A LOOK BACK…

For those who are visual learners, I created a few slides this week. Here is an overview of where we have been and where we are. Last week we looked at how God DELIVERED his people (Israelites) from the hands of Egypt. God RESCUED them and started PHASE 2 of his covenant with them, to give them a LAND. He had already made good on his promise to give Abraham descendants and now he was delivering them to a land that he had promised they would inhabit. As part of that plan, God established the way that the Israelites would relate to him (he is Holy, they are not). He put MOSES in place as a MEDIATOR. He gave Moses the LAW so that they would know how to act as his people (moral, righteous, obeying God. He established the TABERNACLE (later the temple) as his dwelling place (holy of holies) so that his presence could dwell among them. He established the PRIESTHOOD (Levites) as mediators and workers in his tabernacle. They also stood in the gap, representing the people by offering sacrifices for sin (both for the people and themselves). He established the SACRIFICES…daily, weekly, yearly…because sin brings about death and separation. God established the law, the tabernacle, the priests, the sacrifices…so that a sinful people could experience life and relationship…if ONLY they would follow and obey all that God had given to them. And that leads us to where we are today…the next part of God’s ongoing love story…

…SCENE ONE: A BROKEN PATTERN…

[JUDGES 1]
-- After wandering the desert for forty years, God led the people of Israel to recapture the Promised Land from their enemies. God gave them many victories in battle and completely honored His promises to them—but the people rejected Him and worshipped false gods. This false worship led them into many other sins.

[JUDGES 2] (Chapter 2 is an overview of the book of Judges)
[2:1-5]
God’s reaction to Israel’s sin

[2:6-10]
Joshua dies...generation dies off...another generation rose up that did not know the LORD

[2:11-15]
“Israel did what was evil in the LORD’s sight” x7 [2:11, 3:7, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1, 10:6, 13:1]

[2:16]
The LORD sent JUDGES (generals)

THE BROKEN PATTERN:
SIN—OPPRESSION—REPENTANCE—DELIVERANCE—PEACE—SIN

JUDGES:
[2:17-23]
-- Because of their sin and disobedience, God removed His protection and allowed them to be overpowered and punished by foreign nations. When the people suffered they would come back to God and beg for His help and forgiveness. God once again forgave them and sent leaders, called JUDGES, to lead them in defeating their enemies. (These are not like judges we have today, but were more like generals). Battle after battle, Israel conquered their enemies at every border. In victory the people would worship God (experiencing life and relationship), but soon after, the people turned away from God again and lived their own way (experiencing death and separation). Unfortunately, this became a pattern from generation to generation; the people of Israel would come to God and worship Him when they needed help, but when things were going well, they returned to worshipping other things.

NO KING:
-- [17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25] “In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did whatever seemed right to him…” x4. This sets up the rest of the Old Testament and the giving of Kings and Prophets to Israel

…SCENE TWO: KINGS AND PROPHETS ARE GIVEN…

KINGS:
-- Since KINGS ruled other nations, the people of Israel complained to God, saying, “We want a human king we can see to rule over us.” God gave the people what they wanted and allowed them to be ruled by a succession of human kings that ultimately rebelled against God and His authority. Because of their rebellion, God removed His protection from Israel and allowed other nations to come in and conquer them. The Israelites were forced out of the Promised Land, and many were taken away to be slaves once again.

PROPHETS:
-- During the time of these KINGS, God sent PROPHETS to be His messengers. God spoke through the prophets, calling people to return to His ways and follow His commandments. The prophets warned Israel of what would happen if they continued to rebel against God.

…SCENE THREE: A MESSIAH IS COMING…

NEW COVENANT:
-- These Prophets foretold of a NEW COVENANT God would make with His people.

MESSIAH:
-- They pointed people to a COMING MESSIAH, an ETERNAL KING who would…FULFILL THIS NEW COVENANT…SAVE them, and RULE forever.

VISIONS:
-- God gave the prophets VISIONS of what the Messiah would be like when He came.
-- Prophets (like Isaiah) foretold these things about the MESSIAH . . .
1] A virgin would give birth to Him. (Isaiah 7)
2] He would be from the line of King David (their greatest King), who was a descendent of Abraham. (Isaiah 11)
3] He would do no wrong, living a life without sin. (Isaiah 53)
4] He would be beaten, killed, and buried in a rich man’s tomb. (Isaiah 53)
5] His life would be made an offering for our sin. (Isaiah 53)
6] He would establish a kingdom like no other Israel had ever known. (Isaiah 11)
7] He would fulfill every promise God had made to Abraham, Isaac, and their descendants.
8] God will lay the punishment and guilt for all of our sins on Him. His life will be made an offering for us. Because of Him, many will be made right with God. (Isaiah 53)

...WARNINGS...

-- The Lord had long warned Israel of judgment, going all the way back to Moses’ stern warning...

DEUT 28:62–65
"62 Though you were as numerous as the stars of the sky, you will be left with only a few people, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Just as the Lord was glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so he will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be ripped out of the land you are entering to possess. 64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. 65 You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit.”

2 KINGS 17:13
“13 Still, the Lord warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”
-- Many attempts had been made to turn the people back to the Lord, including efforts by Elijah and Elisha, two of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history.

2 KINGS 17:15-17
-- This verse describes the many ways in which Israel sinned against the Lord, leading to His judgment upon the land...
"15 They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate. 16 They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and angered him.
-- Israel broke the Law, worshiped other gods—even burning their children as offerings—and used divination as part of their godless lifestyle.

-- Despite the warnings of the prophets, the people of Israel stopped listening to God, and God did not speak to humans again for 400 years.

SO…WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT GOD…

God is holy—God will never allow evil to remain in His presence.
-- He always does what is good, right, and perfect. He never treats man unjustly. He judged Lucifer and the fallen angels by casting them out of heaven. He cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. He cast Cain away from His presence by making him a wanderer. He destroyed the earth with a flood. He thoroughly judged Egypt. He also judged Israel through enslavement and deportation when they followed false gods.

He has all power. (OMNIPOTENT)
-- He created everything, including the angels. He created man and fashioned the earth for him to live on. He destroyed all men and animals by the flood. He caused barren women to become pregnant. He destroyed the most powerful nation, Egypt, and the most powerful king, Pharaoh, easily. He has complete control over His creation: He can turn the Nile to blood, cause storms greater than ever known in history, bring in insects to eat all the crops, cause day to be night, and even divide the waters of the Red Sea. He controls the wind and the waves! He controls the nations; when Israel disobeyed, He could bring in a foreign power to enslave them.

He knows all things. (OMNISCIENT)
-- He knew what Lucifer was thinking in his heart. He knew Adam and Eve had sinned. He knew Cain was about to do evil. He knew the thoughts and intentions of every person on the earth. He knew Sarah would have a baby. He knew Joseph would save his family from drought.

He is the source of all grace.
-- He did not kill Adam and Eve instantly. Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. He called Abraham and promised to make him a great nation and to bless all the nations of the world through him. He gave Sarah a son in her old age. He told Moses how the firstborn could be saved at the Passover. He made a way for the Israelites’ sins to be forgiven through the blood of sacrifices so they could dwell with Him. He sent judges, kings, and prophets to give the people His word. He promised a coming king who would establish save the people from all of their sins.

He always keeps His promises.
-- He told Adam and Eve if they ate of the fruit He forbid that they would die. He promised to bring a flood, and He did. He promised a son to Abraham and Sarah, and they conceived. He promised to make Abraham into a great nation, and it came true. He promised to deliver His people from Egypt, and He did. He promised to save the firstborn if the blood of a lamb was applied, and He did. He promised to give the descendants of Abraham the land of Canaan, and He did.

—> He promised a coming messiah and savior . . . but will He come?

NEXT WEEK…CHRISTMAS!

RESPOND, REFLECT & COMMUNION

I would like to give you a chance to respond to God…

—> LETS TAKE A MINUTE TO THANK HIM, RESPOND TO HIM, CONFESS OUR SIN TO HIM, EXAMINE OUR HEARTS BEFORE COMMUNION…

—> WHAT IS JESUS SAYING TO YOU TODAY?

—> WHAT IS JESUS ASKING YOU TO DO?