Laura seemed to have a perfect life. Her husband Martin was handsome, charming, and exceedingly wealthy. A successful investment broker, he made enough money that she could enjoy the “trophy wife” lifestyle in their beautiful beachfront home on Cape Cod. When she looked into his enchanted eyes during their fairytale wedding, she thought that they would live happily ever after.
But little did she know that the man of her dreams would become her worst nightmare. Soon after their wedding, Laura discovered that Martin was possessive, controlling, and abusive. His obsessive-compulsive personality kept her confined to the house and she would be interrogated just for going to the grocery store and she would be chastised if the house wasn’t perfectly clean at all times. He would become enraged when he opened a kitchen cupboard and didn’t find the cans neatly stacked with all the labels facing frontward.
As Laura tolerated long and lonely days, she eventually befriended an attractive male neighbor. But when Martin came home early one day and saw her talking to him, he accused her of having an affair and physically pummeled her to teach her the lesson that she shouldn’t talk to strangers. As her life spiraled into a cycle of despair, Laura realized that she was “sleeping with the enemy!” Laura’s character was played brilliantly by Julia Roberts in this 1991 psychological thriller.
The Book of Judges begins by telling another story about sleeping with the enemy. However, in this plotline, the protagonist has not moved in with an abusive husband, but God’s covenant people, the Israelites, have disobeyed him by settling down among the pagan Canaanites in the Promised Land.
God had used Moses to deliver his people from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Then he used Moses’ assistant, Joshua, to begin the conquest to evict the Canaanites from their land. Under Joshua’s leadership, the Israelites routed the Canaanite resistance and divided the territory among the original twelve tribes of Israel. The land rightfully belonged to them and Joshua promised that God would fight for them as long as they obeyed his commands. Contrary to common sense, their military success did not depend on the size or strength of their army, but on the depth of their faith in God.
The conquest was more of a spiritual battle than a physical one. Joshua had warned the Israelites not to worship the gods of the Canaanites or form alliances with the pagan peoples remaining there. Failure in this regard would remove God’s supernatural enablement and they would be deprived of the peace and prosperity that the Lord wanted them to enjoy. Instead, they would settle for sleeping with the enemy.
Unfortunately, as we journey through the Book of Judges, we are going to see cycles of sin that will lead to the disintegration of a whole society. We are going to witness a once righteous and godly nation become corrupted by the surrounding pagan culture which will ultimately degenerate into anarchy and civil war. We will observe a people who once honored God and his commands deteriorate into people who “do what is right in their own eyes.” And if we pay close attention to Israel, we will learn some important lessons for our own individual spiritual lives and the spiritual life of our nation today. And if we apply these lessons, they will help us to avoid the snares of sleeping with the enemy.
Israel’s Successes (1:1-18)
As the Book of Judges begins, Joshua is dead. Like Moses before him, Joshua had crossed over the river of death, but this time, no successor had been appointed. This left Israel with a political crisis. The conquest still needed to be completed, but they did not have a leader to show them the way forward. In absence of a human commander, but eager to fulfill their divine mission, they sought guidance directly from the Lord, their heavenly commander-in-chief. They were all wondering which tribe should lead the charge against the Canaanites.
In verse 2, the Lord reveals that Judah should go first and he promised to give them success. So, Judah invoked the assistance of the tribe of Simeon and they formed an alliance to fight their common enemy. The tribes of Judah and Simeon descended from a common father (Jacob) and mother (Leah) and were in close geographical position to each other. Therefore, it was natural for these two tribes to work together to accomplish their mutual goal.
From there, the two tribes marched together against 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites and won an overwhelming victory at the city of Bezek, not far from Jerusalem. During the siege, the Israelites captured Adoni-bezek (literally “the lord of Bezek) who was the governor of the city and cut off his thumbs and big toes. This form of punishment was meant to humiliate the victim and prevent him from ever taking up arms against God’s people again. This might seem like cruel or unusual punishment, but this was a normal expression of the Old Testament judicial principle “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” because this was exactly what Adoni-bezek had done to seventy other kings and forced them to scrounge for food like dogs. In a stroke of divine irony, he recognized that God was repaying him in the same manner he had treated others.
Some of you may be surprised to encounter this gruesome torture in the Bible. So let me ask you, “How do you feel about this dramatic biblical scene?” I thought that you might be interested to know that the film critics Siskel and Ebert gave it two big thumbs up! No, I’m just kidding! But seriously, I wonder what Adoni-bezek did with all of those big toes? The Bible doesn’t tell us for certain, but I’d bet that he had to call for a “toe-truck!”
Anyway, after this, the tribe of Judah won battles in Jerusalem, the hill country, the Negeb dessert, the lowlands, and the city of Hebron. From there, they fought against the inhabitants of Debir, where Caleb, one of the original and courageous Israelite spies, offered his daughter Acsah’s hand in marriage to the man who could captures the city. For Caleb, this would ensure that the conquest would continue and it would secure a noble husband for his daughter. Caleb’s nephew Othneil responded to the challenge, took the city, and won the promised bride. Now arranged-marriage and marriage to such a close relative is uncouth in our modern culture, but both of these were common situations in this period of history. Caleb’s treatment of his daughter’s marriage and generosity of giving her the blessing of well-watered land is contrasted with the savage way women will be treated later in the book.
Notice how the Book of Judges begins with a hint of hope. In the absence of a human leader, the people of Israel sought God’s guidance directly. They humbled themselves in prayer before the Lord and inquired as to who should lead the charge against the enemy. And when God answered their prayer, they simply obeyed his commands. This was not only a recipe for a successful conquest in the ancient world; it is a formula for a successful life today. Like the Israelites, when we “inquire of the Lord” by humbling ourselves, seeking his divine guidance in prayer, and trusting and obeying his commands, he will lead us to a victorious life. Conversely, if we forsake the Lord, adopt attitudes of arrogance and self-sufficiency, and insist upon living according to our own rules and ways, he will remove his hand of blessing and let us fight life’s battles on our own. How do you make your decisions? Do you inquire of the Lord or do you try to figure it out yourself?
Also, notice how Judah enlisted the assistance of their brothers from the tribe of Simeon to carry out God’s mission. They recognized the immensity of their task, and they were not afraid to ask for help. Likewise, we all face situations in life when we need to enlist the help of others. Yes, we need to completely trust and rely on the Lord, but we also need to recognize and utilize the human resources that he has given us. God has not only given us biological families and friends, but he has also given us brothers and sisters in Christ (your church family) to help us overcome life’s challenges. Who has God placed in your life? Are you willing to ask for help?
Israel’s Failures (1:19-36)
Well, Israel was doing pretty well. As long as they trusted in the Lord, they experienced success in everything, but that was all about to change. In verses 19-36, they take their eyes off the Lord and the hint of hope turns into a tale of tragedy. At the beginning of the chapter, Israel conquers their enemies, but by the end of the chapter, they end up sleeping with the enemy.
In verse 19, the narrator tells us that “the Lord was with the men of Judah” as they conquered the hill country, but then surprises us by mentioning that they were unable to drive them out of the land because they had iron chariots. As they rest of the chapter unfolds, we discover that the real reason for their failure was not the iron chariots but it was their lack of faith and disobedience to the Lord.
Verse 21 begins a litany of lament remembering Israel’s failures. The tribe of Benjamin did not conquer the Jebusites wound up cohabitating with them. In verses 22-26, the men of Joseph disobeyed God by cutting a deal with a pagan from Bethel, who showed them a secret way into the city. They conquered the city, but they compromised with the enemy to do it. In verses 27-28, the tribe of Mannassah did not drive out the Canaanites from their surrounding territories and instead pressed them into forced labor, which was a breach of God’s command. In verses 29-30, Ephraim settled with the Canaanites in Gezer. In verses 30-32, Zebulun did not overthrow the people of Kitron. In verses 31-32, the tribe of Asher lost ground with the Canaanites in their territory. In verse 33, Naphtali conceded to the Canaanites. And in verses 34-36, the tribes of Dan and Joseph failed miserably in their attempt to dislodge the Amorites.
Wow! What a pitiful account of spiritual compromise, pragmatism, and half-hearted obedience to God! This story portrays a people who settled for doing what was easy and convenient rather than what is right. They didn’t trust God and therefore sacrificed the peace and prosperity that God promised them.
How about you? Have you forfeited God’s promise of peace and prosperity by giving in to spiritual compromise, personal pragmatism, or half-hearted obedience to God? I hear these things all the time: “My boyfriend isn’t a Christian, but he’s a really nice guy.”—that’s spiritual compromise. “Even though we’re not married, we had to move in together to save money!”—that’s pragmatism. “I have to work most Sunday mornings so I can provide for my family!”—that’s half-hearted obedience to God. Like Israel, when we do these things, we give ground to the enemy.
Have you settled for what is easy and convenient rather than what is right in God’s eyes? Are you sleeping with the enemy of your soul?
A Tearful Encounter (2:1-5)
In spite of Israel’s disobedience and their failure to drive the Canaanites out of the land, God shows his faithfulness by sending a messenger to rebuke them. The angel of the Lord reminded them that God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and promised their ancestors the land. Like a loving parent, he reprimanded them for disobeying the Lord by making treaties with the Canaanites and for not tearing down the altars where they worshiped. The angel also reminds them of God’s warning, “You want to shack up with the enemy? Go ahead! Step into the snare and be pierced by the thorns! Suffer the consequences.” In 2:2, the angel asks the penetrating question, “Why would you do such a thing?”
When the Israelites heard the angels’ rebuke, their hearts were pierced and they wept aloud. They renamed that place Bokim, which means “weeping ones” to remind them of their tears and then they made sacrifices to the Lord there. These are all acts of genuine repentance.
Do you hear their sobs of sorrow? Do you see the tears of regret running down their cheeks? Do you feel their remorse in your bones?
As we contemplate Israel’s failure and meditate upon the angel’s rebuke of their sin and disobedience, maybe the Holy Spirit is convicting us of some areas of sin and compromise in our own lives. Maybe you hear the angel’s words “Why would you do such a thing?” ringing in your ears! Maybe we have realized that we have been ensnared by idols and have been led away from the one true God who loves us!
Just as the angel reminded the Israelites of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt, as Christian’s today, our hearts should recall the fact that God has delivered us from our sins through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ. If you have been sleeping with the enemy, stop it! Confess your sin to the Lord and turn away from it! Receive his forgiveness and experience the gift of his salvation!