Judges 10:6-18

[MEST] Judges
Judges 10:6-18 >
Not only is this the start of Jephthah’s story, but it’s also the middle of the book of Judges. Right from the off we see the Isrealites stumbling at the same old hurdles....
[Read > Judges 10:6-18]
Verse 6 tells us that “again the Isrealites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, this echoes way back to chapter 2 verse 11, “then the Isrealites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. What does this tell us?


What could be the reasons for his rebellion?


[Activity > Foreign gods/False idols]
Why do the Isrealites keep slipping further and further down this downward spiral of disobedience? And what does this tell us about us?


To show how severe Isreal’s rebellion has got we see here that they have not only turned away from the Lord and began worshiping false gods, but they do it seven times worse! > baal, ashteroth, and gods of Sidon, Syria, Moab, Amon, and Philistine. ALL THIS despite that the Lord had delivered them seven times > Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites.
With such a merciful God, who keeps rescuing them, what wrong mindsets could the Isrealites have?


How can we in 2010 relate to this?


What could this mean, if a people could continue to turn their backs on a God who has helped them so often?

In the exchange between the Isrealites and God in verses 10-16, we see something we’ve seen many times before...”the Isrealites cried out to the Lord”. This is usually followed by, “when the people cried out, the Lord raised up a deliverer”, as in 3:9, and again in 3:15, and again in 4:3-7, and again in 6:7-14. But for the first time now, it looks as though the Lord isn’t going to help them. Why might God react this way?


“We have sinned against you , forsaking our God and serving the baals” shows us that the Isrealites recognized their sin against the Lord. But recognition isn’t the same as repentance. How?


What does God’s reply [10:14] tell us?


God wants the Isrealites to turn away from the baals and back towards Him. Do the Isrealites ‘get’ this?


In verse 18, we find the Isrealites crying out for a leader. Is this a good idea?