The Pulpit Commentaries
Judges 2:7-13
EXPOSITION
And the people served, etc. This verse is the epitome of the religious history of Israel from the time of the expostulation of the angel till the dying off of all those who had been elders in the time of Joshua. It probably includes some forty or fifty years from the entrance into Canaan, viz; about thirty years of Joshua's lifetime, and ten, fifteen, or twenty years after Joshua's death. The record of the people's continuance in the service of the Lord connects itself with the promise made by them in Joshua 24:21, Joshua 24:24. All the great works, etc. Scarcely those prior to the crossing of the Jordan, though some might remember some of the events in the wilderness when they were mere children (Numbers 14:31), but the victories in Canaan.
These three verses are identical with Joshua 24:29-6, except that the order is slightly varied.
An hundred and ten years old. Caleb was eighty-five years old, he tells us (Joshua 14:10), when he went to take possession of Hebron, forty-five years after the spies had searched Canaan from Kadesh-Barnea, and consequently some time in the seventh year of the entrance into Canaan. Joshua was probably within a year or two his contemporary.
Timnath-heres. Probably, though not certainly, the modern Tibneh, six miles from Jifna. It is called in Joshua 19:50 and Joshua 24:30 Timnath-serah, the letters of which are identical, but the order is inverted. Timnath-heres is probably the right form. It means "The portion of the Sun." We have Mount Heres in Judges 1:35, near Ajalon. Ir-shemesh (city of the sun) and Beth-shemesh (house of the sun) are other instances of places called from the sun. Some have supposed some connection between the name Timnath-heres, as Joshua's inheritance, and the miracle of the sun standing still upon Gibeon at the word of Joshua (Joshua 10:12, Joshua 10:13). The neighbourhood of Timnath-heres to Ajalon (Judges 1:35) may give some countenance to this. The hill Gaash is only elsewhere mentioned as the birthplace of Hiddai or Hurai (2 Samuel 23:30; 1 Chronicles 11:32), but the exact site is unknown.
Which know not the Lord, etc. The memory of God's great works gradually faded away, and with this memory their influence upon the hearts of the people. The seductions of idolatry and the influence of heathen example were ever fresh and powerful. Had the people obeyed the voice of the Lord, the idolatry and the idolaters would have been out of the way. We may notice by the way the value to the Church of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in keeping alive a perpetual memory of Christ's precious death until his coming again.
They forsook the Lord, etc. Here again there is a manifest allusion to Joshua 24:16, Joshua 24:17.
Baal and Ashtaroth. Ashtaroth is the plural of Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians (1 Kings 11:5, 1 Kings 11:33), just as Baalim (Judges 2:11) is the plural of Baal. The many images of Baal and Ashtoreth are, in the opinion of some, indicated by the plural; but others think that different modifications or impersonations of the god and goddess are indicated. Thus we read of Baal-berith, the god who presides over covenants; Baal-zebul, or Zebub, the god who presides over flies, who could either send or remove a plague of flies, and so on. "Baal (lord or master) was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth (perhaps the star, the planet Venus) was their supreme female divinity. Baal and Ashtoreth are frequently coupled together. Many Phoenician names—Hannibal, Asdrubal, Adherbal, Belus, etc.—are derived from Baal."
HOMILETICS
Influence.
Joshua holds a distinguished place among the worthies of the Old Testament. As the faithful minister of Moses, as the servant of God, as the bold and believing spy, as the successor of Moses, as the captain of the hosts of Israel, as the conqueror of Canaan, as the type of the Lord Jesus, whose name he bore, he stands in at least the second rank of the great men of the sacred history. But in nothing is he more conspicuously great than in the INFLUENCE which he exercised upon others by his authority and example. We learn in this section that his weight and influence with the Israelitish nation was such that for a period of not much less than half a century it sufficed to keep the fickle people steadfast in their allegiance to the God of their fathers. By his own influence while he lived, and after his death by the influence of those whom he had trained during his lifetime, the contagion of idolatry was checked, and the service of God maintained. It is not all great men who have this faculty of influencing others, but it is a most invaluable one.
I. THE QUALITIES WHICH SEEM NECESSARY TO GIVE IT ARE—
(1) Force of character. There must be a firm and steady will, moving always in the orbit of duty, and propelled by inflexible principle, in those who are to influence others.
(2) There must be also a quick discernment, a sound judgment which makes few or no mistakes, and a high range of morals and of intellect.
(3) There must be a lofty courage to cope with difficulties without flinching, to inspire confidence, and to break down obstacles.
(4) There must be unselfishness, and a noble, generous purpose soaring high above petty worldly objects, so as to provoke no rivalries and to excite no suspicions.
(5) There must be the qualities which attach men—kindness, geniality of disposition, fairness, considerateness, love; and the qualities which excite admiration, and make it a pleasure and an honour to follow him that has them.
(6) There must be an absence of vanity and self-conceit and love of praise, and a genuine simplicity of aim.
(7) And above all, to make a man's influence strong and lasting, there must be in him the true fear and love of God, and the conscious endeavour to promote his glory in everything. Joshua seems to have possessed all these in a high degree, and his influence was in proportion. That he not only possessed but actively exerted this influence for good we see by his address to the people recorded in Joshua 24:1. And this perhaps should make us add,
(8) as one more quality necessary in those who are to influence others largely, that moral courage which makes a man speak out boldly what he knows to be true for the express purpose of persuading and guiding others.
II. While, however, influence on the scale in which Joshua exercised it can be possessed by few, EVERY CHRISTIAN MAN OR WOMAN, whatever may be their station, CAN AND OUGHT TO BE EXERCISING A HEALTHY INFLUENCE IN THEIR OWN IMMEDIATE CIRCLE. The light of a genuine Christian life is a light which will make itself seen wherever it shines. In the home, be it palace or cottage, in the village street, in the town court, in the shop, in the factory, in the camp, in the ship, in the social circle, be it humble or be it exalted, be it rude or be it refined, be it unlettered or be it literary and scientific, the influence of a pure, humble, vigorous, devout Christian life must be felt. It must be a power wherever it is. The object of these remarks is to stimulate the reader to desire and to endeavour to exercise such an influence for good, and to supply a motive for checking any action, or course of action, which may weaken or impede such influence. An outbreak of temper, a single grasping or unscrupulous action, a single step in the path of selfishness, or uncharitable disregard of another's feelings or interests, may undo the effect of many good words and good works. A conscientious desire to influence others for their good and for God's glory will supply a strong motive for watchful care to give offence in nothing.
III. But this section supplies an important caution to those who are influenced. When Joshua and the elders were dead, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. THEY HAD NO selbständigkeit, NO INDEPENDENT STRENGTH, NO POWER TO STAND FIRM BY THEMSELVES. Their religion, their good conduct, depended upon another. He was the buttress that supported them; when the buttress was taken away they fell. Hence the caution not to trust in mere influence, but to look well to the foundations of our own faith. The influence of another man is no substitute for a converted heart, and for soundness in faith and love. St. Paul well knew the difference in some of his followers when he was present and when he was absent, and so would have their faith stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. It behoves us all to take care of our real principles of action, to examine ourselves, to prove our own selves, whether we be in the faith, whether Christ be really formed in us, whether we are seeking only to please those who have influence over us, or to please God. Else that may happen to us which happened to the Israelites, our upright Christian walk will last as long as we have the support of the good and strong, and no longer. We shall serve the Lord for a while only, and end by serving Baalim and Ashtaroth. The sober Christian life will be exchanged for folly and dissipation, and the pure creed degenerate into superstition or unbelief.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MUIR
The force of personal testimony and influence.
These verses are an explanation of how the evils came about which Israel deplored at Bochim. They explain, too, the fact that idolatry had not yet made much way amongst the people. "They described the whole period in which the people were submissive to the word of God, although removed from under the direct guidance of Joshua. The people were faithful when left to themselves by Joshua, faithful after his death, faithful still in the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. That whole generation which had seen the mighty deeds which attended the conquest of Canaan stood firm. Our passage says, 'for they had seen,' whereas Joshua 24:31 says, 'they had known.' 'To see' is mere definite than 'to know.' The facts of history may be known as the acts of God without being witnessed and experienced. But this generation had stood in the midst of events; the movements of the conflict and its results were still present in their memories" (Cassel). A new generation arises which "knows not Jehovah, nor yet the works which he had done." The "elders"—Joshua and his contemporaries—did this service; not only were they themselves faithful to God, but they kept alive the recollection of his mighty deeds and the national piety of Israel.
I. TESTIMONY IS OF GREATEST EFFECT WHEN IT IS THAT OF THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN AND KNOWN. St. John makes this claim for himself and his fellow apostles (1 John 1:1), and even St. Paul declares that Christ was manifested to him also as unto one that was born out of due time. It is a law of our nature upon which this proceeds. The nearer we are to our own personal experience, other things being equal, the more are we impressed with the reality of events. It was as if the people themselves had seen the miracles of the exodus when they had still amongst them Joshua and the elders. This advantage may be realised by Christians to-day, The gospel facts must become a real experience in the heart of him who would seek to influence others. By faith it may be so. We too may see our Saviour face to face. The preacher's vivid realisation of the supernatural and the Divine often exercises an overwhelming effect upon the hearer; whereas, on the other hand, to speak of our Saviour and his works as if we were telling an idle tale is to expose ourselves to certain failure. A Church that could relive the heroisms of the cross would be irresistible.
II. IT RECEIVES FRESH CONFIRMATION IN THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE WITNESSES. They were holy men. They lived in the constant remembrance of those awe-inspiring scenes. This was the most effective way of conveying to others their own impression and enthusiasm. Witness like this is within reach of all, and does not require scholarship to make it possible.
III. DEATH AND TIME ARE THE GREAT IMPAIRERS OF THIS INFLUENCE. With each good man who dies a witness disappears. The further we get in years from the actual scenes of miraculous power, the less effect are they calculated to produce. But the word of God liveth and endureth for ever, and God repeats spiritually the sigmas and mighty acts of his salvation in the experience of every true believer.—M.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY
Israel's apostasy.
The repeated apostasy of Israel and the consequences of it furnish the ever-recurring theme of the darker pages of the Book of Judges. It may be well, therefore, to look at the subject generally, apart from special instances.
I. THE NATURE OF THE APOSTASY.
1. It consisted in forsaking God. All sin begins here, because while we live near to him it is impossible for us to love and follow evil. If we cannot serve God and mammon, so long as we are faithful to God we shall be safe from the idolatry of worldliness. The guilt of forsaking God is great because it involves
(1) disobedience to our Father,
(2) ingratitude to our Benefactor,
(3) the fall from devotion to the Highest to lower pursuits.
2. This apostasy consisted in the worship of other gods. The shrine of the heart cannot long be empty. Man is a religious being, and he will have some religion; if not the highest and purest, then some lower form of worship. We must have a master, a God.
3. There was nothing inventive in the apostasy of Israel. The people only worshipped the old deities of the native population. They who give up Christianity for supposed novel forms of religion generally find themselves landed in some old-world superstition.
4. The guilt of the apostasy was aggravated by the character of the worship into which the people fell. This was
(1) false—the worship of supposed gods which possessed no Divine power;
(2) materialistic—the worship of idols in place of the unseen spiritual God; and
(3) immoral—the worship of impure deities with impure rites.
II. THE CAUSES OF THE APOSTASY.
1. Defective education. So long as Joshua and his contemporary elders lived the people remained faithful. Apostasy arose in a new "generation which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." But if the former generation had trained its children aright they would not have been thus ignorant. The Church should feel the supreme importance of the religious education of the young. Her continued existence depends on this. Children do not inherit their father's religion by natural succession. They must be trained in it.
2. Circumstances of ease. While the people were surrounded with the perils of the wilderness they displayed a moral heroism which melted beneath the sun of peaceful prosperity. Worldly comfort brings a great inducement to religious negligence.
3. Tolerance of evil. The earlier generation had failed to extirpate the idolatry of Canaan, and now this becomes a snare to the later generation. Indifference and indolence in regard to the wickedness which is around us is certain to open the door of temptation to our children, if not to ourselves.
4. The worldly attractions of the lower life. The service of God involves high spiritual efforts, purity of life, self-sacrifice, and difficult tasks (Joshua 24:19). The service of the world is more agreeable to the pleasures of sense and selfishness. Regarded from the low ground of sense and with the short sight of worldly wisdom, it is easier to worship Baal than to worship the Eternal.—A.