Title: Jehovah, Judge of Justice
Contents
*(2) Judges 1:1·8 Jehovah, the Judge of Justice
Last time we considered the words as we begin the book of Judges and connect it with the last part of the book of Joshua. At the end of the book of Joshua, when Joshua dies, he gives a will to the people of Is. ‘God fights for you. You will possess the land of Canaan, as God has said. Therefore, you must keep the law and do not worship idols, but love God. Also, you must never marry a stranger, and if you obey all these words, you will be blessed, but if you disobey, you will perish.'
The people make a covenant, swearing several times, saying, “We will never forsake God, and we will serve the Lord.” But Is, who made this covenant, served the LORD all the days of Joshua and the elders who survived Joshua, those who knew all that the LORD had done for Is.
But after the death of Joshua and his generation, the new generation did not know what the Lord had done for Is unless they knew the Lord. So the people of Is did not serve God, but did what was right in their own eyes.
Not only did he follow foreign gods and make and serve idols, but he was also morally promiscuous. Their depravity gradually worsened, and eventually even the Levites, who were priests, broke the law and got a concubine, and even the people showed that they did not hesitate to practice homosexuality.
Therefore, in the last chapter of Joshua, Is, who swore and swore that he would keep the covenant with God, broke that covenant like a devoted partner and disobeyed God and was punished by God.
The people of Is sinned, were judged by God, became slaves to the Gentiles, and then prayed earnestly to be saved. This pattern of sin can be explained as a spiral structure that gradually decreases as it repeats. - Corruption of Is in the Age of Judges -
1) The sins and treason of Is committed through idolatry or apostasy
2) According to God's punishment, Is became a slave of a foreign nation.
3) Is the plea or repentance of
4) God appointed judges to save Is
5) A time of silence when the war stopped
After Joshua's death, the Is nation was ruled by sasana and heroic military leaders for some 350 years before a coalition government was established under King Saul. “Judge” in Hebrew means “to judge,” “to rule,” or “to save.” Whenever Is was attacked and oppressed by the Gentiles, God raised up judges to save them. The occupations and statuses of the judges varied widely, and most returned to their original positions upon completion of their duties. The judges ruled local rather than the whole of Is, and were not hereditary.
Looking at the introduction to the book of Judges like this last time, I said this. First, I talked about how important it is to inherit the heritage of faith. The tragic vicious cycle of the Book of Judges can be seen as starting from the fact that the faith of the generation of the Exodus and the Sinai covenant was not passed on to subsequent generations. Because future generations lacked the experience and conviction of who Jehovah is, the spiritual purity and devotion to spiritual warfare that he demanded was bound to decline.
Everyone, I hope that you believe that passing on the legacy of pure faith is the most important legacy that determines the future of not only me and my family, but also the future of my children and the future of the nation.
Second, the Korean church and all of us must bear the mission of spiritual warfare. We must fight spiritual battles against all kinds of temptations in the world, and we must fully acknowledge the rule of Christ without relying on the power and wisdom of the world. The Word movement must arise, the spirit of prayer must live, and the holiness movement must arise. I believe that you and I should all become soldiers of Christ who carry out the mission of spiritual warriors.
*Judges begins with ‘After the death of Joshua’.(1) Joshua, the leader of Is following Moses, was a man of great leadership and a warrior of faith. He led Is to the land of Canaan during the reign of 14 years, winning battles large and small. He died at the age of 110, unable to raise a leader who rivaled him.
No matter how great a hero is, he cannot avoid death. Anyone who recognizes that their life is finite, and prepares for the end of it, can be said to be a truly 'wise person'.
Afterwards, the 12 tribes of Is did not have one powerful leader, but lived as an alliance system for each tribe. Thus, the settlement and conquest of the land of Canaan also proceeded for each tribe. Although Joshua had prophesied before his death that ‘you will not be able to serve the Lord’ (24:19), the descendants of Is were still completely trusting in God, so they are asking God who will fight the Canaanites first.
Even if they were confident in their successes and successes under Joshua's rule, this 'question' was possible because of the humble confession that all these victories were possible through the work of God, not through their own strength. In this way, it can be said that a ‘question’ toward God shows a person’s spiritual state. We must be servants of faith who ask Jehovah every moment.
God answers these people's questions (2). God is a God who responds. God made the tribe of Judah go up first, saying, “I have given this land into their hands.” The battle had not yet begun, but victory was promised. Gentlemen, God promises us victory as well. Therefore, we can live if we are sure of the future. God is a God who fights for us.
The tribe of Judah follows the word of God (3). Anyone would have tried to do something easy and convenient, but this is a job with life as collateral. Nevertheless, Judas is willing to go to the forefront of the battle according to God's word. Also, Judas knows the value of working together and asks his brother Simeon to go with him.
This is not a request for help from not believing in God or asking for help out of fear of the other person. The tribe of Judah was one of the most powerful tribes at the time, while the tribe of Simeon was one of the weakest. Rather, it is the tribe of Simeon who will benefit from this union.
Therefore, Judas set the example of living dependent on one another, uniting as one for the Lord's work in God. It is pleasing to the Lord for brothers and sisters to unite together for the work of God.
As God had promised, “the Canaanites and the Perizzites were delivered into their hands” (4). However, the first battle was fought against the Canaanites and Perizzites in Bezek, and it is very interesting that the battle was fought in Bezek. Bezek lies on the northeastern edge of the Central Palestinian Mountains. This is a place far from the land of Judah, and it is presumed to be a settlement area of the tribe of Simeon. Since the tribe of Shemeon was based in Shechem, central Palestine, this assumption is very convincing.
What do you mean? Judah united with Simeon, the tribe that was weakest in God's command to advance, and through this, the first benefit he sought was not that of Judah himself, but of the tribe of Simeon, whom they had asked for help. This cannot but be a beautiful image of brothers united in God. He showed a beautiful unity and partnership that did not fight first for mine, but fights for brothers first. Ladies and gentlemen, blessed are those who give, blessed are those who value their brothers more than me, and they must be generous measures of faith, striving to be last rather than brothers.
On the other hand, the enemies of Canaan and the Perrisites were completely defeated. However, among the Canaanites they defeated, the representative figure was Adonibezek. ‘Adoni Bezek (My Lord, God is Justice)’, the king of the enemy army, was a war-maniac who captured several kings and put their limbs to death.
The tribe of Judah seized Adonibezek and cut off the thumbs of his limbs. The ‘thumb’ represents the king’s fighting ability and dignity, and being cut off means that he can no longer exist as a king. getting back what he did. Adonibesek then confesses to pay for the sins he had committed in the past (7). In this way, people do not realize their mistakes until they have experienced them.
As the name implies, Adonibezek received the same things he had done before and was judged by the God of Justice. He had previously insulted 70 kings and made them live under his command amid shame and a thousand generations. God punished Adonibezek for his unholy battle, the battle to satisfy his greed.
Adoni Besek claimed his dignity and glory to many people, but he became responsible for his actions before God, the ruler of the real universe. This is a warning to all who seek their own good and honor without considering God's justice. A person who inflicts insults and despair on people outside of God will be rewarded for what he has done. I pray that we can become people of faith who can be conscious of God's gaze, who always live in fear and awe before God's justice, in the name of Jesus.