The Chosen People Make Poor Choices

Table of Contents
 

Introduction: 2
All of Israel Was Foolish: 2
Insight From the Hebrew Language: 3
Israel Runs to the Wrong God: 4
Repetition and Corruption: 5
Further Comments: 6
Failure Through Compromise: 10
Conclusion: 11
Bibliography: 12


Bibliography
 

"A Commentary on the Whole Bible, Matthew Henry, Vol. 2, Joshua-Esther, World Bible Publishers.
"The Concise Dictionary of Religion," Irving Hexham, 1993.
"Dr. Harvey Hartman," lecture notes, Joshua-Kings, 1997.
"Easton's Bible Dictionary," M.G. Easton, Easton Ellis Enterprises, Inc., 1993.
"Holman Bible Dictionary", Parsons Technology, 1992-1996.
"An Introduction to the Old Testament," Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Zondervan Publishing, 1994.
"The Life Application Bible Commentary", Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 1988.
"Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary," Ver. 2.5, Zane Publishing Co., 1994-1996.
"Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible," Parsons Technology.
"Wilmington's Complete Guide to Bible Knowledge: Old Testament People," Tyndale House Publishers, 1990.

The Chosen People Make Poor Choices

Introduction
In the time of the Judges, Israel was God's chosen people. God had plans for them to conquer people and settle in their land. He also used them to show the world His pity, power, sovereignty, love, mercy and many other qualities. Some people think that the Old Testament and the book of Judges was a history of Israel. Actually, it was a history of God dealing with Israel.

Unfortunately, like many present-day people, Israel would turn to God for a time, but quickly turn to other gods and disobey the one true God. Their actions in Judges could best be summed up like this: Devotion, Decay, Defection, Defeat, Despair, Deliverance. This model is particularly interesting because it shows no repentance. It has been called the "Religious Circle." Israel's pitiful cycle has also been illustrated like this: Compromise, Apostasy, Oppression, Repentance, Deliverance. This is "Hartman's Wheel". Repentance is obviously in this model. Scholars are divided on this issue, but most agree that Israel did not turn back to God for very long. In the following pages, Israel's actions will be addressed and several questions about their repentance or lack thereof shall be answered.

All of Israel Was Foolish
In order to investigate the state of Israel, we must look to some scriptures. Judges 17:6 and 21:25 reveal the same tragedy; "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." God does not want us to sin and be separated from Him, ever. Therefore, "there was no king in Israel" cannot be an excuse for Israel doing right in their own eyes. God wanted them to follow Him closely and live a full life. He knew that when people do what is right in their own eyes and not His eyes they will suffer. Israel experienced great joy with deliverance but terrible suffering with disobedience.

In Judges 2:15-19 it is made known that Israel would listen to their judge for a short time, but then disobey them. "They went a whoring after other gods and bowed themselves unto them" is a strong phrase. We are not told that they simply lied to one another or they worshiped God and Baal, but "they went a whoring after other gods and bowed themselves to them." This was an action and a choice. And the people of Israel chose to bow to other gods, not mildly entertain them or experiment with them once in awhile.

Insight From the Hebrew Language
The original Hebrew language should be consulted to render the true meaning of each Biblical passage. The phrase "every man" from Judges 17:6 and 21:25 literally mean "every one or each person." The Hebrew word is iysh; pronounced eesh. We have an account of everyone doing evil, not just a few people. The English word "right" is the Hebrew word yashar; pronounced yaw-shawr. This word means straight, convenient or righteous. Being righteous in ones own eyes could easily be called "self-righteousness". Many people are self-righteous, today. Like the self-righteous people today, the people of Israel did whatever they wanted and thought it was all right and good; probably even better than others. God had delivered them from Pharoah and done other great miracles on their behalf. Perhaps Israel was self-righteous because God chose to speak to them and lead them.

Israel Runs to the Wrong God
In Judges chapter 2, once again, the Hebrew language must be understood in order to comprehend the situation correctly; since an English dictionary will not give us the meaning that was used when God gave these words to the Israelites. Verse 17 states, "And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so." The word "hearken" is the Hebrew word "shama"; pronounced shaw-mah. It means to hear intelligently with implications of attention and obedience. Israel heard God's voice, but did not obey. They had a "head-knowledge" of God's commands, but not a "heart-knowledge." Next, the word "whoring" is the Hebrew word "zanah"; pronounced zaw-naw. This word means to commit adultery or fornication. In this context it is used figuratively to illustrate committing idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah-God). Israel was being compared to a harlot or whore since it left it's permanent partner, God. The verb "bowed", in verse 17, is the Hebrew word "shachah"; pronounced shaw-khaw. "Shachah" means prostrate in homage to royalty or God, bow down, crouch, humbly beseech, do obeisance, do reverence, to worship. In contrast, the book of Daniel uses a couple of Hebrew words to show how Nebuchadnezzar wanted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to worship and serve him. In Daniel chapter 3, serve and worship mean exactly that, in the simplest form; nothing more or less. However, Israel can be compared to a man set free from being in prison for many years. This man immediately runs into trouble without thinking. The ex-convict doesn't merely assist in making the problem, but he plans it and orchestrates it. Israel quickly made bad choices and ran into trouble like a foolish free man. Another disappointing angle on this situation is the fact that non-Israelites were watching and involved. It's bad to be sinful, but very bad to be sinful and make others stumble. Israel's new freedom was too much for them to handle, since they consistently made foolish decisions with it and were a poor example for the rest of the world.

Repetition and Corruption
Repetition is a powerful tool and used to emphasize a point. There are many similarities between verses 17 and 19 in Judges chapter 2. God is telling the world, emphatically, that Israel is 1) disobeying Him, 2) worshiping, seeking and serving other gods, and 3) corrupting themselves more than the previous generation(s).

"And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way," is the text in verse 19. The word "corrupted" means "shachath"; pronounced shaw-khath, in the Hebrew language. It means to decay, cast off, corrupt, destroy, perish, waste. Once again, extreme language is being used here. Different words could have been used for a weaker meaning such as confused, forgot, struggled, etc. The phrase "more than their fathers" has an obvious meaning. This generation was sinning worse than previous ones.

Repetition is used in verse 19 when the phrase, "...and corrupted themselves...following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them." It should be noted that the author could have used a single adjective to describe Israel's condition. However, he felt the need to go into great detail and exhaustively explain Israel's pathetic state of being.

Further Comments
In the following paragraphs, different comments about Israel's situation will be addressed. These give insight into the condition of Israel's rebellious, foolish heart and God's loving heart. Commentaries are good for applying the information and revealing different angles on the scriptures.

"The God of infinite mercy took pity on them in their distresses, though they had brought themselves into them by their own sin and folly, and wrought deliverance for them. Nevertheless...their trouble was the punishment of their sin," comments Matthew Henry. God's pity is not a character quality that people usually boast about. But if it were not for God's pity on Israel, they may have completely destroyed themselves. Let us not forget to praise God for His mercy, patience and pity; without those qualities, He would be a terribly different God.

Henry comments again by stating, "It is not said, 'It repented them because of their iniquities' (for it appears, in verse 2:17, that many of them continued unreformed), but, 'it repented the Lord because of their groanings.' It is true that they deserved to perish for ever under his curse, yet, this being the day of his patience and our probation, he does not stir up all his wrath." The Lord had pity and mercy on them due to their groanings (literally "groaning" in Hebrew). This surely isn't the model for mankind, nor is it the way God always works. Repentance is and has always been the key to a restored relationship with God. Their lack of repentance led to a lack of relationship with God which led to a deficit in success, joy and prosperity. However, God loved them very much and had plans for them; so He spared them and gave them a fresh start.

"...(Israel was) multiplying strange gods and inventing profane and impious rites of worship...(They) grew not ashamed of those idolatrous services that were most odious nor weary of those that were most barbarous, would not so much as diminish one step of their hard and stubborn way. Thus those that have forsaken the good ways of God, which they have once known and professed, commonly grow most daring and desperate in sin, and have their hearts most hardened." Israel was never intended to cohabit with strange gods, much less worship them. The former generally leads to the latter. Some people learn from a warning; others must "live and learn." Stories and movies are made today about the town rebel who gets in lots of trouble. His parents and teachers are telling him to settle down, but he ignores them. He thinks he knows best. He thinks that they are trying to keep him from having fun. In the rebel's mind, life won't be experienced in it's fullest capacity unless he does whatever he pleases. Likewise, the people of Israel rebelled against God. Israel emphatically chose to live and learn instead of heed God's warning.

Israel was very stubborn. The God of the universe led them out of Egypt and gave them many good things. However, they quickly forgot and would not have fellowship with God. How could this be? Like a young person purposely tests his or her parents to see how much they can get away with, it is doubtful that Israel was inadvertently testing God. They were quite likely defiantly testing the Lord. This was such a tragedy for Israel. They broke fellowship with God; but how many times does this still happen today?

There has been emphasis on the fact that Israel did foolish things once the judge had died. This is no excuse to stop following God. They should have determined to be faithful to God despite difficult situations. They had been taught and instructed in the correct way to behave. Likewise, we must determine to follow Christ even though spiritual leaders may leave, die or not live up to our expectations. Just like we can always find someone to tell us what we want to hear; we can always find a good excuse for a bad habit or action. However, no matter how hard one may try, there is never a good excuse for ignoring God.

"Why would the people of Israel turn so quickly from their faith in God? Simply put, the Canaanite religion appeared more attractive and offered more short-range benefits. One of its most attractive features was that people could remain selfish and yet fulfill their religious requirements. They could do almost anything they wished and still be obeying at least one of the many Canaanite gods. Sex outside of marriage, selfishness, oppression of the helpless--these were not only allowed, but encouraged as forms of worship." Like the Life Application Commentary just illustrated, immediate gratification was a reason for Israel's idolatry. Anyone alive can relate to being impatient at least once in their life. Honestly, people want success and gratification immediately. Get rich quick schemes, lose 20 pounds in 20 days, psychic hotlines and many more similar offers are given to millions of people every day through television, the radio and the internet. It's perfectly fine to have goals and desires. Only when one takes wrong actions to reach those goals and desires is it wrong. For instance, Adam and Eve were told not to eat of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden. The serpent told them that they would become like God if they ate of it. Isn't this the goal of Christians? Isn't this what we are supposed to be doing, becoming like God? Yes it is. However, there is a right way and a wrong way. Adam and Eve chose the shortcut; the wrong way. Israel, likewise, chose a shortcut to success and gratification and ended up worse than before.

Commenting on 17:6, the L.A.B.C. reads, "Today, as in Micah's day, everyone seems to put his or her own interests first. Time has not changed human nature. Most people still reject God's right way of living. The people in Micah's day replaced the true worship of God with a homemade version of worship. As a result, justice was soon replaced by evil and chaos. Ignoring God's instruction led to confusion and destruction. Anyone not submitted to God will do whatever seems right at the time. This tendency is present in all of us. Drawing closer to God and his Word reminds us of what is really right." The main reason why young people are taught to decide to abstain from premarital sex or set limits in physical relationships before dating is because once they are on a date, passion takes over. If one doesn't set boundaries in life, how can they know when they've crossed them? When an orange is squeezed, orange juice comes out. When a person is tested, whatever is inside his or her heart comes out. If they have been walking with God, a wise decision is on the horizon. However, if they have not submitted to God's will and have not been walking with God, they will do whatever is right in their own eyes at that particular moment. Since Israel did not promise allegiance to God from their hearts, keep fellowship with God and make a continuous effort to obey His commands, they soon forgot Him and ignored Him.

"During the time of the judges, the people of Israel experienced trouble because everyone became his own authority and acted on his own opinions of right and wrong. This produced horrendous results. Our world is similar. Individuals, groups, and societies have made themselves the final authorities without reference to God. When people selfishly seek to satisfy their personal desires at all cost, everyone pays the price. It is the ultimate heroic act to submit all our plans, desires, and motives to God. Men like Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson are known for their heroism in battle. But their personal lives were far from heroic. To be truly heroic, we must go into battle each day in our home, job, church, and society to make God's kingdom a reality. Our weapons are the standards, morals, truths, and convictions we receive from God's Word. We will lose the battle if we gather the spoils of earthly treasures rather than seeking the treasures of Heaven." Gideon, Samson and Jephthah were all in the "Hall of Faith" in the book of Hebrews; God noted them as faithful servants. But was every aspect of their lives admirable? Of course not. Everyone on earth has sinned. Some sins affect a lot of people. Some sins have more consequences than others. Instead of looking at how bad their lives were and thinking that they cannot be trusted or respected, admire them for their good qualities. People can always find somebody worse than themselves. Television shows feature people with pitiful lives for this very purpose. Seeing people who have worse lives makes some people feel better about their own lives. But God never told us to be content with mediocrity. We are told to run the race in a manner that we will win the first place prize! Becoming your own authority or settling for a half-hearted effort is completely counterproductive and contrary to God's commands.

It must also be noted that earthly treasures will mean nothing in Heaven. God is explicit when He tells us to set our sights on Heavenly, eternal things and not riches on earth. In Heaven there will be streets of gold. Don't let your biggest treasure on earth be mere pavement in Heaven. The only eternal thing on earth is people, so invest in people and you will be rewarded.

Failure Through Compromise
"Failure through compromise" is the theme of the book of Judges. It is in stark contrast to the theme of the previous book of Joshua which is, "Victory through faith and obedience". One of Israel's biggest compromises is their treatment of the Canaanites. God had told them to drive out the people living in the land. However, they lived with them and worshiped their gods. Defying God is never good and in this circumstance, it only brought the Israelites down to the level of the Canaanites; it did not bring the Canaanites up to a Godly standard. But aren't we supposed to mingle with ungodly people so we can win them to the Lord? Yes, we are supposed to spread the good news to all people. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Illegal means are always wrong. Likewise, ungodly means are always wrong. The Israelites obviously were not ready to live with the Canaanites: 1) God had forbidden them to do so, 2) Israel worshiped their gods and relinquished fellowship with God.

Conclusion
Israel, like the majority of God's chosen people, went through trials. Unfortunately, they succumbed to temptation which would have destroyed them if it were not for God's intervention. God is such a loving, kind, patient God. This has been illustrated in the period of the Judges. A Holy God, with no sin in Him whatsoever, would not need a reason to exercise judgment on sinful people. However, our God chooses to exercise patience and even pity more often than we deserve.

After analyzing the Hebrew language, it is apparent that Israel did not just sin a little. They did not simply sin infrequently. They wholeheartedly left God's side and worshiped false gods. Israel's cycle of Devotion, Decay, Defection, Defeat, Despair, Deliverance is preferable over Compromise, Apostasy, Oppression, Repentance, Deliverance since true repentance involves a change of heart and a change of action. True repentance by the people of Israel was not seen or mentioned in the time of the Judges. However, all of the world can learn several things from the account in Judges: 1) God's loving qualities go far beyond our imagination and what we deserve, 2) Reading the original language will always assist in interpreting the scriptures correctly, 3) Israel made foolish choices and didn't necessarily learn from them, 4) We should learn from our mistakes or, better yet, learn from Israel's mistakes.