The book of Judge tells the story of what happened to the children of Israel after they entered the promised land. They began a long period of going from serving God wholeheartedly to leaving God and following the world system and worshipping Satan. They worshipped Satan by following the people of the world to worship false gods.
Judges 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord and served not him.
This false god worship led the children of Israel into eating sacrifices to the dead, bowing down to idols, indulging in sexual orgies (Num. 25:1–11; Ps. 106:28), sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. 57:3–10), including copulation with animals (Hos. 13:2) pedophilia or intercourse with children, and homosexuality. Baal has a wife known as the goddess Ashtartoth (Judg. 2:13) or *Asherah (Judg. 6:30; II Kings 16:32–33) and is considered a mother - god, a fertility god and is represented by an erected pole or tree near an alter, usually an alter to Baal. She is also known as the Queen of Heaven and the violent "Virgin Anath." This is what Baal (the Bull) and Asherah worship is. These other gods they worshipped also included child sacrifices. Although we do not call on the names of these gods today, the behavior of worshipping these gods exists today in all forms. People may not call it worship, but Satan receives it as such. People may not call abortion worship, but the enemy uses these child sacrifices for his glory and power due to the innocent blood that is shed.
The main reason the children of Israel fell away from God is because they did not obey God to get rid of all the people in the land that God had given them. As they, the Children of Israel, grew in number, they were to take new areas of land within the promised land and totally destroy the occupants. They were not to keep or live with their enemy because they would be exposed to the lifestyle and belief system of their pagan neighbors. In order to not defile God's people, he instructed them to kill them all, including women and children. But because the children of Israel lost faith to believe God would give them total victory to conquer their land during each generation, they began to compromise when things got tough and allowed their enemy to dwell amongst them.
God requires us to believe him for his promises even when it looks like failure is imminent. That is why “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” If God gives us a promise, we must never back down from trusting him. Usually, it is only just a test. Or it may be a period in which the blessing is on the way, but in the spirit, there is a war going on for our benefit. We saw that in Daniel chapter 10. Daniel was fasting and praying but did not get an answer for 21 days because Satan tried to block it. Had Daniel given up before his answer, he would have nullified his blessing. How do you give up by speaking or acting in unbelief before God answers or delivers on his promise? We must decide to stand with God and his word even if we never see it fulfilled in our lifetime. Some prayers God may choose to answer after our death. But He never forgets if we stand in faith until the end. In fact, in the book of Revelations, there are a couple of references to the prayers of the saints that God acts upon. God had stored them for use in the appointed time ( Revelation 5:8, 8:5).
Rather than obey God and remain in faith with God, They began to make excuses for why they could not eliminate all of the enemy. Just like we make excuses about getting rid of all of our sins and influences of the world run by Satan. We keep saying, “We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Yes, that is true, but sin should become past tense ( see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We should be saying we used to do those things. Why? Because God told us to.
Rather than obey God and trust him, they chose to enslave their enemy. But they forgot that slaves lived with and influenced their masters. As a result, they began to fall away from God until time passed, and God took his hedge of protection away from them, and then foreign invaders came and enslaved them as punishment from God. When it got so bad for them, they would remember the true and living God and confess and repent of their sins. Then God would elevate a leader from the midst of them as a Judge who would lead them out of captivity with the help of God. They would then wholeheartedly worship the true and living God until everyone who knew God and lived during the lifetime of the Judge died, and then the people would go back to imitating the world. Why, because they still had the influence of those slaves who worshipped Satan in their midst, and they failed to train the next generation.
What they failed to realize is that the only solution once they intermingled was to convert their enemy amongst them to true God worship. But they never did! Eventually, this mistake would lead them to be sent into exile from the promised land years later.
But what is the moral of this story for us? As the church, we must first assess ourselves to see if we are individually and collectively walking with God. How? Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Mattress 4:4).” We must live according to all the council of God through the Holy Bible. The Apostle Paul said:
1 Corinthians 6 : 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God. (MEV)
We read this scripture, and we all have seen one or more of these sins active and alive in our churches at all levels of the church, including Bishops, Pastors, Elders, Local Preachers, and Laity. I am not saying this to point the finger or to hurt feelings. However, if we want the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church to grow, we must eliminate sin in the camp. We must align ourselves with God by agreeing with His word. We recognize that we live amongst the enemy. They must either be converted or treated like outsiders that need to be converted. We must not live with them in our personal circles of influence. After all, the Word says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness ( 2 Corinthians 6:14)?
The story of Judges is a lesson for us to follow so that we can avoid the devastating consequences of losing God's favor. We all must help one another in our walk with God. The Bible teaches us:
Matthew 18: 15 “Now if your brother sins ( trespass ) against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, then take with you one or two others, that by the testimony of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
The word trespass means “To be without a share in; to miss the mark; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor; to do or go wrong; to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin (blueletterbible.com).” Thus, we are called to go to our brother or sister when we become aware of them living in sin because the wages of sin is death. First, we go to them one on one. Then, if they do not listen, take a witness and go again. Then, if they don’t listen, take it to the Pastor and/ or Quarterly Conference. Yes, we must go public because confessed sin closes the door to Satan. It also teaches our children who are watching that there are consequences for sin. It also teaches others to get themselves together so that they have no reason to be called out.
In the case of church leadership ( Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Local Preachers), we are to consider 1 Timothy 5: 19 (Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses) before anything is made public.
In the book of Judges, all the people had to confess and repent before God acted to deliver them. Yes, it was a corporate and personal confession. God himself said:
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
All sin must be placed under the blood through confession and repentance. Then, the open door to Satan is closed, and we are entitled to pray to God for healing and go into spiritual warfare to receive deliverance. However, if we continue to deny our sin, we remain in darkness and in the power of Satan. If we die in that state of sin, we die and go to hell.
If what I have shared has offended you or made you say ouch, then good. Because the truth hurts and the word of God cuts. Now you know God loves you because you have been warned to make some changes while you still can. Be blessed, beloved!
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