Jdg 10:10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.

In Judges, we see a continuous cycle of belief and unbelief. When the Israelites departed from God and went into idolatries, God sent the other nations to afflict them. In their afflictions, they cried to God. And God delivered them again. Then, they forgot everything and went back to their old ways.

Paul wrote: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). He wrote also in 1 Corinthians 10:11: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

They are historical facts designed to teach great lessons. They showed the weakness of men, and their liability to fall into sin. Paul added: “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” (1 Corinthians 10:6).

All these things were written for our examples, learning, and admonition. An admonition is a piece of advice that is also a warning to someone about their behaviour. Unfortunately, history always repeats itself. Though men read and talk about news, they never learn but commit the same sin. For, if men had learned from the sins of others and their consequences, there would no longer be a single rapist, murderer, child molester, thief, and drunk driver, in the prison; there won’t be anyone at all.

But thanks be to God: He is merciful. If God were not merciful, men would have no hope. What we read in the Book of Judges is the comforting attribute of God's merciful nature. Repeatedly Israel apostatised from God. Yet, when brought low by their sins, He heard their cry for help and delivered them.

Israel was not alone in repeatedly apostatising from God. We too, sinned repeatedly and it grieved God. But observe this one thing in Israel: they acknowledged their sin. They confessed: “We have sinned against thee” (Judges 10:10, 16). They didn’t blame God for not protecting them. They didn’t question where God was. They knew it was their fault that those things were happening to them!

John wrote: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When we humble ourselves, acknowledge our sin, and ask for forgiveness, God is willing to forgive us. Only the proud who justify themselves will not receive God's mercy and forgiveness. And likewise, those who blame God for the afflictions that fall on them.

The same sun that hardens clay also melts butter. Afflictions can either draw us to God or away from God. Many Christians have either lost part or all of their faith in the Lord as a result of getting hit with some severe illness or failures in their lives. Unless you have a full understanding as to why God will sometimes allow bad things to happen to good people in this life, your faith in the Lord will be shaken to its very core depending on the severity of the afflictions that may have just struck you.

We see in Judges that afflictions brought them back to God. It revealed their helplessness and in need of a mighty deliverer God. Men, in their great distress, often cried out: “God, help me.” Who do the atheists cry out to when they are in big trouble? God, of course!

We have a merciful God. Let us submit to His will. He is ever loving and forgiving. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).                        

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

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