"The Sin of Contentment”
Judges 1

February 19, 2006
by C.W. Powell

I. The success of Simeon and Judah. 1-20

A. It is important to know that We are not alone in the work God has given us to do. Simeon and Judah had more success accounted in the chapter than any of the others. There was some partial success among the other tribes; neither was Judah’s success total.
B. One of life’s secrets: You help get other’s what they want and need and you will get what you want and need.
C. If you labor only for another’s agenda and you will receive help to get your agenda.
D. Each had his own inheritance. Simeon help Judah get his inheritance; Judah helped Simeon get his inheritance.
E. Caleb we have spoken of before and his heroism as an old man.

1. He defeated the giants in Hebron
2. He was immediately called to deliver the city to the Levites as a city of refuge.
3. Our inheritance is the Lord;

F. The failure of Judah and his excuse. Vs. 19. The chariots of iron. What is a chariot of iron to the Lord? The command was not to drive out only the easy ones

II. The Successes and failures of the other tribes that are recorded

A. The failure in Jerusalem: the Jebusites lived there until the time of David.
B. The success of Joseph in Bethel; failure of verse 35 and the Amorites
C. The failure of Manasseh. Vs.27-28 The putting of the Canaanites under tribute
D. The failures of Ephraem, Zebulun, Vs. 29-31
E. The failure of Asher and Naphtali: vs. 32-33 Poignant statement: They dwelt among the Canaanites.
F. The terrible failure of Dan

III. The chastening of the Lord for their disobedience: Chapter 2:1-5. Because you did not drive them out, therefore I will not drive them out. They will be instruments of chastening and distress to you. Why didn’t they drive out the people and inherit the land.

A. Weakness of their faith.

1. The could not this and they could not that and they made excuses. They still carried their gods with them, at least in their hearts. Just before Stephen was martyred he said that they had always resisted the Holy Spirit and they carried their gods with them.
2. This idolatry would ultimately be their overthrow and defeat.
3. Caleb showed them what could be, but they did not follow his example. Chariots of Iron? Did Israel only worship a god of the hills.
4. Their weak faith left them unable to do the works of faith. Illustration: “This kind goeth not out but by fasting and prayers.” When faith is weak then spiritual warfare is weak, and we settle for less, much less, and our weakness and troubles multiply.
5. Hebrews: “12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 AV)

a) The problem is never with our circumstances: not the giants, not the walls of the city, not the chariots of Iron, not the energy of our enemies.
b) The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.

B. Their love of ease.

1. Matthew Henry: It was owing to their slothfulness and cowardice. They would not be at the pains to complete their conquests; like the sluggard, that dreamed of a lion in the way, a lion in the streets, they fancied insuperable difficulties, and frightened themselves with winds and clouds from sowing and reaping.

2. “t4 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Eph. 5:14,15

3. Ignorance is the result of slothfulness. Maybe they expected an easy and “29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” (Exodus 23:29-33 AV)

4. There is no contradiction here. The gaining of the inheritance would be little by little, but they were to persevere in the task and not be discourage. Chapter 2 certainly says that there was fault among them. I think they did not take the long view; they expected easy and quick fruits from their faith and got tired of war.

5. But they did know who their enemy was, and did not fight one another.

C. Other Reasons:

1. Lack of using one another’s gifts and failure of cooperation: Only Judah and Simeon worked together. Maybe there was too much concern about them getting their own that they did work to help others get their inheritance. It was never God’s intention that they be ruled by the centralized power of a king, as Samuel was to tell them later; but it is true that the law required them to love one another and support one another.
2. Their covetousness: they put the people under tribute. “It was owing to their covetousness; the Canaanites' labour and money would do them more good (they thought) than their blood, and therefore they were willing to let them live among them, that they might make a hand of them.” Matthew Henry. They cared more for wealth than they did obedience. What a shame to kill all these people when they can be so useful to us.
3. They did not have a horror of idolatry: “They had not that dread and detestation of idolatry which they ought to have had; they thought it a pity to put these Canaanites to the sword, though the measure of their iniquity was full, thought it would be no harm to let them live among them, and that they should be in no danger from them” Matthew Henry
4. Upon the whole matter it appears that the people of Israel were generally very careless both of their duty and interest in this thing; they did not what they might have done to expel the Canaanites and make room for themselves. And, same thing that kept their fathers forty years out of Canaan kept them now out of the full possession of it, and that was unbelief. Distrust of the power and promise of God lost them their advantages, and ran them into a thousand mischiefs. –Matthew Henry

IV. What is physical and material in the Old Testament is made spiritual in the new.

A. We have a kingdom which cannot be seen. We battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness.
B. The major battle is spiritual and has to do with spiritual things.

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

“6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9 AV) “

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:4-10 AV)

“7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:7-10 AV)

C. When failure comes, it is never because of circumstances – the walls of the city, the chariots of iron, the things of the flesh or the devices of men; it comes because we have already lost the battle in our hearts. Does God care about real estate and houses and lands and conquest and kingdoms and such things. No, no: he would dwell in our hearts and would reign their without rival. He calls us to banish all idols from our hearts and be content with Him along. All else is wood, hay, and stubble.

D. When failure comes it is never because of other people, though they be giants. How can people keep you from fulfilling the will of God for you, to keep you from your inheritance. Even failures of one tribe did not mean that all should fail. That would come later when they insisted on having a king. At this time, Judah could give example to the rest of Israel by entering into her own inheritance. You can do what God calls you to do, because the people in your life and the circumstances of your life are the work of God also. It is through many tribulations that we enter into the kingdom of God.

E. When failure comes it is never because of carnal things; spiritual failure always comes first. This is the reason that Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be added to you.” “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1 AV)

F. One of the worst failures is that of complacency.

1. We become content with ourselves and tend to despise others. “I thank God I am not like other men….”
2. The true peace of God is not one of complacency, but complete trust in God for righteousness. There must be no complacency in our desire to be pleasing to God, to overcome our faults and failures, to grow in our knowledge and competency to be useful to the church and the people of God, to expand our understanding and roll back the horizons of our knowledge of Christ, to put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man in Jesus Christ, to broaden our vision of the world and see other tribes of Israel and to understand the tribulations and trials that they endure also and to seek to be a help and encouragement to them.

Finally in the words of Hebrews: “1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” “4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Hebrews 12:1-6 AV) Amen and Amen. May God bless you.