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Judges 10:6-16 – Praying through the Bible #73 – A Prayer of Tough Love
Love is tough, and tough love is hopeful. Israel falls into the same pattern again: sin, suffering, supplication, and salvation…except this time God says no.
Sin brings suffering. “Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (Judges 10.6). Evil is defined by breaking the first commandment, and Israel breaks it into many pieces: “They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines” (10.6). Israel is so (stubborn, greedy, fleshy, ungrateful, forgetful, shortsighted, or whatever), not only do they turn to false gods, “They abandoned Yahweh and did not worship Him” (10.6). They don’t even try to be hypocritical worshipers. For the next 18 years, Israel suffers being “shattered and crushed” (10.8). No wonder when they cry out saying, “We have sinned against You” (10.10) God replies, “I will not deliver you again. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen” (10.14). God is sick and tired of their yo-yo faith; and He appears hurt too. God rejects their plea and says no. Tough love means saying no.
Supplication involves confession. Israel is willing to suffer God’s punishment if only He will save them. “We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit; only deliver us today!” Pretty bold, or at least pretty desperate. “Deal with us as You see fit.” They would rather put their lives in the hands of God than in the hands of men. Considering God can do far worse than any human being, is this a wise choice? Only if they are pretty insightful too, and trusting. God’s wrath is less enduring than God’s love. Tough love is love.
Confession involves repentance. “So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the LORD” (10.16). They repent even though God says no. Actually I am impressed, at least a little. There is no bargaining, “If you deliver us, we will worship you.” They turn back to God and worship with hope, but no guarantee. Eventually God “became weary of Israel’s misery” (10.16). Love is hopeful.
Admittedly, I have conflicting feelings about this whole scene. Like God, I am tire of their inability or unwillingness to faithfully follow the God who keeps blessing and rescuing them. Judges reminds me of the Israelites in the wilderness. It makes you wonder if people can really change for good. But God keeps trying, and trying sometimes means saying no. And yet, I am impressed by their sincere repentance, a repentance of total trust in the character of God. They know God loves them even when He is angry (10.7). Their change of heart is one of hope. We worship a God of hope (Rom 15.13).
Prayer Challenge: Becoming impatient is not necessarily bad. Sometimes people deserve for us to say no when it comes to helping them. A lot of suffering can lead to greater repentance. Pray to know when to say no, and then when to say yes again.
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