Judges 2:10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.
There is no sadder situation than when someone, having been warned of the consequences of their actions, still continues to do the actions. The warning is right there in front of them, plain as day, but they refuse to heed the warning. They rush straight forward off the proverbial cliff.
And all those who look on can see what is coming, but they are powerless to stop it. All they can do is stand there with their mouths open in disbelief. “How could they be so stupid!” But they just continue on the path until they hit the brick wall.
It can be easy to stand at the sidelines and be the armchair quarterback. Everything becomes plain after the play has been run. It is easy to see how the defense was able to defeat the offense.
But the problem with armchair quarterbacks is that they have no skin in the game. They have no investment, nothing to lose. They also have nothing to gain. They are irrelevant to the game and its outcome.
Our text drops us at the beginning of the thumbnail sketch of the whole book of Judges, one of the saddest books in the Hebrew Bible. The pattern has been laid out for the people by Moses and Joshua. When the people reject the LORD, the LORD will bring disciple their direction, right onto their heads.
But the real problem starts with a familiarity with the LORD that weakened the essential bond between God and humanity. Humans stopped trusting, stopped reaching out, stopped engaging with the LORD, and that was fatal, just as they had been told.
Over the next twenty verses or so, the author lays out the pattern that will be repeated over and over again in this book. They leave the LORD and worship other gods, gods of the people of that land. This aroused the LORD’s anger against them. How stupid could they be! They are handed over to their enemies who take their stuff and sell them to other enemies. The LORD doesn’t go to battle with them and they are defeated.
Then the LORD raises up a leader for His people. But they only listen for a short time, and then return to their errant ways. Hit the repeat button, and you get the story of Judges.
Why didn’t the LORD get rid of every inhabitant of the Land? He left some natives to give the Israelites the opportunity to get to know and trust the LORD. It would be in the testing of battle that the people could see the LORD’s hand and learn to trust Him for victory.
But they failed the test repeatedly, over generations, to their detriment. The lesson plan was evident. When you need to go to battle, draw in close to the LORD. Listen to what He has said and is saying, and then do it. Simple. Clear. Memorable.
But they didn’t take the opportunity to learn. They instead continued on their wayward path, trusting in their newly discovered gods instead of the LORD who could actually do something. They trusted in wood, stone, metal rather than the living God who had been with their ancestors on their whole journey out of Egypt and into the Land.
It can be easy to neglect the simple, clear, memorable instructions the LORD gives. We get sidetracked by so many other things that we trust instead. Science, medicine, politics, economics. So many things to trust, so little time.
But the One who is always trustworthy is still here, waiting for us to return and be faithful.
The Arnold Journey 