September 6 -- "I Will Save You No More"

 Today’s Reading: Judges 10

"I Will Save You No More"

It is the most frightful thing imaginable... when God refuses to save.

In the Book of Judges we are following 300 years of the history of Israel - from the time of the death of Joshua until the time of Saul, their first king.  We are now about halfway through this period of judges.  Throughout the lives of these judges, Israel’s behavior follows a consistent pattern:  Israel enters a time of peace and rest → The people of Israel then fall into evil and idolatry → Israel is defeated at the hands of their enemies → In despair, the people turn back to God and call out for Him to rescue them → God sends a leader (judge) to save them → Once again they enter a time of peace and rest.  And then… this cycle repeats over-and-over-again.  So far, we have seen this cycle through their first eight judges:  Othniel, Ehud, Shagmar, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, and Jair.

Today, we come to a very frightening moment during one of these cycles.   The people of Israel have fallen so far from God that He tells them, “I'm fed up and I will save you no more.”  Essentially, the Lord is telling them, “Look! I’ve had enough!”  He goes on to remind them of the many, many times He rescued them in the past – from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites.  “I delivered you from each of these nations, but now I am FED UP!  I just won’t do it any more.” The Lord then drives His point home by advising them look elsewhere for help. Let your false ‘gods’ rescue you this time. I won't do it.  “Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.” 

This encounter with God brings up an terrifying issue – can someone reject God for so long and so persistently that God eventually turns His back on him/her and refuses to help?  The answer to this is, “yes.”  The Bible speaks of a person with a “reprobate mind.” The phrase “reprobate mind” is found in Romans 1:28 in reference to those whom God has rejected as godless and wicked. They “suppress the truth by their wickedness,” and it is upon these people that the wrath of God rests.  For them there is no remedy.  It is a terrifying moment when God says to them, “I will save you no more.”

Fortunately for Israel, they hadn’t actually reached this point yet.  From verse 15 on, we read that the children of Israel came to their senses and repented of their evil and confessed their sin. We are told in verse 16 that God’s soul “could no longer endure the misery of Israel.” His deep love for His people moved Him to act on their behalf. So, their kind and merciful Lord has mercy on them and rescues them once again – sending them a new judge, a man named Jephthah. Once again Israel enters a time of peace and rest.