April 25, 2024 | Be God's Light
The Cycle of Sin
Scripture: Judges 2:6-23 (NIV)
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
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. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
Devotional
At the beginning of Joshua’s leadership, God raised him up before the people, who “stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses” (Joshua 4:14). At the end of his life, Joshua challenged the people to decide if they were going to follow the one true God or the various false gods of the surrounding nations. They heartily responded, “We will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:21).
But after Joshua and his peers died, today’s reading says, “another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors” (Judges 2:10-12). How sad. It only takes one generation to abandon the faith of their forebears.
The book of Judges repeatedly portrays what is known as the cycle of sin. Think of these as moving full circle in a clock-like progression.
Israel serves the Lord.
Israel sins and follows false gods.
Israel is defeated and oppressed by enemies.
Israel cries out to God.
Israel is led by a judge (military leader) raised up by God.
Israel is delivered by God through the judge.
Israel serves the Lord (and the cycle starts over).
Go back through today’s reading and see if you can find these aspects of the cycle of sin. You will find them throughout the book of Judges. And you will find them in our own lives as well. In what ways do we participate in the cycle of sin? What can you do to safeguard yourself against falling into the cycle?
In the New Testament, Colossians 3:5-10 provides good insights: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Poem
I Do No Know The Man
When Israel settled Goshen
Way down in Egypt’s land
They multiplied abundantly
Like beaches grains of sand
The covering of Joseph
The favor on this band
Was lifted when a new king rose
“I do not know the man!”
When Promised land was settled
Inheritances grand
Great battles won by faithful
When peace filled all the land
With Joshua’s full resting
Unraveling of God’s bans
Rebellion filled the Promised Land
“We do not know the man!”
Despite judges’ intentions
Despite the prophets’ call
Despite the fullness, promises
Despite God’s gift to all
When God’s lamb faced the slaughter
Surrounded by his band
They all deserted, scared, denied
“I do not know the man!”
Now you, dear Pilgrim, listen
As fruitful, multiply
While settling in grace land
As you in Christ abide
Learn from the ones before you
Your soul’s faith full demand
And don’t be caught denouncing
“I do not know the man!”
