In Chapter 1 the author of Judges told us that within each tribe's allotment there were still settlements maintained by the nations that occupied the promised land before the Lord brought Israel into it. In some cases the remaining tribes of Canaan fought so fiercely to hold onto their settlements that they prevented the Israelites from using all the land that the Lord intended to be theirs. In other cases the Israelites managed to subject them to forced labor.
Even in the areas where the Israelites have driven the heathens out, in Wednesday's study we found the Lord scolding them for not ridding the land of all the idolatrous altars and idolatrous images. He stated that this was why they were not able to completely conquer their allotments; they had not been fully obedient to Him. Their faith would have been stronger if they'd destroyed all these sinful centers of worship. Their faith would have been strong enough to continue taking hold of the entire land. The Lord said they would not be able to drive out any more heathen peoples until they gave this matter their full attention and obedience. As we begin Chapter 3 we'll take a look at who continues to occupy the promised land along with Israel.
"These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan." (Judges 3:1) You'll recall from Wednesday's study that in addition to Joshua, the elders who were his contemporaries have also passed on. The people who had witnessed the Lord's miraculous provision in the wilderness have passed on. The soldiers who experienced the Lord helping them conquer armies more powerful than theirs have passed on. The Bible told us in Judges 2:10, "After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who neither knew the Lord nor what He had done for Israel." They knew intellectually what He had done but they had not seen it with their own eyes.
The new generation was raised in the prosperity of the promised land and had never fought a battle. They should have fought some battles because the Lord had commanded Israel to eradicate their entire inheritance of the heathen tribes of Canaan, but the living was easy just as it was. Sure, there were pagan settlements and fortified garrisons here and there throughout the land the Lord intended to belong solely to Israel, but the Israelites had cleared enough territory to be able to live reasonably comfortably without being too bothered by the Canaanites. When the Bible says the Lord left nations to test the new generation, it's not that He didn't know what they would do, it's because He was giving them a choice to step up their faith. They could continue to share the land with people they were supposed to drive out (and in the process they could fall prey to idolatry), or they could finish the work their forefathers started and gain the kind of faith their forefathers had and witness the kind of miracles their forefathers witnessed.
I have been guilty of the same "good enough" attitude that the ancient Israelites were guilty of in our current chapter. I've been contented with less than what the Lord wanted to give me. I've subsisted on a lower faith level than where the Lord called me to be. I've been comfortable with mediocre spirituality. I've compromised on matters where I should have stood firm. As a result, I am positive I have not experienced all the victories and all the faith-building breakthroughs that could have been mine. I can't point an accusing finger at anyone who has lived on a "good enough" level, or who has been reluctant to step out of their comfort zone, because I've done it myself and will likely do it many more times.
The Lord wanted to teach warfare to the new generation: military warfare and spiritual warfare. Instead of driving the heathen nations out Himself, He expected the soldiers of Israel to engage them in battle. He was going to be with them in battle, of course, but they had to take the initiative like their forefathers did. The Bible clearly tells us that He meant this for their own good. "He did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience." (Judges 3:2)
Just as our parents and teachers didn't do everything for us when we were growing up, the Lord isn't going to do all the work of ridding the promised land of the nations who occupied it before them. He will lend His help, just as our parents and teachers helped us as we learned to do new things and as we took on new responsibilities. But if someone does everything for us, we become soft and weak. That isn't good for us. Being soft and weak militarily or spiritually was not good for Israel. The Lord wanted the new generation to go on the offensive and begin taking every remaining inch of the promised land.
These are those who remained to be fought: "The five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands, which He had given their ancestors through Moses." (Judges 3:3-4)
We have to keep in mind that the test is for the students, not for the teacher. The Lord knew what they would do. They didn't know what they would do. We often think we know what we'd do if presented with a particular set of circumstances but until we are actually faced with those circumstances we aren't really being tested. I've failed some of those tests! I've failed some tests I expected to pass with flying colors. If anybody had told me I was going to mess up in some of the ways I've messed up, I wouldn't have believed them. But that's what happens when we become too soft and weak and comfortable. We can start having too much confidence in ourselves because the living is too easy. When the living is too easy we aren't building any spiritual muscle. Then, when faced with a temptation or problem, we aren't strong enough for battle. I think that's what happened to the new generation in the promised land here in Chapter 3. Their forefathers did most of the work for them. Instead of finishing the work, they are comfortable enough with the pockets of heathen tribes living among them. They are comfortable and they don't want to make themselves uncomfortable. We don't like being uncomfortable, do we? Going on the offensive and taking the initiative against something that shouldn't be in our lives requires us to step out of our comfort zone. It requires us to step up our faith. That can be hard work and the carnal side of our nature prefers taking the easy path.
Because it was comfortable to compromise, this is what happened: "The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods." (Judges 3:5-6)
We fool ourselves when we think small compromises here and there aren't going to hurt anything. I'm sure that's what the new generation thought too. Leaving heathen settlements here and there in the less desirable regions of the mountains or the deserts didn't seem like that big of a deal. They thought they could ignore and avoid these people. Subjecting some of the pagan clans of the land to forced labor didn't seem like that big of a deal either. The one who does the subjecting is the one in control, or so it seemed to them, and the new generation thought they were in control and were going to remain in control. They thought they were keeping the lid on the pot, so to speak, but the pot eventually boiled over. When we begin compromising our values we are under the illusion that we are still in control. We fool ourselves into thinking we have the lid firmly on the pot and that we'll be able to keep the lid firmly on the pot. But sin doesn't like to stay in the pot. The more we have contact with sin, the more it heats up until eventually it boils over and burns us. That's why the Apostle Paul urges us to daily submit ourselves to the Lord (he refers to this as making "a living sacrifice") and to focus on Him in everything we do, for compromising with the world will get us out of the will of God and cause us to make mistakes we never thought we'd make. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God---this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is---His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2)
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