I confess that I haven’t spent a whole lot of time hanging out in the book of Judges. But after discovering this gold nugget of truth, I’ve decided I need to! Hang with me while we unpack these few verses….
Beginning in chapter 2, verse 21, the Lord speaks…. ‘ I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not. ‘ So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly) Judges 2:21-3:2
Context first. When the Lord delivered Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, He led them into beautiful Canaan, the land He has promised to Abraham generations before. It was an arduous journey and a circuitous route, due to the on/off relationship to obedience of God’s people! But finally, they made it. They arrived at The Promised Land. But the land was not empty, just waiting for them to move in. Most of the areas God promised to them were already occupied by peoples hostile to the One True God.
So the children of Israel had to get those people out in order to occupy the land God had given them. The entire Old Testament book of Joshua details this conquest. Over and over, God encourages Joshua not to be afraid but to hold fast to Truth and to possess the Land of the Promise. And over and over, through many trials and miracles, Joshua leads the people in doing just that. God grants them victory over the heathen nations, driving them out in defeat and destruction. Great victories.
But also some setbacks. Some defeats. Some disobedience.
Judges 2:10 records for us what happened after Joshua died …and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. The chapter goes on to describe the on/off obedience of God’s people and how God let them suffer the consequences of their choices. That’s where we pick up…
The enemies of Israel had no right to be in the land. They were not only tempting the people to dishonor God, they were actually controlling them to the point of servitude. Instead of serving the Lord, His people were bowing to the demands of their enemies.They were supposed to get rid of these people…but they didn’t. I guess they thought it was just not a big deal to let these natives stay. Sadly, it turned out to be a very big deal indeed. Many times, God had shown mercy on them, rescuing them from their captors. But in the passage above, we see where God decided His people needed to learn how to fight. How to wage war on their enemies and subdue them. He let those enemies remain.
The rest of the book of Judges tells us the story of that journey. The children of Israel would cry out to the Lord in desperation; He would raise up a leader (a “judge”) who would lead them in war against their captors; the Lord would give victory; the judge would rule for a period of time; after his death, the people would fall back into disobedience and the ensuing consequences. The cycle repeated itself for generations until finally, God granted their plea for a king.
That is a portion of the history of God’s people in a nutshell. That’s our context for the verses we’ll unpack. What does God want us to learn from the passage about His leaving the enemies there to test them, in order that they might be taught war?
Probably lots of things. But here’s what spoke to me…
In this life - in yours and in mine - there are bound to be some enemies. Those enemies might be hanging around because I didn’t get rid of them like I was supposed to (sins, bad habits, and the like). Or they might be there because somebody else didn’t get rid of them and I am left to deal with them now. Either way, God could get rid of them.He could drive them out or just make them disappear with just a word. But He’s not doing that. Just like the situation with Israel.
And just like Israel, He leaves those hard things - those enemies - there to test me. Not the kind of test that gives me a grade. He isn’t interested in quizzing me to see what I know. No, this kind of test is more like an MRI. It’s to reveal (to me! God already knows!) where the problems are in my heart. This kind of test diagnoses the issues causing me trouble, lays bare the roots that are producing wrong fruit.
And once I see the results of the test, I am able to go to The Great Physician and seek His prescription.
One of the things I think this passage says He will do is to teach me to fight. How to wage war against the enemies. Once the test reveals the problems, I will learn that to fight means I must make no provision for my flesh (Romans 13:14). I must not grant any ground to my enemies - none whatsoever. I must fight them with divine warfare and drive them out of my life. I call it the “I can’t buy Oreos” principle. I LOVE Oreos. So much that I could eat the entire package! So I’ve learned it’s better for me to resist them in the grocery store than in my pantry where they call out to me all during the day - just a bite! Just a taste! Til I’ve eaten the entire package. I just can’t buy them. I must make no provision for my flesh.
Maybe it’s not Oreos for you. Maybe it’s certain online sites or activities. Maybe it’s a TV show or social media time. Something that might even be OK for somebody else. But for you, it is a temptation to dishonor God, to entrapment…even to enslavement.
Those enemies of our soul began as temptations to our flesh. And we have to get fight them intentionally if we want to live in the blessings of God’s promises.
This is a supremely beneficial lesson to learn. This is why God lets me experience the presence of the enemies….so I will fight them fiercely.
God showed me another lesson in this passage. This one has to do with parenting. But this post is already too long. I’ll cover that lesson next time :)