Judges - 3 (Chapter 2, verses 1 - 23)
Apostasy
The word ‘apostasy’ is not one that you come across very often. It was used more frequently by Christian writers in past centuries. The word originally meant “standing apart from”, but eventually it came to mean “falling away from.” I think you can see the application when we consider matters of faith and Christian belief.
Where you have an individual or group of people that moves away from the truth and falls away into error or sin, there you have apostasy. In Judges, chapter two we are going to see a clear example of this and some important teaching concerning it.
The first thing we see in chapter two verses one to five is “The Prelude to Apostasy”. The opening verses of the chapter detail the warning given to the Israelites at a national gathering called by the angel of the Lord. From other references to Him in the Old Testament Scriptures we can see that this refers to the second person of the Trinity, in other words the eternal Son of God. I say that because in these references He is not referred to simply as “an angel” but “the angel of the Lord.” Also He is called “The Lord” in a number of those references and accepts worship from those with whom He is dealing. These instances in the Old Testament are called pre-incarnate appearances of the Son of God, that is appearances before He came to earth in human form as the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here, in the opening of Judges chapter two, we have the angel of the Lord reminding the Israelites of their deliverance from Egypt. He reminded them of their duty to rid the land of the corrupting presence of the Canaanites and that they must not make agreements with them. God had not broken his covenant with them, but, sadly, they had failed in their part. God had kept His solemn, binding agreement to be their God and take them as His people; yet they had disobeyed Him.
As a consequence of all this Israel would not have full success against their enemies and would find them to be a continuing source of conflict and temptation. This caused an outpouring of grief or weeping at the place where they were assembled. They gave it the name “Bochim” which means “the weepers”. For a little time after this they did serve God, but their sorrow was neither deep nor enduring. Before long their apostasy would become painfully obvious.
This opening section of Judges, chapter two is important as it sets the scene for what follows in the rest of the book. It also warns us today of what will happen if we do not listen to God’s warnings not to make agreement with those who are outside of God’s kingdom and opposed to it. If we who are Christians do not resist evil influences in our lives or in the Church they will cause us untold grief.
There are many Christians and some churches which have suffered trouble and sorrow because they did not heed such warnings in Scripture. Like the Israelites in Judges, chapter two, they have become “weepers”, that is to say, they have known bitter sorrow because they have broken their covenant with God. The Israelites tolerated friendship with the unbelieving Canaanites around them. They learned to relax and drink with them. They intermarried with them. They adopted their beliefs while trying to hold on to their own. The consequence of all this was that they gradually lost their hold on God and they became spiritually weak. Eventually the world around trampled them down and despised them for their spiritual powerlessness. Let us be warned by this ever present danger and be fearful of allowing it to happen where we are concerned.
Next, in verses six to nine, we have “Restraint from Apostasy.” After the people departed from Bochim they happily went to claim the part of land assigned to them. For a while they served God faithfully while Joshua and the elders who succeeded him were in charge of the nation. Those men had seen the mighty things that God had done in bringing them into the Promised Land. Their faith in Him was strong and they were leaders worth following. They served to restrain the people from falling away from God. So it is today as Christian leaders who are spiritually strong have a powerful influence on those who look up to them. They are God’s instruments for preserving faith and obedience. Theirs is a fearsome responsibility and they must follow what Paul says in First Timothy chapter four verse sixteen: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Satan works hard to undermine and discourage faithful teachers and leaders. They are the officers in the Lord’s army and with them out of the way the troops are soon scattered. How we should be thankful if God has given us such leaders and how we should pray for them and support them.
There follows in verses ten to thirteen an outline of “The Stages of Apostasy.” First of all you have the passing of the faithful leaders, followed by a generation which did not know the Lord in a personal way and had no remembrance of all the wonderful things that God had done in the past. We then read that the people fell into evil ways and began to worship other gods and to finally forsake the Lord God altogether. This apostasy by His people provoked the just anger of the Lord.
In present times, the remembrance of the days of revival and of many people turning to Christ in true repentance and faith, have gradually faded from our memory. People come into the Church who would call themselves Christians but who are in reality strangers to God’s saving power and grace.
There are those who are attending Christian churches but they are not truly serving the Lord. They are serving themselves so as to be noticed by others, or they are more interested in money and possessions than spiritual things. Sadly there are some who outside of their church life are involved in dishonesty and even immorality, and practices forbidden by God, such as the occult. These people appear to honour God with their lips, but their hearts are from Him, and they stand under His judgement as did the people of Israel.
We can identify the “Evidences of Apostasy” in verses fourteen to nineteen of Judges, chapter two. The first evidence of apostasy amongst God’s people is that He became angry with them and withdrew his hand of blessing from them. He handed them over to their enemies and they had no success in their battles. Wherever the Israelites went they experienced failure and defeat. Then when God mercifully gave them good judges to lead them, they would not listen. Instead they stubbornly went back to their old sinful ways. They did not go back to the obedient ways of their forefathers. They failed to learn the lessons being taught them.
So for us today, the Lord sends faithful leaders and preachers to us declaring the truths of God’s word and rebuking things that are wrong. We must be careful that we do not dismiss what they are saying and carry on in our own self-pleasing ways. Let us learn the lesson that if we turn away from the Lord we will forfeit his blessing and be judged for our disobedience.
There is, happily, a positive note to be found in this chapter. In verses sixteen and eighteen there are evidences of “Restoration from Apostasy.” It was in answer to the heartfelt groaning or pleadings of His people under the oppression of their enemies that God raised up judges to deliver them.
It is when the church today has a real sense of its need that it will begin to cry to God for deliverance. At present it is far too comfortable, even at times intoxicated with its own apparent appeal and success. Ask yourself how much groaning or pleading with God is heard when we meet to pray? When we start to see that in our prayer meetings we may hope for God to move powerfully among us.
Finally, in verses twenty to twenty-three we can draw some “Lessons from Apostasy”. God judges his people because they transgressed or went against his covenant with them. He made clear that He would not drive out their enemies. Instead He would leave them set against His people so as to prove them and to see if they would keep His ways or not.
Is God proving or testing His people today? I believe He is. When our enemies are allowed to give us a hard time it is to test us, to see if we will be true to God’s Word or not. The people of God are being refined or sifted. The genuine, the faithful, the loyal ones are being made to stand out. The shallow and compromised churches will be overcome, but those who endure to the end will be saved. Are you part of the fight against apostasy or part of the apostasy itself?