“Now the angel of the Lord… said, ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, “…you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.” But you have not obeyed my voice…’ And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord… the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them… And they provoked the Lord to anger. Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.” (v1-2,11-12,16,19 abr)
The Angel of the Lord (ie. preincarnate Jesus, Son of God) declares Israel has been disobedient and leads them to repent, yet they go right back to rebelling against God. Since they no longer had a strong God-fearing leader (such as Moses or Joshua) they basically did what was right in their own eyes, or in the eyes of the remaining Canaanites. So God raises up a series of leaders, called judges, to guide the people in His ways. This helps, until the judge eventually dies and then the people rebel even further than before. Rinse, repeat.
One may ask “why can’t Israel get it together? Why can’t they figure this out? Why can’t they simply stay on the right track and obey God?” Well, even though obeying God sounds simple, it is certainly not easy. Since the dawn of time, we easily become distracted by this world and completely forget God’s existence, let alone His commands. We are the same sinful beings today, that Israel was 4000 years ago – we are still marred by sin, and can be easily distracted from following God.
Has God ever raised up a “judge” in your life? Have you encountered someone who guides you, holding you accountable to your commitment to following Jesus? Even if they don’t do this using words, perhaps by the example they set, and the encouragement they offer, they have a way of nudging you along in your journey with Jesus, keeping you on the right path. God still raises up “judges” today.
In modern times we call people like these “mentors” or “accountability partners” – someone in whom we can trust and confide, someone who cares as much (or more) about our walk with Jesus than we do.
Now, consider the other side of this. Perhaps You’re strong in your walk with Jesus and have been following Jesus for several years now. Is God prompting you to be a mentor in someone else’s life? Perhaps you benefited from mentorship at one point, and now it’s time to pay it forward. Remember, mentors are not flawless people, they are simply willing to follow Christ in the company of another, and both people will continue learning along the way.
My challenge for today is to have a mentor and be a mentor. These are two incredibly important relationships in life. The disciples modeled this behavior – they were first discipled by Jesus, and then they discipled the first-generation church members. Barnabas mentored Paul who mentored Timothy. Unlike Israel who broke their chain of obedience in a single generation, I encourage us to keep the generational chain of mentorship going, until Jesus comes again. Let’s not break the mentorship/discipleship chain in our generation.
Father God, our almighty Lord and King, great and holy is Your name. You loved us before You even created us, and You predestined Your Son to die for our sin before time began. Father thank you for Your abundant, generous, and gracious provision of infinite mercy. We thank you for the mentors You raise up in our lives. We praise You for continuing to mold and shape us through our circumstances and experiences. We also thank you for preparing us to partner with others, and mentor them along the way. Father we rely on Your Spirit for the words, wisdom and guidance we need to serve You in this way. In the name of our Lord and Savior, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training