lack of faith – The Lowedown

Judges 3

¹The LORD left certain nations in the land to test those Israelites who had not participated in the wars of Canaan. ²He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. ³These were the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the hill country of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. ⁴These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the LORD had given to their ancestors through Moses.

⁵So Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, ⁶and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites worshiped their gods.

⁷The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD’s sight. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they worshiped the images of Baal and the Asherah poles. ⁸Then the LORD burned with anger against Israel, and he handed them over to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim. And the Israelites were subject to Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

⁹But when Israel cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a man to rescue them. His name was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz. ¹⁰The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge. He went to war against King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram, and the LORD gave Othniel victory over him. ¹¹So there was peace in the land for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died. (Judges 3:1-11, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

The book of Judges is a history of the Israelites immediately after taking possession of the land of Canaan and after the death of Joshua.

The book chronicles the struggles the leaderless Israelites experienced politically, militarily and spiritually.

The Israelites had been commanded to drive out the people of the land, but we learn in Judges 1:19 that “they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots.” Though not explicitly stated, the implication is that the Israelites lacked the courage to finish the job because they feared the military superiority of the other people. They lacked the faith that God could help them defeat an enemy that appeared to out-match their military strength.

So instead of occupying this land with a clean slate, they find themselves co-existing with these other people groups who don’t share their values and who don’t worship the Lord. This is not a good start to this fledgling nation.

Here in chapter 3, we learn that the Lord allowed some of these people groups to remain in order to provide an avenue to teach warfare “to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.”

In other words, there was a strategic purpose that these other peoples weren’t displaced all at once. The Lord wanted the next generation to learn how to fight in battle and He also wanted to test them to see how obedient they would be to the commands that had been delivered by Moses.

Sadly, they utterly failed the test. They began to intermarry with the peoples with whom they were co-existing. Not surprisingly, they soon began to forsake the Lord by worshipping the gods of these foreign nations.

In His righteous anger, the Lord allowed the Israelites to experience divine punishment in the form of marauders and local foreign rulers becoming their overlords. In this case, they became subject to an Aramean king for 8 years.

The pattern in Judges is cyclical. The Israelites prostitute themselves by forsaking the Lord and worshipping foreign gods. God allows them to be raided and subject to others until the Israelites finally cry out to the Lord for mercy and for relief. The Lord then raises up a judge, a military leader who is empowered by God to rescue His people from their enemies. But soon after being delivered, the cycle repeats as the Israelites return again to their foreign gods, bringing retribution from a new source.

Here in chapter 3, we see the start of this pattern that repeats throughout the book. What I think is most interesting is who the first judge is that is raised up to rescue the people from the Aramean King Cushan-rishathaim.

The text says that Othniel was raised up as Israel’s first judge. Now if the name Othniel seems familiar, it’s because he was mentioned back in Joshua 15 and also again in Judges chapter 1.

Caleb offered his daughter Acsah in marriage to anyone who would attack and capture Kiriath-sepher, a village in the Judean hills that later became known as Debir. We learn that Othniel stepped up to the challenge, captured the city and won the hand of Caleb’s daughter.

Translators are not completely clear on the relationship between Othniel and Caleb. It’s not clear from the original text whether the phrase “brother of Caleb” refers to Othniel or Kenaz. Either translation is possible. Hence, Othniel was either Caleb’s younger half-brother (same mother but with a different father, Kenaz) or he was Caleb’s nephew (with Kenaz being Caleb’s younger brother). Whichever is the case, we know for certain that Othniel, though younger than Caleb, was a contemporary. In other words, they lived in generally the same era.

But here in the beginning chapters of Judges, Joshua has died and it’s likely that Caleb has died too. Othniel, however, is still around. The point is that this is less than one generation removed from the death of Joshua and the Israelites are already forsaking the Lord.

Joshua, before his passing, had urged the people in Joshua 24, to “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household we will serve the LORD.” And now, just a few short years after his passing, the Israelites have already forsaken the Lord to chase after foreign gods.

There are a number of relevant takeaways from this story. First, we see the consequences of disobedience and a lack of faith. The Israelites lack of faith in facing an enemy that is perceived to be stronger leads to a co-existence that has long-lasting and far-reaching implications. These people, who were supposed to be displaced, became a thorn in the side of the Israelites for centuries.

Secondly, despite all their good intentions in Joshua 24, where they swore up and down that they would serve the Lord and not chase after other gods, we see that the apostasy of the Israelites comes rather quickly, during the actual lifetime of those who had been involved in the initial conquest of the land.

We don’t need to look too far to confirm that this is the nature and the pattern of people with respect to loyalty and allegiance to the Lord. During my life-time, we have seen the exponential erosion of the influence of the church on our culture.

Just as the Israelites of the Judges era were influenced by the cultures around them, so we today see that many Christians are more influenced by the gods and ideas of the culture than they are the God of the Bible and its values.

The process of “deconstructing” one’s faith has become popular today as people wrestle with the differences and disparities that exist between the biblical narrative and the secular worldview that dominates our culture. (See my post “Dealing with Doubts about God” for a deeper dive on this idea of deconstructing one’s faith.)

For some, the process of deconstruction leads to a complete abandonment of God and the faith. It seems almost commonplace these days when we hear of a prominent Christian leader who has “left the faith”.

For others, deconstruction leads to a re-imagining of God – what I call “Salad Bar Religion”, which is simply a syncretic, or progressive version of Christianity in which God is completely redefined in such a way that suits my preferences and is less offensive to the culture around us. (See my post “The Recipe for Salad Bar Religion” for a deeper explanation of this approach).

There is no doubt that cultural forces make devotion to the one true God extremely difficult. The first step to avoiding our own spiritual apostasy is to recognize that we, just like the Israelites in the time of the Judges, are not immune to these same outcomes, if we are not proactive to take steps to safeguard ourselves from those ideologies and philosophies that would seek to draw us away from the one true God.

So how do we safeguard ourselves?

That’s probably another full blog post but maintaining a strong spiritual community is a must, as well as developing a strong foundational understanding of the nature of God, which will enable us to more easily identify the many false gods being promoted by the culture.

Did you enjoy this post? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to like, leave a comment below, and share it with your friends or on social media if you found it helpful or interesting. Your support keeps the conversation going!

Reflection

What are some examples in your own life of people you have known who, at one time, seemed like strong Christians, but who now don’t believe at all, or have opted for an alternative view of God that isn’t biblical?

What do you think are some factors that can more easily lead to people abandoning their faith or redefining it in a way that is no longer faithful to God as revealed in the Bible?

What are some of the cultural forces or ideas that challenge your beliefs? How have you addressed those challenges, doubts and questions?

There were a couple of steps mentioned at the end of the blog to help safeguard ourselves from being taken captive by the ideologies of the culture. What are some other ideas you have for protecting yourself spiritually from being a spiritual casualty in your devotion to God alone?

Photo by Eric Smart: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lest-we-forget-tombstone-2233388/

Mark 14

³²And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” ³³He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. ³⁴He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”

³⁵He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. ³⁶“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”

³⁷Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. “Simon!” he said to Peter. “Are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? ³⁸Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.”

³⁹Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating his pleadings. ⁴⁰Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.

⁴¹When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Still sleeping? Still resting?* Enough! The time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Up, let’s be going. See, my betrayer is here!” (Mark 14:32-42, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

A few years ago I was counseling with a student who was having major doubts about God. Not only was this young man from a strong Christian home, but he was a missionary kid, so his family’s commitment to church and to ministry was greater than most. Given his background and family, it was a bit surprising to hear that he was doubting whether God actually existed.

As I probed further, asking questions to determine the source of his doubt, I learned that the seeds were planted way back in high school when he was part of an overseas youth group.

The group was planning to take a missions trip to a neighboring country during a scheduled school break but the trip ended up being canceled due to civil unrest in the other country.

The leaders and the youth were all aware of the dangers and they knew the possibility existed that their trip would not be allowed by the government because of political tensions. So the whole group began praying, EARNESTLY, that God would allow the trip to happen. They prayed that He would work out the circumstances and arrange events so that their small group would be able to take their trip and complete their planned ministry events.

When the event didn’t happen, this student began to question whether God existed. It didn’t make sense to him why God would not allow the trip. After all, wasn’t God concerned about these people who did not know Him? Wouldn’t He WANT them to take the gospel to those who have never heard? We’ve been commanded to GO, and they were planning and preparing to follow God’s command, so it only made sense to them that God would miraculously orchestrate events to make it happen.

But He didn’t. So this student made the conclusion that because God didn’t act in a way that made sense to him, then perhaps God doesn’t exist.

Unfortunately, this line of reasoning is more common than we might think and it underscores a major misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer.

In Mark 14, after the Passover meal but before Jesus is arrested, He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Jesus is in distress and His soul is in anguish as He thinks about what is about to transpire. Verse 35 says that,

“He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by.”

In the very next verse, Jesus tells the Father that He knows that “everything is possible with you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me.”

Jesus goes back to the disciples, only to find them sleeping. Verse 39 says that He went back and repeated His pleadings with the Father. Jesus repeats the cycle a 3rd time, each time finding the disciples sleeping before returning and praying and pleading with God the Father regarding His impending suffering.

Jesus is clearly troubled. He said, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” Jesus clearly pleads for a way to avoid this suffering and He appeals to the Father’s ability to do the impossible. Jesus KNOWS that God can do anything, yet Jesus’ request, is not fulfilled. We know how the story ends and Jesus does not escape the suffering that was so distressing to Him.

So why didn’t the Father honor Jesus’ request? Why does Jesus not get saved from His suffering?

The key to this whole passage is in the words that follow Jesus’ request. Jesus does ask for the suffering to pass Him by, but He follows that up with the words “Yet I want your will, not mine.”

Jesus, in His humanity, was looking for a way to escape what He was about to endure. But in His divinity, He humbly submits to the will of the Father.

The point of prayer is not to get what we want. God is not a genie who is bound to grant our wishes and requests. The purpose of prayer then is for us to align ourselves with God’s will, just as Jesus demonstrates. Sometimes this is difficult because we may not be entirely sure what God’s will is in some situations. But this just provides us with a greater opportunity to trust God for the outcome.

My student friend thought he understood God. He determined that God should act in a certain way in a certain situation. He (and others) even prayed diligently that God would respond in the way that made sense to them. When He didn’t, instead of determining that God must have other plans, or God is bigger than we are and we cannot see and understand all the details as He can, this student made the determination that God must not exist.

I want to be clear that I think it’s ok to ask God to respond to our needs and our requests. There was nothing wrong with the students praying earnestly that God would arrange circumstances so that their trip would happen. The error, at least for my student friend, was in assuming that God was obligated to act in the way he desired. He is not. These students, or at least this one student, failed to understand that while God invites me to be honest and to share my needs and preferences with Him, He is not required to give me what I want. Instead, He invites each of us to trust Him and to align ourselves with His purposes and His plans.

Reflection

When have you viewed prayer as an activity in which you try to convince God to give you what you want?

What do you think is the root reason why people approach prayer as if God is a genie who just emerged from a lamp, or as if He’s a gentlemanly Santa Claus, who desires to make us happy by giving us our most desired gift?

How does this passage where Jesus prays to the Father give you insight and instruction on how we should be approaching and thinking about prayer?

What are some other passages and Scriptures that inform your understanding of prayer and your understanding of the nature of God?

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