MPC, 8th September 2002.Judges 1-2 - "Commitment or Compromise?"
Andrew Richardson MPC, 8th September 2002.
The brilliant young violinist lies on the floor. Dead. The conductor…… is charged with murder.
They've been having an affair. And it's come to a messy end.
It's the story-line from Law and Order on Thursday night on TV. One of those American legal dramas.
Except that the conductor didn't kill the girl at all. It was his jealous wife. Who when she finally confessed, said this. She said, I could cope with his flirtations. They'd come and go. I could cope with his unfaithfulness. Because usually he'd come to his senses. But this time was different. This time it was serious. This time he wasn't coming back. So I killed her.
Dramatic court-room moment.
But in a sense a reminder of the sort of tragedy that unfaithfulness creates. The pain. Of betrayal. The torn hearts that we see all around. As betrayal of trust becomes a world epidemic.
If you've promised to be faithful, then be faithful. If you've promised to be faithful, live like it.
But people say, it's just too hard. I mean, the better offer comes along. Or times get tough. People change.
Which is what ancient Israel…… the people of God…… keep saying about their commitment…… to be faithful to the god who made them who they were.
We're looking at the book of Judges. The very earliest days of Israel. As they're moving into their new home. The promised land.
God's brought them out of slavery in Egypt. In miraculous ways. And in the book of Joshua, he's led them into battle. Against the Canaanites. Who sacrifice their children in the fire. As they worship their idols like Baal and Molech.
God says, take the land. And don't compromise.
God says, take the land. And be faithful to me.
Take the land. And don't be tempted to fool around…… no love affairs…… with the gods made of stone and wood.
And so that's their challenge. As they take over the promised land…… to do it without falling into the trap…… of being overtaken themselves. By the customs and religions and loyalties of the land they're taking.
And as the conquest starts, as Judah, the first of the 12 Israelite tribes starts to take their bit of land, things look positive. Judah shows the kind of commitment God wants. They're determined not to compromise.
Look at v 4:
When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
No hint of a compromise there. They completely destroy the Caananites. Like God wants them to. Even their king. Adoni Bezek. Look at what happens to him in v 6, Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big. No deals. No compromise.
But if you're like me this approach sounds harsh. Cutting off someone's thumbs and big toes. It doesn't seem the kind of thing God would want his people to do at all. But notice something important. Adoni-Bezek isn't being treated unfairly, he's getting exactly what he deserves. In v 7 Adoni Bezek lets us know, "70 kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table." Judah gives Adoni Bezek what he's spent his life giving other people. Their policy of no deals and no compromises is fair. It's not only getting rid of things that will tempt them away from their relationship with God. It's also giving cruel pagans like Adoni Bezek the punishment they deserve.
And as Judah's campaign goes on, they stay single mindedly committed to God. They attack and destroy Canaanites all over their land. In verse 8 they attack Jerusalem and destroy it. Vs 9 they fight the Caananites in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the western foothills. Vs 10 they take over Hebron. Judah's aim is to make their land a Caananite free zone. To get rid of any idols and religious customs that could take them away from God. They want to be faithful.
And they're enthusiastic about it. They've got characters like Othniel. Who'd fit in well with king Arthur and the knights of the round table. A real hero. In v 13 he captures a whole city to win the hand of his wife. And Acsah his wife is a bit of a hero too. She wants the land just as much as God wants to give it to her. She does everything in her power to make sure her family gets a good bit of land with a water supply.
Judah is a model tribe. They're wholeheartedly devoted to their relationship with God. They want the land he's giving them. And they want to live in it with him. They destroy anything that might tempt them to fool around with idols and other religious practices.
The sad thing is. Judah isn't typical. Most of the other tribes of Israel. Manassah, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, Dan. They're not committed to God like Judah. They're not interested in an exclusive relationship with God. When they move into the land they're happy to do deals. Happy To compromise. Happy to flirt with the Canaanites and their gods.
Joseph is a classic case. The tribes of Manassah and Ephraim. When they attack the city of Luz it's deals and compromises all the way. They make an agreement with a Canaanite and it backfires. Read with me from v 22:
Now the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with them. When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz), the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, and here's where they make the deal They say to him "Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.
They agree to treat one of the Canaanites well. And it's a big mistake. Because even though they capture the city, even though their man helps them destroy the original Luz, when it's over he goes and sets up a replica city down the road. The same name, the same Canaanites. And the same pagan idols. V 25 the guy shows them how to get into the city, and they put the city to the sword but spared the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which the writer says is still its name to his day.
It's a long way from Judah. With their no deals, no compromise approach. What a contrast between what happens to Adoni-Bezek. What a contrast to cutting off the big toes and thumbs of your enemy and leaving him to die. The man from Luz goes free. The house of Joseph show they're happy to have pagans living down the road. To have their idols and religions intruding on their relationship with God. And so are the other tribes. None of them go to the trouble of driving out the Canaanites. We already know that Manassah and Ephraim have a taste for deals. But look in V 30:
Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labour. Nor did Asher drive out those living in their area.
And v 32 because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. And it's the same story with Naphtali in v 33 Don't drive the Canaanites out. Subject them to forced labour. And the Danites. Well the Danites can't be bothered moving in to their land at all. v 34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain at all.
Deals, treaties, compromises. That's the story of most of the tribes. They're wholeheartedly committed to God. Happy to live along side the Canaanites and their pagan religions.
And did you notice? It's not that they couldn't drive out the Canaanites. They've got power over them. They can do what Zebulun and Naphtali and Joseph do. They can subject the Canaanites to forced labour. Power's not the problem. The problem, is they can't be bothered. They're not committed to being exclusive. As They move into their new land, they're happy to have all their old boyfriends living next door. It's a situation that's sure to end in outright unfaithfulness. And God is not impressed.
He's angry about Israel's lack of devotion. He's angry that Israel isn't committed to him. That they're fooling around with the pagans. And so he calls Israel together. And he confronts them. Ch 2v1:
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.'... Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?
By doing deals. By letting the Canaanites and their pagan alters stay right among them. Israel has disobeyed God. They've compromised. Serving God on the one hand. Wheeling and dealing with the pagans on the other. But God knows that situation isn't going to last. He knows compromise leads to outright unfaithfulness. And he leaves the Canaanites living with the Israelites to prove the point. He says in 2v3 "Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you."
And if you look in the second half of Judges 2 you'll see things turn out exactly how God says. It's a summary of the whole book of Judges. And time after time, The Canaanites are a thorn in the Israelites' side. The Canaanites' gods are a snare to them. Israel's compromise becomes complete and absolute unfaithfulness. Even when God sends judges to lead the Israelites and deliver them, they still won't stop their adulterous relationships with other gods. v 17 "They wouldn't even listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them."
The Israelites don't meet their challenge. Instead of faithfulness and commitment to God. They compromise. They fool around with the customs and religions of the Canaanites. And they fall right into the trap God was so keen for them to avoid. They completely forsake him. End up in open adultery. More committed to pagan gods than to him.
It's a sordid story really. The story of Israel's unfaithfulness. But if you're a Christian it's a story you need to hear. Because compromise is dangerous for Christians. Flirting with the world will lead to disaster for you too. Like my mate Ian. He was a solid Christian. Played music at church. Involved in beach missions. But he got a job offer in London. A high flying Law firm. Great career opportunity. Good pay. Of course it'd be long hours. And it'd mean leaving all his Christian friends. But they didn't seem like a big worries at the time. Problem was, when he got to London he never had time to find a church. And there were so many nice people at work he hardly needed Christian friends. A couple of years later he'd given his faith away. So busy with his new job and new friends it just seemed irrelevant. Small compromise leading to complete unfaithfulness. And it's a story you here so often. There are different compromises people make. But it leads to the same thing.
Jacinta. She was a keen member of my Christian group at Uni. But a couple of years later she meets this great guy. He's not a Christian but he's not against it. Going out with him doesn't seem like a big deal. Only problem is when they've been going out a while he wants her to move in with him. And when she does she finds it pretty hard to front up at church anymore. Just doesn't seem to fit in. These day's Jacinta isn't a Christian either.
Compromise is just as big a danger for Christians as it was for Israel. Even a small decision. To compromise with the world and it's way of thinking. It'll lead to disaster. That's why Paul has such a strong warning about it in 2 Corinthians. Paul says as a Christian you're supposed to be radically different from the world. So don't compromise with it. 2 Corinthians 6:14 He says Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
As a Christian you're supposed to be different. In an exclusive relationship with God. So don't get caught up in relationship or situations where you'll have to compromise. Where you'll have to give up something you believe in. Where you'll have to do something you know God wouldn't want. It might seem like a small decision at the time. But remember Israel. It's dangerous.
Whether its at work, in your relationships, with your money or with your marriage. Don't make the mistake Israel made. Be committed to God and his way. And don't compromise.