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[Judges 10]
6The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him. 7So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.
10And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, "We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals." 11And the LORD said to the people of Israel, "Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress." 15And the people of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day." 16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
17Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. 18And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
[Judges 11]
1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman." 3Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.
4After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6And they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites." 7But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?" 8And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." 9Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be your head." 10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say." 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.
The dialogue between God and Israel invites reflection on repentance and God's compassion. Repentance, like all works of faith, is known by its fruit. Psalm 51 is as good as any text in capturing the biblical teaching on what God wants to see in us: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Ps. 51:17). "Broken" means you cannot put it together the way it was anymore. Brokenness of heart will eventually show when a person turns from evil to serve the living God.
Repentance owns the sinner's helplessness and acknowledges the full weight of sin's consequences. But from here we do not go into a shell or despair of life. We also remember that God in Christ forever maintains our righteousness, so that in the cross we find the assurance that God has reconciled us to himself. Repentance, therefore, is not making a deal with God, as in, "I will be good until I have atoned for my sin." It is to believe in and embrace the deal that God has made for us on his own terms. Repentance is thus a response to what we have done (sin) and to what God has done. Repentance is an exercise of living faith.
The Bible offers a range of human responses to God's compassion and mercy. Sometimes God's love causes a person to make a radical change and begin a whole new life. More often, God's love works slowly in us in leading us to repentance. At the end of the day, repentance—like faith—will never be fully realized on this side of the grave.
But an individual or a community like Israel in Judges 10 may also reach a point of such entrapment in sin that they seem incapable of lasting repentance. Like an addict who will say just about anything to continue in his manipulative ploys, people can become hopelessly entangled in self-delusion. Transformation can then only come when we hit the floor, when the lie is exposed, and the old pattern reaches an end. This is where the book of Judges, in fact, the Bible, is heading. It leads to the cross.
Who would like to follow Israel on its trail of self-destruction? Then let us remember each day not to manipulate God with our religiosity, or make deals with God, but accept God's deal in Christ. It is enough. For God has given us all things necessary for life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ who called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3).
The author of these devotionals, the Rev. Martin Emmrich, is an ordained OPC minister (Westminster OPC, Corvallis, Oregon) as well as the author of Pneumatological Concepts in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a book on the teaching of Hebrews on the Holy Spirit. We are happy to make these devotionals on Ecclesiastes and other passages of Scripture available to you.
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