(12) And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers,which brought them out of the land of Egypt,and followed other gods,of the gods of the people that were round about them,and bowed themselves unto them,and provoked the LORD to anger. (13) And they forsook the LORD,and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Within two generations,the Israelites had turned away from God and began to serve other gods. It says in verse 12 that the Israelites forsook the Lord God – that means they abandoned God,they turned away from Him. There is a two-fold problem here in chapter 2:first – in verse 10 we see that the older Israelites must have failed to teach the younger Israelites about God and what He had done for them. They must have neglected their duty to pass on to the next generation the things of God. Second:because the Israelites had not been taught,they turned away from God and went chasing after the false gods of the people around them. How about you:are you teaching your children,grandchildren and loved ones about Jesus Christ? Please do not depend on Sunday School classes and church services to be the only time your children and grandchildren hear about God the Father,God the Son,and God the Holy Spirit. That is only four hours a week – please be sure to teach your children and grandchildren about salvation and Jesus Christ.
As you read the Book of Judges,you will see this is a constant pattern with the Israelites:they would turn away from God and sin,they would suffer,then they would supplicate themselves before God and then God would bring them salvation. How much better their lives would have been if they just kept their focus on God rather than on themselves. How much better our lives would be if we today would just keep our focus on God rather than on ourselves. That brings us to Judges 10.
Judges 10:6,7 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD,and served Baalim,and Ashtaroth,and the gods of Syria,and the gods of Zidon,and the gods of Moab,and the gods of the children of Ammon,and the gods of the Philistines,and forsook the LORD,and served not him. (7) And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel,and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines,and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
The Israelites have had two judges in a row to guide them and after the second died,the Israelites quickly did evil again in the sight of the Lord. It is so sad how quickly they began to worship the false gods of the people around them. In verses 7-9,we see that the Israelites were oppressed and vexed for at least 18 years. The nations around them – whose gods they were worshiping – were making war with them.
Judges 10:10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD,saying,We have sinned against thee,both because we have forsaken our God,and also served Baalim.
The Israelites begin to come to their senses and realize they need to repent and turn back to God. They cry out to God,but had they really repented? Was it repentance or is it recognition of their sin? It appears that they have not really repented of their sin and just recognize that they have sinned. There is a big difference between the two. Look at verses 11-14. The Lord reminds the Israelites what He has done for them in the past and points out that the Israelites have forsaken Him again. God tells them:(v14) Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen;let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. Personally,I would not be surprised if the Israelites had already cried out to Baalim,Ashtaroth,and the other false gods and found that they did not help. How often do we try everything else before we turn to God? How often do we try to accomplish something under our own strength rather than pray to God for help? Look at verse 15 and see how the Israelites cry out the second time – this time there is true repentance.
Judges 10:15,16 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD,We have sinned:do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;deliver us only,we pray thee,this day. (16) And they put away the strange gods from among them,and served the LORD:and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
The first time they cried out to God,they admitted that they had sinned,but that was it! This time The Israelites cried out and put some feet to their words:their repentance led them to action. The first time they are saying:“O God,we have sinned because we followed Baalim.” The second time they cry out:“O God,we have sinned and we deserve whatever you do to us. Please save us.” Then they put away the idols and the strange gods and began to obediently serve the Lord God. There is a big difference between the two occasions. They began to fear the Lord God again and chose to follow Him. God began to move in their lives when they moved back toward Him. God was working in their lives while they were unrepentant,because He was drawing the pagan nations to afflict the Israelites – God used the pagan nations to chasten the Israelites because a loving Father knows that He has to chasten His children when they go astray. Repentance became real in their lives and they acted upon it. The first time their repentance was just lip service.
God does not want false repentance and He does not to worshiped for the wrong reasons. What is your motivation? Ask God this question:“Why do I do what I do in my service to you?” The answer may dismay you. God does not want your service if your motivation is wrong. Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said,Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth,and with their lips do honor me,but have removed their heart far from me,and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:Repent if your service to God is poorly motivated! In Isaiah 29:13,we see that the Israelites’worship of God was self-centered! They worshiped Him in the manner that made them feel good,not God. Their fear and reverence of God came from what men taught them – it was not in the way that God showed them. God does not want you to just go through the motions of service and obedience to Him. He wants you heart to be right with Him God wants to you to do anything that you do because you love Him and desire to serve Him. God wants your worship of Him to please Him not yourself! That means that not all music pleases Him! Look at what the All Holy God told the Israelites in the Book of Amos:Amos 5:21-23 I hate,I despise your feast days,and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. (22) Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings,I will not accept them:neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. (23) Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs;for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. Look at verse 23 again – there is some music that God rejects and we should reject it too. Not all music is appropriate in the believer’s life. Rock ‘n roll does not belong in the believer’s life. Country music does not belong in the believer’s life. Is a musician truly honoring God if he or she sing about God in one song and on the next song they are singing about drinking and partying? Christian rock is not “Christian.” If the music you listen to now as a saved believer in Jesus Christ sounds the same as the music you use to listen to – but with “cleaner” lyrics – then it is not God-honoring music. You are in need of revival when the music you listen to does not honor God.
Revival will come when repentance comes into the believer’s life. In the Book of Joel,God urged the Israelites to truly fully repent. Joel 2:12-13 Therefore also now,saith the LORD,turn ye even to me with all your heart,and with fasting,and with weeping,and with mourning:(13) And rend your heart,and not your garments,and turn unto the LORD your God:for he is gracious and merciful,slow to anger,and of great kindness,and repenteth him of the evil. The Bible shows that when Israelites were in mourning they would put on sackcloth and place ashes upon their head and weep and wail. Look at verse 13 again:God wants them (and us) to not just put on a show of repentance but to truly repent! Rend your heart,not your garments,and turn to the LORD your God. God wants us to repent and be sincere about it and He will show us His grace and His mercy. I thank God that He is slow to anger and that He is very long suffering with me. I try His patience too often. God wants you and me to turn to Him with all of our hearts and when we do that,we will have a proper fear of the Lord God.
Today there is a distinct lack of the fear of the Lord among people,including Christians. What is meant by the phrase “fear of the Lord?” In the Bible it does not mean that the believer should be scared of God,but they should reverence Him. The Webster’s 1858 dictionary says:In scripture,fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men,the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws,which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character,leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being,and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear. Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:his praise endureth forever. People do not fear the Lord God like they should. We need revival when we do not fear the Lord. We need revival when do not feel conviction about the sin in our life. We need revival when we do not love God like we should. Read through the Book of Proverbs – at least 12 times it discusses what the fear of the Lord is in the life of the believer. Proverb 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged:and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Pro 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life:and he that hath it shall abide satisfied;he shall not be visited with evil. Pro 23:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners:but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
The fear of the Lord,the reverence for Him should happen each and every day of our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat,or drink,or whatsoever ye do,do all to the glory of God. If we do not properly fear God and respect Him,then we will not be obedient to Him. When we do not properly fear God,then we will not feel conviction for our sin. When we do not properly fear God,we will not feel conviction over that cigarette that was just lit up,or conviction for that glass of beer or wine that was just poured,or conviction about that TV show you just watched that had only “a few” bad words in it and “only” a couple scenes of immoral behavior. If there is one,then that is too many!
When we do have the proper fear of the Lord,then we will look to lift Him up and glorify Him,rather than ourselves. When we do have the proper fear of the Lord,then we will throw away those horror novels and romance stories about vampires. When we do have the proper fear of the Lord,we will focus on Him and His Word. When we do have the proper fear of the Lord,we will regularly pray to Him. We need revival when if we spend more time justifying our sin than repenting of the sin. The first steps to revival is regular prayer and reading of God’s Word.
Prayer is all important in the believer’s life. Jude 20-21 But ye,beloved,building up yourselves on your most holy faith,praying in the Holy Ghost,(21) Keep yourselves in the love of God,looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Praying to God builds up our faith in God. Praying to God connects us to Him. Praying to God builds our love for Him. Praying to God gives us a greater fear and reverence for God. To be more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29),we need to daily pray to God and daily read our Bibles. Leonard Ravenhill wrote:No man is greater than his prayer life. The two prerequisites to successful Christian living are vision and passion,both of which are born in and maintained by prayer. The ministry of preaching is open to few;the ministry of prayer – the highest ministry of all human offices – is open to all. Spiritual adolescents say,“I’ll not go tonight,it’s only the prayer meeting.” It may be that Satan has little cause to fear most preaching. Yet past experiences sting him to rally all his infernal army to fight against God’s people praying. A sinning man will stop praying and a praying man will stop sinning. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another,and pray one for another,that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Matthew 21:22 And all things,whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,believing,ye shall receive. Prayer is all important in the believer’s life. Make the time to pray each and every day. Each of us needs revival if we can identify with any of the following statements:
We need revival when we are not daily praying and daily reading God’s Word. We need revival when church dinners are better attended than Wednesday night prayer meeting. We need revival when we do not love God as we once did. We need revival when we would rather watch TV rather than read the Bible or pray. We need revival when we make little or no effort to win the lost. We need revival when we have time for sports or amusements,but do not have time for church,Bible study,or prayer. We need revival when our Christianity is joyless and dry. We need revival when the only person you can hear sing in church is the song leader. We need revival when our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry. We need revival when we are bored with going to church. We need revival when going to church becomes our duty and not out of the love for God. We need revival when our worship is halfhearted,lifeless and becomes mere duty. We need revival when people have to be begged to serve God. We need revival when we know Biblical truth in our heads,but we are not practicing it in our lives. We need revival when we would rather make money rather than give money. We need revival when people have to be entertained in order to come to church. We need revival when we are unmoved by the fact that people are dying and going to hell. We need revival when we are not seeing the regular evidence of the supernatural power of God in our lives regularly. We need revival when we are more concerned about our children’s secular school education and activities rather than then condition of their souls. We need revival when we do not long for fellowship with God and His people. We need revival when our priorities are not spiritual first. If you identify with anything on this list,please do not hesitate to go to God in prayer and repentance! Go to Romans 12.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore,brethren,by the mercies of God,that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,holy,acceptable unto God,which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world:but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,that ye may prove what is that good,and acceptable,and perfect,will of God.
God does not want you to die for Him – He wants you to be a living sacrifice. Live for Him each day! Look at verse 2 again:we are not suppose to be conformed to this world – we are suppose to be different from this world!The lost should look at believers and see that there is something different about believers in Jesus Christ – because we are suppose to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow,he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. This can only happen when we are spending time with God through His Word and through prayer. Have you noticed sometimes how a husband and wife after they have been married together for 30,40,50 years – that they start to look alike? They show the same mannerisms. They finish each other’s sentences and seem to know exactly what the other is thinking. That is how our relationship should be with God. How did that married couple get that way? Because they spent time together and built a relationship. We need to do the same with our relationship with God – spend time with Him by reading His Word to us and getting down on our knees in prayer to Him. That way when people look at us – they do not see us,they see Jesus Christ. We are in need of revival when people look at us and do not see Jesus Christ. When believers are willing to say,“Yes,God” then God will revive them. Are you willing to say “Yes,God” tonight?
Psa 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again:that thy people may rejoice in thee?