Partial Obedience

"Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, 'I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, "I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars." But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? Therefore I also said, "I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you."'" -Judges 2.1-3

Judges 1.19-35 gives an account of the cities the tribes of Israel did not take and the peoples they allowed to live and remain in the land. Some of them became forced labor when the people became strong enough, but God's command was to destroy them completely. Israel has partially obeyed, they have destroyed the peoples that they were able to, and they have enslaved the rest, but God's command was never to take the people of the land as slaved.

At the beginning of Judges 2 an angel of the Lord comes and speaks to the people. He recalls God's promise and commands, tells how God has kept His promise, but not tells how Israel has not. Partial obedience is not sufficient. God told the people what would happen if they allowed the pagan nations of the land to remain among them. They would become thorns in their sides and a snare to the people. The influence that was allowed to remain would work its way into Israel's beliefs and practices and lead them away from God.

Men, partial obedience is not good enough. Doing part of what God said isn't enough. Partial obedience means that there is also partial disobedience. When God gives instructions we must be diligent to complete them. He says what He says for a reason, not just to hear Himself talk. Everything He says is for our good so that we can live in a better relationship with Him.

Israel's partial obedience left an influence that would work to pull them away from God. There is a cycle that unfolds in Judges:

The people rebel against God
The people are oppressed and cry out to God
God raises up a champion to deliver the people
The people are saved and follow God
Repeat.

This cycle was avoidable had they just completely obeyed God. Had Israel driven out all of the inhabitants of the land there would have been no one to lead them away from God. What cycles in our own lives are avoidable?

Let us be men who fully obey God. Let us be men who do all that He commands.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Don't Fight Alone

"Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, 'Come up with me into the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted you.' So Simeon went with him." -Judges 1.3

Joshua is dead, and there is still land to take. The people seek God on who is to lead the attack and God says that Judah is to go and He has given the land into their hands. Before the tribe of Judah goes into battle they turn to Simeon and ask them to go up and fight with them. It makes sense for Judah to ask Simeon because Simeon's land was located inside of Judah's so the alliance makes sense, but regardless of the reason we see an important lesson, don't fight alone.

God did not create us to go it alone. From the very beginning He said it was not good for a man to be alone. We were created for relationships. God created us for a relationship with Him, a relationship with a spouse, and relationships with our brothers in arms. Men don't need accountability partners, we need brothers in arms who have our back. We need people who will go into battle with us, who will fight by our side every moment.

The Spartans had the phalanx, each warrior's shield protected the man next to him. The secret to their strength and battlefield success, even Thermopile was a success, was the phalanx. Each individual Spartan was a force to be reckoned with. Each one was taught to ignore pain and trained in the art of war. They were battle hardened and each one could more than hold his own. But no single Spartan was anything compared the strength of the phalanx. They knew that fighting alone meant certain death, that one weak point in the phalanx meant its collapse. They never fought alone.

Men, don't fight alone, you weren't made to. You might be strong, you might be able to hold your own for a while, but no matter how strong you are, you need the phalanx. Your strength, when added to the strength of your brothers, becomes unstoppable. Don't go it alone, add your shield to the ranks and fight side by side with others.

Let us be men who fight together.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor