Judg 2:14-16 | KingComments | STEP | God loves His people too much to let them go on the wrong way. The remedy He uses may seem strange, but it is effective. It says strongly: “He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them.” If you are plundered, it means that you have nothing left. Everything has been taken away from you, you have lost it. We must always remember that it is about the people of God who live in the promised land and are allowed to enjoy everything God has given them. All these blessings are robbed from the people, they are lost because of their unfaithfulness and forsaking the LORD. It’s the same with us. If we become unfaithful and forsake the Lord, no longer taking Him into account, we will no longer be able to enjoy the heavenly blessings. Other things have become more important to us such as earning money, making a career, luxury holidays. It can all become so important to us that we are totally seized by it. It is going to dominate us in such a way that it will eventually predominate us. It gives no peace to the soul, no real happiness to the heart. It is fake happiness that is a yoke. Only when we understand its slavery and notice that we have lost our heavenly blessings a change can take place. Until then, they have disappeared from our lives, robbed by the enemy. This enemy does not leave us alone, he is chasing us to more and higher happiness in the world. God has allowed this, yes, He has even worked it. He has withdrawn from our lives to give the enemy a free hand so that he can do with us what he wants. He wants us that we start to long again for Him and what He gives. We can learn this from the way in which He deals with Israel here.

‏ Judges 2:14-16

In the Hands of Enemies

God loves His people too much to let them go on the wrong way. The remedy He uses may seem strange, but it is effective. It says strongly: “He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them.” If you are plundered, it means that you have nothing left. Everything has been taken away from you, you have lost it. We must always remember that it is about the people of God who live in the promised land and are allowed to enjoy everything God has given them. All these blessings are robbed from the people, they are lost because of their unfaithfulness and forsaking the LORD.

It’s the same with us. If we become unfaithful and forsake the Lord, no longer taking Him into account, we will no longer be able to enjoy the heavenly blessings. Other things have become more important to us such as earning money, making a career, luxury holidays. It can all become so important to us that we are totally seized by it. It is going to dominate us in such a way that it will eventually predominate us.

It gives no peace to the soul, no real happiness to the heart. It is fake happiness that is a yoke. Only when we understand its slavery and notice that we have lost our heavenly blessings a change can take place. Until then, they have disappeared from our lives, robbed by the enemy. This enemy does not leave us alone, he is chasing us to more and higher happiness in the world.

God has allowed this, yes, He has even worked it. He has withdrawn from our lives to give the enemy a free hand so that he can do with us what he wants. He wants us that we start to long again for Him and what He gives. We can learn this from the way in which He deals with Israel here.

The LORD Raises up Judges

Further on in this book we read a beautiful word about the feelings of God toward His people when He had to surrender them to their enemies because of their unfaithfulness: “He could bear the misery of Israel no longer” (Jdg 10:16). What a God full of mercy and compassion! We read something like this in Jdg 2:18 of our chapter. He starts to work for the deliverance of His people and for that He uses people who serve Him and judge evil.

The name ‘judge’ says it already. A judge is someone who points the finger at evil and administers justice. He pronounces his judgment and verdict on it. The judge is not someone who only judges between people, but he is also on behalf of the people the leader in confessing guilt to God. By doing so he restores the bond between God and His people. He is the new connection between the LORD and His people.

For us, who live in the time of the church, a judge is not primarily a person, but a principle. This means that God wants to bring us to self-judgment if we have become a slave of desire again through our unfaithfulness. He wants us to judge the wrong thing in ourselves. He awakens in us the longing to deal with sin, which has once again become boss over us.

This is the same as with the enemy. This is not a literal enemy for us either, but a spiritual power that wants to assert itself again, as we have read before: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]” (Eph 6:12).

The fact that God gives judges speaks of a revival based on judgment. In other words, the self-judgment that a person comes to after a correct judgment of the true state of things. Self-judgment is to give the wrong thing in oneself the right place by judging it. This will enable the Lord to regain His proper place in life. The Lord is with this humble mind, this mind of self-judgment, and He delivers the person. The same goes for a local community of believers.