Sunday Devotional: Judges 2:16

And the Lord raised up judges, and they saved them from the hand of those plundering them.

We saw last week how Israel ignored the Lord’s wise command to purge the land of those that would lead them into idolatry, and ended up forsaking the Lord for idols. After all they had been through, and all the evidence they had seen of God’s mighty hand moving on their behalf, from the parting of the Red Sea to the fall of Jericho, you’d think they would have more sense. Imagine if you had seen these amazing acts of the Lord right before your eyes; if you had witnessed the mercy and faithfulness of God to you in such a dramatic way, would you be so quick to distrust His counsel, and to turn away from Him?

The sad fact is, the answer is undoubtedly yes, we would. The sad fact is, we do, daily. Just like Israel, we have seen mighty acts of God–perhaps not on the scale of parting seas or destroying city walls, but in restored relationships, changed hearts, provision for food, clothing, and shelter when such provision seemed impossible. In many ways, God shows His grace and mercy to us, and we don’t see it. We turn a blind eye, take His grace for granted, and run off to serve our own Ba’als: money, people, food, entertainment, ourselves. We put these things before the Lord, give them an unwarranted place of honor and importance in our hearts, and turn aside from the things of God.

But just as with Israel, God doesn’t leave us in our sin. God was angry with Israel, and He had every right to turn away from them, turn his righteous wrath upon them, and consume the entire nation with fire. No-one could have complained, because they had been warned, and this would have been their just reward. But the Lord had invested His love in these people. He made promises to Moses and the Joshua, and while His people had been unfaithful to them, God was not going to respond in kind. Instead of repaying faithlessness with faithlessness, God repaid their rebellion with grace. He raised up judges to save them, and He continued to raise up men to rescue His people from their own foolishness.

And the Lord has not left us without hope. He has provided a Savior for us, His people, today. Christ has paid the penalty for our sin, so when we wander off to our Ba’als, our Savior has taken our just punishment for our sin. But we are not left to wander, for by His grace He has given us the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the One who calls us back to the Lord. He convicts our wayward hearts and draws us back to Him. He puts within us a recognition of our failing, and a desire to repent and be done with sin. It’s the Holy Spirit, the One who indwells each of God’s people purchased by Christ on the cross, that draws us back to the Father.

May we remember to be truly thankful to our great God and Savior, who doesn’t leave us in our sin and our wandering, but reminds us of His faithfulness, and draws us back to His loving arms.

Have a great week!