“Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” Judges 10:14
As the Book of Judges continues, a pattern begins to develop that we see in our reading today. God raises up a Judge that keeps the People of God faithful to their God and they enjoy a period of peace. When that Judge dies, Israel turns away from God and begins to worship the Idols of the Nations around them. They are then invaded by an oppressive Country that subjects them to slave-like existence. Israel then cries out to God for deliverance, He sends them a Judge that delivers them, and once again keeps them faithful to serve God. This Tragic Cycle will happen over and over in their History with Today’s Verse being the Culmination of His Patience running out with them.
This epitomizes the Old Covenant relationship of God and His People. It was based on a Works and Leader Centered Faith. It did not involve the Heart. When “the heart” has not changed, Israel would revert back to Idol Worship and abandon God when there was not a Strong Leader in the Picture. This included the Judges, that we see today, and would the future Kings as well. This is why the New Covenant, and a proper understanding of it, is so important to those that profess Faith in Christ. We do not want to be like Israel of Old whose faith was spurious and circumstantial.
You see, we can have the same kind of Scenario that Old Covenant Israel had. We may have had strong Christian Parents that raised us to read our Bibles, go to Church, obey Household Rules, and seem to have Faith. But if our hearts have not been changed, and we do not have Real Repentance and Faith, then when we move out of the House on our own, we Fall Away from God and turn to the Idols of Entertainment and “Name Your God”. The same can happen in any number of ways where “our faith” is dependent on “our works” or a “strong leader” that keeps us from straying. That is why Jesus would tell Nicodemus “You must be born again”, because “without” that Radical Heart Change, he “would not see the Kingdom of God”. IT, and IT Alone, is what makes the New Covenant work, where the Old One would not. May WE have that Radical Change at work in us so that we do not become like the People of Today’s Verse!