As I read through Judges 1 this morning, the Lord began to blow my mind (as always!). Judges is a book written at a rough phase in Israel’s history. The nation of Israel kept pursuing other gods and abandoning the Lord. He would allow them to be over-taken by another nation, then raise up a judge to redeem them after they repented.
In Judges 1, it describes the nation of Israel overtaking several nations and conquering them as the Lord instructed. However, something subtle changes in the text as we read through it. The soldiers started by driving out all of the inhabitants, or killing them. Then, they slowly transition to allowing the conquered peoples to live among them, then using them as forced labor. This is NOT what the Lord had told them to do! They were supposed to rid the land of all the people in order to cleanse it from idolatry. However, over time, the people began to stop taking the Holiness of God seriously. They allowed the pagan to live among them. They quieted their conscience by using them as forced labor. They probably assumed, “If we rule over them and master them, then they will not have any influence over us. I am still the master.” Over time, we see that the Lord is displeased, and the Israelites are led (once again) into idolatry.
Is it not the same with our sin?
How many times have I fooled myself into believing that I have mastery over my sin nature, only to see it rise up and consume me?
The Lord has commanded us to put sin to death. It is not to be toyed with. It is not a joke, not to be taken lightly. And we certainly can never assume that we are master over it. Look how that mindset destroyed the Israelites!
They assumed that making the pagan nations slaves would prevent them from being influenced. But they were sadly mistaken. Judges tells us that the Lord “gave them over to other nations.” They were conquered, and the hand of the Lord was against them.
Romans 1:24,26,28 tells us a similar story about humanity. The Lord “gave them over” to their sinful desires, allowed them to be consumed by their sin nature. That is a staggering thought. Let that sink in for just a moment: He gave them over to their sinful desires. That makes me quake in fear! God forbid that I be given over to my own desires! How terrifying! There is nothing good in me apart from Christ! Which is why I must be completely “given over” to HIM!
I must drive out every remnant of sin in my life so that it will not have influence over me and lead me astray. I must wage war and put it to death.
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