defeat

Judges 10:1-11:11, Jeremiah 23

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Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Judges 10:1-11:11 and Jeremiah 23.

This devotional is about Judges 10:16b: “And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.”

The book of Judges recorded God’s relationship with Israel in the Promised Land before the era of the kings began. Israel was settled in the promised land, but they still struggled to trust God and live according to his word. The result of their struggle was a cycle that repeated continuously throughout the book of Judges including here in our reading for today:

  • Phase 1: Disobedience (10:6) to God’s word which led to:
  • Phase 2: Defeat & oppression by their enemies as an act of God’s judgment (10:7-9).
  • Phase 3: Repentance in which God’s people turned to him for relief from their enemies (10:10-16).
  • Phase 4: Deliverance in which God sent a judge to give them victory over their enemies (11:1ff).
  • Phase 5: Obedience (for a while) until they lapsed back into phase 1.

As the shampoo bottle says, “Rinse and repeat.”

Throughout all phases this cycle–and, in fact, at every stage in Israel’s history–God’s love for his people remained. He stayed committed to the covenant he had made with them despite their disobedience and failure. Here in 10:11-14, God pushed back a bit on their repentance. He reminded them of all the times he had saved them after their repentance (v. 11) then told them to forget about it this time (v. 12) like a young girlfriend or boyfriend who says, “We’re never getting back together again.”

God’s compassion remained, despite his frustration. Israel’s suffering under the Ammonites got under God’s skin, too. As verse 16b put it, “And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.” Sin brings misery and suffering and, although God loves justice, he does not enjoy the suffering that his people endure for their sins. That is why he forgives us again and again and again when we repent. It is the infinite merits of Christ who lived as our righteousness and died as our sacrifice that keeps us in God’s good graces but it is also the incredible compassion of God that keeps him faithful to us as well.

Our sin struggles–meaning, our repeated failures despite sometimes good intentions–may cause us to wonder at times if God will ever stop forgiving us. That, in turn, may cause us to wonder if we should even bother repenting. This verse and many others in scripture teach us that God’s compassion and mercy is much greater than we can imagine.

If you are in Christ, keep striving for holiness and don’t ever quit because you fear God’s displeasure. In Jesus we are accepted; his blood allows the ocean of God’s compassion to keep restoring us when we look to him.

So keep looking to him….

Genesis 46, Job 12, Psalm 44

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Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Genesis 46, Job 12, and Psalm 44.

This devotional is about Psalm 44.

The “sons of Korah” who wrote this song were servants in the temple. That’s all we know about them. David was the beginning of music and lyrics in tabernacle/temple worship, so they followed him, but we don’t know how closely or how many years removed they were from David’s life and leadership of Israel.

We do know, however, that whoever wrote this song was longing for God to work in Israel. Verses 1-3 describe generally the work of God for Israel by bringing them military victory. This refers to conquest of Joshua, some of the victories of the Judges, and Saul and David’s victories. Because these men trusted God, God faithfully used them to win. But those “wins” came from God, as we read in verse 3: “It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.” God’s work in those victories was a display of his power and love on behalf of his people.

The Psalmist wants that to happen again. Verses 4-8 draw parallels to the men God used in the past. They trusted in God and so did the writer (vv. 4, 6). They glorified God for their wins (v. 1) and so did the author of this Psalm (v. 8). But the results were not the same. Although the Psalmist had experienced some victories from the Lord (vv. 5, 7), he had recently witnessed some severe defeats (vv.9-16).

The simplistic answer for these defeats would be that God is punishing Israel for her sins. (This is the same viewpoint that Job’s friends had, incidentally.) But in verses 17-18, the Psalmist denied straying from God. Yet the defeats came and continued (v. 19). God knew their hearts (vv. 20-22), so the author was confident that it was not a sin punishment that was causing these losses. In verses 23-26, then, he concluded his song in faith. He was not content to think, “Well, God provided for our ancestors but he’s not doing that any more for us.” Instead, he calls out the Lord. You made a promise to us, Lord (v. 26b: “unfailing love”), so show up and display your power for our blessing once again.

There is, sometimes, a tendency to think that God won’t do today the things he did in the past. God isn’t saving people in our land anymore or he isn’t building great, strong churches. We just have to be content, one might think with little candles of hope today, not the great roaring flame of God’s power.

Have you ever thought this way?

Well…, has Jesus’s promise, “I am with you to the very end of the age” been rescinded? Is it no longer true that “All power has been given, in heaven and on earth” to him? Of course not! So, when we read of God’s power, his provision, his salvation and his work in the past, our response shouldn’t be, “Too bad he’s not doing that anymore.” Instead, it should be, be faithful God and do it again!

Let’s pray that way today over anything that you are concerned or discouraged about. God’s power isn’t for the past; it is here for every age and every believer who calls to him in faith for it.

2 Kings 25, Haggai 2, John 15

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Read 2 Kings 25, Haggai 2, and John 15.

This devotional is about 2 Kings 25.

Judah’s final defeat to the Babylonians was recorded in this chapter. Although the Babylonians were ruthless to the people of Judah, their ruthlessness was militarily shrewd. Consider:

  • Before invading Jerusalem, the Babylonians used a siege to starve the city, weakening both the bodies of Judah’s army and the spirit of everyone in Jerusalem (vv. 1-3).
  • After Zedekiah, king of Judah failed to escape Jerusalem (v. 4), the Babylonians killed Zedekiah’s sons (v. 7a). So, there would be neither heirs to his throne nor retaliation from his family.
  • Then the Babylonians blinded the king and made him a prisoner (v. 7b).
  • The Babylonians then invaded Jerusalem and burned down “every important building” (v. 9c), including the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace (v. 9). That signaled both complete spiritual and military domination.
  • But before burning the temple, the Babylonians destroyed all of the furniture used in the worship of God (v. 13).
  • They also carried away all the valuable things they found in the temple (vv. 14-17).
  • But, that’s not all; the Babylonians rounded up key leaders in the temple worship (v. 18) and in the government (vv. 19-20). They forced these men to march to Nebuchadnezzar who ordered them executed (v. 21).

All of this was designed not only to defeat Judah but to grind their faces in the dust and emphasize to them that they had been decimated in every way–militarily, spiritually, and administratively. 

Then the Babylonians sent in an administrator who promised they would be safe as long as they submitted to Babylon (vv. 22-24). 

So here we have God’s chosen people and their Davidic king utterly defeated and humiliated by a pagan foreign nation. We understand that all of this happened because of Judah’s idolatry and disobedience to God.

But why did God allow it to happen in such a brutal, thoroughgoing way? 

The answer is that God wanted to show his people something that Jesus told his disciples hundreds of years later: “Without me you can do nothing.” Jesus said that in John 15:5 but God’s people proved it to be true over and over again.

God’s promise to his people was that in His will they would be unbeatable but outside of his will they would live in constant defeat. God still had plans for redemption for his people, but first he wanted them to experience absolute destruction without him.

As Christians, we don’t operate in a political and military context but the principle underneath this passage is as true for us as it was for Zedekiah and the rest of the people of Judah. We must trust God and be obedient to his commands if we will have any power in this life, any success spiritually. Are you living your Christian life in obedience to God’s word? Have you suffered some defeats and setbacks that might indicate your need to depend on God?