Adult Mentor: 3rd Quarter 2017

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corp.

Adult Mentor (ages 36 & older).This book is for the adult learner, ages 36 and older. It is designed to increase Christian faith and biblical understanding using a variety of learning methods.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Apr 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781681672748

Book preview

GOD SENDS JUDGES

QUARTERLY THEME:

Covenant Living

Lesson Scripture:

Judges 2:16–23

DISCIPLINES LEARNED

I. GOD’S COVENANT IGNORED

II. JUDGES FOR REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

KEY VERSE:

Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

(Judges 2:16, KJV)

INTRODUCTION

After being led out of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land, the Israelites were given specific instructions regarding being God’s people in their new location. Out of His love for the people, God provided them with instructions and judges to govern the daily activities in their new home. They, like sheep, demonstrated how much they needed an authority figure to help them make constructive choices.

EXPOSITION:

I. God’s Covenant Ignored

After leaving their life of bondage in Egypt, the Israelites went through a major transformation. No longer were they subject to the rules and authority of the oppressive pharaoh, who used them for slave labor to build cities and temples for his own glory. They actually would go in and inhabit houses, lands, and vineyards they had not built, cultivated, or sown for themselves and their families.

Under the leadership of Moses, God led His chosen people from Egypt to Mt. Sinai. This leg of their journey was necessary because it was here God established a sacred and binding covenant with the Israelites. This covenant was an extension of the covenant God had entered into with their forefather, Abraham, in Genesis 12. In the covenant, God promised to protect them and to provide them with unique blessings, which demonstrated His position of being their God. His protection and blessings would reveal to all nations that the God of the Israelites was the only one and true God. All other gods worshiped by the people were to be exposed for who and what they really were as their power and authority were shown to be false illusions. In helping them see the futility of serving idol gods, it was God’s desire to draw all of His creation into a loving covenant relationship with Him through His chosen people, the nation of Israel.

THEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS:

1 God seeks to establish a covenant relationship with humanity because of His great love for us. His covenant with us provides to us His protection, presence, and promise to keep us through our most challenging times.

2 Our failure to keep our agreement with God results in Him allowing us to be conquered by our enemies. However, God forgives us when we repent and reaffirm our agreement with Him.

Because a covenant is a binding agreement between two or more parties, there are obligations each party is responsible for fulfilling. God’s responsibility was to protect and uniquely bless. Israel’s obligation was to faithfully love and obey God. Through Moses, God provided the Israelites with specific commandments (Exod. 20) and guidelines they were to follow. They were designed to protect the Israelites from the snares that lay before them in the Promised Land.

After the death of Moses, leadership of God’s special nation was turned over to the capable hands of Joshua, who served Moses prior to his death. Joshua governed the people according to all God had instructed and often challenged the people when he saw them veering from God’s commandments. Unfortunately, after his death and the deaths of the elders who had witnessed the mighty acts of God, Israel threw off all restraints and followed hard after the pagan gods of the people who lived in the Promised Land. In doing so, Israel breached their covenant with God, thereby rendering it unnecessary for God to fulfill His obligations to protect and uniquely bless them.

ACTIVITY:

MAKING IT STICK

Look up the various judges of Israel and describe their roles in leading the people. Discuss what happened during the time Israel was between judges. What happens to us when we do not make the Holy Spirit a constant factor in our lives?

Judges 2:10 tells us about another generation who did not know the Lord. Exodus 1:8 tells us that after the death of Joseph there arose a king who did not know that Joseph represented God’s favor and protection for his people. Both instances represent a major transition in the lives of the Israelites. More to the point, both instances mark a beginning of major difficulties for the Israelites. However, the transition in Judges 2:10 was directly related to the Israelites’ disobedience and the certain consequences that follow when the commands and instructions of God are rejected.

II. Judges for Rebellious People

As the generation of Joshua and the elders who had witnessed the mighty acts of God died, one generation after another arose more disobedient than the previous. God knew the people would disobey, so, in His infinite wisdom, He provided an instruction to safeguard against such transgression. In Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Israel was given specific instructions to teach its children the commands and mighty acts of God, with the intent that they would continue to fulfill their obligation to the covenant and pass on the teachings. Unfortunately, Israel made a tremendous mistake by neglecting to teach their children. However, today’s Christians must be careful not to cast a stone of condemnation on Israel, as the same thing is occurring today. Children are being left to form their own opinions and to make their own decisions about God rather than being