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ISRAEL UNDER JUDGES.
CESSON IX, FOURTH QUARTER,
7 INTERNATIONAL
SERIES, DEC. 2.
Text of the Lesson, Judges ii, 11-93.
Commit Verses—Golden Text, Heb. Iii,
12 —Commentary by Her. D. M. Stearns.
[Condensed from H. Lesson Helper Quarterly, Philadelphia, by
publisher.] permission of S. Hoffman,
In studying the history of Israel it is neces¬
sary to keep in mind that the Lord God had
chosen them to be a special people unto Him¬
self, above all people upon the face of the
earth: an holy people unto the Lord their
God, that He might dwell among them, and
that they might magnify His name before
the nations. He only asked of them a cheer¬
ful and whole hearted obedience and submis¬
sion, promising on His part that they should
be made to enjoy the greatest possible tem¬
poral prosperity and be the head of all na¬
tions, no one being abls to stand before them.
(Ex. xix, 5, 6; Deut. vii, 6; xxviii, 1-14.)
Their history during the forty years that
Moses led them is found in the books of Ex
odus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy,
We have just been studying their history
under the leadership of Joshua, as recorded
in the book of Joshua, and now we come to
their history under the Judges for about 450
years, as recorded in this book.
11. “The children of Israel did evil in the
sight of the Lord, and served Baalim.” At
seven times do we find this statement
concerning their doing evil in this book (ii,
11; iii, 7, 12; iv, 1; vi, 1; x, 6; xiii, 1), and a
reason is given in tho preceding verse, that a
generation had arisen which knew not the
Lord, nor j et the works which He. had done
for Israel.
12. “They forsook tiie Lord God of their
fathers.” Some of Joshua’s parting words
were: “If ye forsake the Lord and serve
strange gods, then will he turn and do you
hurt and consume you” (Josh, xxiv, 20), but
these words are now forgotten or unheeded;
and worse still, the Lord who brought them
out of the land of Egypt, and made them a
nation and gave them this good land, is for
gotten and forsaken.
13. “They forsook the Lord, and served
Baal and Ashtaroth.” These were the male
and female divinities of the nations before
ment ioned, and their worship was associated
with the most cruel and also the most impure
practices; the very extreme opposite of that
required by tho pure and holy and loving
God of Israel.
14. “The anger of the Lord was hot against
Israel.” in the account of this sin written in
i J s. evi, 34-4G, it is said tho “wrath of the
Lord kindled against Ilis people, insomuch
that lie abhorred His own inheritance, and
He gave them into the hand of the heathen.”
In Jer. xii, 7, concerning a later sin it is
written: “1 have given the dearly beloved of
my soul into the hand of her enemies.” It
was because of His great love for them that
He thus chastened them for their sins, as it is
written: “You only have I known of all the
families of the earth: therefore I will punish
you for all your iniquities.” Amos iii, 2.
15. “The hand of the Lord was against
them for evil, . . . and they were greatly
distressed.” The way of the transgressor is
hard (Prov. xiii, 15), but they were the re¬
deemed of the Lord and His hand was upon
them lor evil only to make them see the evil
of their ways and turn from it, that He
might do them good.
1G. “Nevertheless, the Lord raised up
judges which delivered them. ” Nevertheless,
He regarded their affliction when He heard
then- cry; and He remembered for them His
covenant (Ps. evi,44-45). Do not our hearts
say: foolish people, why grieve and
turn away from such love? why not abide in
such a 1 .end; why not constantly rejoice in
such power?” Then a voice whispers: “Thou
art i ae wan; Israel’s sin is just thine own, and
the ':uu God of Israel regards today tho cry
of ' r .w* o. r erring, oft repenting one, and de
liv rs those who call upon Him, such as call
upon Him in truth. Why not abide ever in
His love?
17. “Turned quickly out of the way.” Al
though He beard their cry and raised them
up judges who delivered them, they sooif fell
away into sin as bad as ever, aud would not
hearken to the judges; their hearts seemed
fully set in them to do evi!. Love seemed
lost upon them, and past warnings seemed
utterly in vain; they were full of seif and sin,
sake forgave them and restored them many
time.
18. “The Lord was with the judge.” If
were not so the judge could have done noth¬
ing. The Lord was with Moses, and Joshua,
and David, and the kings who did right in
His sight, and the prophets who spoke in His
name. And the same Lord says to us to-daj*:
“Lo, I am with you alway.”
“It repented the Lord.” This expression,
often used in reference to God, and first found
in Gen. vi, 6, refers to God’s visible procedure
as it appears to us. That God should ever
change His mind, or His purpose, or be sorry
for anything He does, is simply impossible.
‘JO. “The anger of the Lord.” We had the
same expression in verse 14, and it is found
again in this book in chapters iii, 8; x, 7. It
is difficult for us to think of anger without
sin, although we are told in one place to be
angry and sin not (Eph. iv, 2G); however
difficult that may be for us, we cannot think
of any sin in connection with the Lord’s anger
or wrath, for He is of purer eyes than to
behold evil and cannot look upon iniquity.
(Heb. i, 13.) A righteous indignation against
base ingratitude and rebellion and slighted
love will in some measure describe the anger
or wrath of the Lord; but there is much in it
that is indescribable, and only the great day
of His wrath wnen it is come (Kev. vi, 10,17)
will fully show day. what (Zeph. it means; 3; may Isa. we all
be hid in that ii, xxvi,
20 , 21 .)
21-23. “That I may prove Israel.” Because
they transgressed His covenant and would
not hearken to His voice, therefore the idola¬
trous nations were left or suffered (margin of
v. 23) in the land to prove Israel (chap, iii, 1,
4). Thus the wilderness journeyings were to
prove them, to know whether ttiey would
love Him with all the heart or not (Deut. viii,
2, 1G; xiii, 3); thus He tempted or tried or
proved Abraham in the matter of Isaac (Gen.
xxii, 1), and thus also He tried or proved
Hezekiah in the matter of the ambassadors
from Babylon (II Chr. xxxii, 31). An oft re¬
peated lesson of Scripture is, that God wants
a tried people heart, who will love and with servo Him Him
with all the following walking as
Enoch did, and Him fully like
Joshua and Caleb; strong in faith, rejoicing
to do His will, meditating upon His word
day and night, an< 1 separate from the idola¬
trous world. As Israel was chosen to mako
God a name, so believers today, called out of
the world to form the church, which is tho
body of Christ, aro to bear constantly tho
name of Him who called them to Himself
(Acts ix, 15, 10), and for His name’s sake
(ill John 7, R. V., “for tho sake of Jbe
name”), go forth as His witnesses, The
ordinary Christian life is much tho same
as the history of Israel in the book of
Judges, just a constant disobeying, then and
weeping and repenting, folio wed then forgiveness disobedi¬
rest ana joy, soon by more
ence and tho same circle over and over again.
The remedy is to oeaso from self, lay easily aside
every weight and tho sins which do so
beset as— not try to, but simply do it—and
run with patience, looking unto Jesus. (Heb.
xii, 1, i.) There is no need to live tho weary
round of constant sinning and weeping and
repenting.
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