Judges 10: The gods whom you have chosen

The book of Judges just mostly strikes me as sad.  On the whole it really is.  Israel has just had this miraculous journey through the wilderness, God has mightily conquered their enemies in the land of Canaan, and now Joshua has died and everyone has forsaken God’s law, instead doing what was “right in their own eyes.”  That is a scary place to be as a nation, amen? Does it remind you of any other nation you know? Because of this “the hand of the LORD was against them for harm… and they were in terrible distress” (2:15).

So God in His mercy raised up judges who would deliver God’s people from the enemies who were conquering the land and oppressing the nation of Israel. The judge would bring peace and godliness to the land for 20 or 40 or even up to 80 years, but eventually the people would “not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them” (2:17).  It’s a sad story that has repeated itself throughout history more times than we can count.

But a certain phrase stands out to me from chapter 10.  The people of Israel have once again strayed from God, they are being oppressed by their enemies and they are “severely distressed” (v.9).

So they cried out to God.

Well, that’s good, right? What is God’s response?

“Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress” (10:14).

Ouch.  Seems harsh, huh?

Remember, God is not harsh, He is holy.

He is not a game, He is GOD.

And while this statement seems rhetorical, I think it is helpful for us to take it seriously–to think about what it would look like if we really did “cry out” to the things that become gods in our life.

It might help us see those gods for what they really are: False.

So then I saw this play out. Yesterday Dutch was playing with toys and I kept giving him instructions–to make his bed and get dressed, etc. I wasn’t pestering him, but they were things he needed to do before he went on with his day.  He obeyed, but then said (in a syrupy sweet voice): “Mommy, can you please not talk to me anymore today?”

Excuuuse me?

I very briefly explained that that was disrespectful and that God had given me the job of being his mommy and, therefore, of talking to him, but that I would be happy to give it a whirl and see how he liked it.

So I quit talking…and listening.  He played happily with his toys.  When he asked for a snack I ignored him. When he asked for  some  lunch I ignored him while I fed Heidi.  I ignored and ignored and ignored until the message got through.

“Mommy I’m sorry I asked you to not talk to me. Will you please talk to me now?”

What I thought of saying (in light of this passage) was, “Why don’t you go talk to your toys and ask them to make you your lunch? Why don’t you ask them to make you a snack?”

Go cry out to the gods whom you have chosen.

Obviously Dutch’s dump trucks cannot make him a peanut butter sandwich.  But why do we think that our possessions or our accolades or our children’s performance or the praises that we receive from others can provide us with the strength and life and joy and vitality that only comes from the True and Living God?

We all seem to have our “god” or idol of choice. Not gold or silver or wood, of course, but things or people we are tempted to daily bow to, as if they really can provide what we need.

So try this: Think of what your default idol tends to be. Is it your children’s performance?  Accolades? Being right? Position?  Visualize how ridiculous it would be to cry out to that thing in a time of real need–a time of real distress or grief or sorrow.  A time of true hunger, as Dutch crying out to his toys when he’s truly hungry for a sandwich.

Perhaps the ridiculous visual will serve as a helpful reminder when we’re prone to wander from the True and Living God.

There is only One who is worthy of our call. Let’s never make the mistake of “asking Him” (by our actions) to not talk to us for the day.  We would be lost without His voice.

So let’s just call to Him.