City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

¹⁸Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. ¹⁹But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

²⁰So the Lord burned with anger against Israel. He said, “Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, ²¹I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. ²²I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the Lord as their ancestors did.” ²³That is why the Lord left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all.

Judges 2:18-22

Aisha’s Analysis

The Book of Judges is both disheartening and surprisingly encouraging. It displays the stark contrast between the shining faithfulness of God against the backdrop of the deep, dark wickedness of sinful humanity. It also shows us that God can work with broken, imperfect people, and show Himself strong on their behalf. 

The one fatal flaw of the people of Israel who came into the Promised Land is they failed to pass on their heritage of faith to their children. As a result, the next generation of God’s people did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things He had done for Israel; they made themselves at home with the people around them and even started worshiping their gods (Judges 2:10-13). 

This is the danger of becoming too comfortable with God’s blessings–we end up taking the blessing for granted and forget the God who blessed us. Worse, we can even turn our hearts to other things to satisfy us instead of God. 

Interestingly enough, God decided to leave certain nations in place for the new generation to learn how to fight. To parallel this with New Covenant believers of today, maybe that’s why God doesn’t just beam us to heaven once He saves us. Maybe there’s a reason we still live in flesh-and-blood bodies and have to fight against the sinful nature every day. It’s not to keep us in bondage and defeat, but to give us an opportunity to overcome this world and its ungodly desires. Living in victory over sin is the mark of a redeemed soul who has been empowered by God’s grace. 

Throughout the Book of Judges, God used the unlikeliest of people to win battles and overcome enemies in the unlikeliest of ways. This shows us that it’s not a matter of how qualified you are or how insurmountable your enemy is–God is willing to work with anyone, and He can strengthen you to overcome anything any way that He chooses. The question is whose side are you on? If the answer is God’s, then get ready to fight!   

Application

In John 17, Jesus plainly asks the Father: I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one (John 17:15 NIV). While God calls us out of bondage to sin, He has not removed us from this sinful world. We still have to fight against the temptations of the flesh and live counter-culture every day. How does God expect us to accomplish this day-in and day-out? 

Simple–we get sanctified by the Spirit-infused Word of God every day. We make it a point to remember all that God has saved us from. We used to be lost in darkness but now we are children of light and live in the light of God’s love. 

Let the lives of the people in the Book of Judges be a solemn reminder of what can happen when we turn away from God and live our own way. Today, do something to actively remember your salvation story. Journal about it or share it with someone if you feel inclined. Try to make it a regular habit to share God’s goodness in your life. Let’s dare not forget this amazing God who has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Colossians 1:13 NIV). 

**If you do not yet have a salvation story, make it today! Thank Jesus for His finished work on the cross, and make a decision to live for Him. 

Prayer

Father God, I thank You for writing me into Your story. Thank You for giving me chance after chance no matter how many times I’ve missed it. You are a great and merciful God who is worthy of my praise and obedience. May Your Name be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.