Year 7, Day 264: Judges 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Judges 3 we get a perspective of God that may make us uncomfortable.  God allowed some of the Canaanites to continue to live in the land.  The disturbing part is why.  Don’t get this point wrong.  The Bible is pretty clear on this point.  The Canaanites who are left are left there so that the Hebrew people would be tested.  God allows them to remain to see whether the Hebrew people would be faithful or not.

The Bible is also clear on the reality that God discovers.  The people do not remain faithful.  It isn’t long at all before the people rebel.  The Hebrew people mingled with the Canaanites, meaning that the Canaanites families – more importantly their gods – became a part of the Hebrew culture.  It isn’t long before the lines blur between God-fearing and those who are walking apart from God.

Again, though, we learn the point from yesterday.  God isn’t abandoning the people.  When the Hebrew people fall away into their selfishness, self-centeredness, and their sin God does not walk away.  God sends judges among the people to intervene.  God sends judges to remind the people where their focus should be.  Rather than abandon and start over, He calls and recalls.

I find that this truly speaks to the nature of forgiveness.  Those who do not forgive are completely able to abandon.  Only those who are willing to forgive cannot abandon.  To put it another way, if we want to be a forgiving people, we cannot be a people who abandon.  God is setting a precedent for us to follow.  People will walk away from us, just like we walk away from God.  We don’t need to actively pursue them; God lets us walk away from Him.  But it is up to us to make sure that there is a way back through forgiveness.  That is vital.  That is largely the overarching premise of the book of Judges.  Truthfully, that’s pretty much the overarching premise of the Bible, too.

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