In both Isaiah and Judges, the theme of God’s faithfulness to his covenant in the face of the cyclical rebellion, disobedience, and apostasy of His people resonates. This is the age-old story of human fickle-mindedness; people can be on fire for God one day, and the next, forget all about him and start worshiping whatever shiny thing has come along to entice them.
When our wandering from God leads to troubling consequences, we cry out to God, and he often comes to the rescue. In gratitude for his patience with us, we vow never to let ourselves get so distracted again. But then the same or another shiny thing comes along…and around and around we go.
This was the story of Israel throughout the Old Testament and is vividly depicted repeatedly in Judges. Their apostasy, that is, their faithlessness, led to cruel oppression by foreign powers (which God allowed or even orchestrated to wake them and shake them), leading them to cry out in desperation to Yahweh. He delivered them repeatedly, sometimes directly and supernaturally, and sometimes through the Spirit-driven intervention of a judge or prophet.
When I read Old Testament texts like these, I never assume they can automatically be superimposed and applied to our modern landscape. First and foremost, these are stories about Israel, written to Israel. God called Israel to represent him and to worship him as the only true God at the center of numerous polytheistic, pagan cultures. Israel was the guardian of God’s law and was the family to which the Messiah would be born. God is not yet finished fulfilling his covenant promises to Israel. His words to them are still crucially relevant.
But there are sometimes truths or principles in the OT that I recognize as universal–about God, about humanity, or about the relationship between God and humanity, not just Israel. Time, person, nationality, and context are not limiting factors. I take notice of these and seek to apply them to myself, to the church, to the culture, and to the state of our nation.
One of these instances is in Isaiah 7:9. The context of this prophetic passage pertains to conflicts and alliances brewing between Judah and her neighbors in Isaiah’s day, preceding their exile. The Lord, through Isaiah, confronts the Judean king’s faithlessness and errors in judgment, concluding with this statement:
“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”
This stops me in my tracks. Firm in our faith is the only way we will be able to stand in these troubling times. The writer of Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God and that he rewards those who believe he exists and who earnestly seek him in faith (11:6).
Isaiah’s king was trying to understand his circumstances and strategy without taking God’s will fully into account, and without applying his faith.
This is very easy to do. Secular leaders lacking a spiritual perspective will use only human intelligence, technology, and political maneuvering to solve problems. When seen in the context of God’s never-ending story, these means are weak, faulty, and short-sighted at best.
Unfortunately, the church that claims to worship Jesus Christ isn’t much better, wiser, or stronger these days at solving human problems. Why is this? I contend that it is the lack of true faith in God, along with heavy doses of the fear of man. We’ve gotten too distracted by the world and by religious mindsets, and twist ourselves into a shape and substance that does not offend the world.
Jumping to Judges for a moment, we see this portrayed in Gideon’s story. Before Gideon could be qualified to represent God in battle against the Midianites who had cruelly oppressed them for seven years, he was commanded to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and the Asherah pole standing next to it. He must sacrifice a bull from his father’s herd and burn it as an offering with the wood from the altar and the pole. He must destroy the idolatry in his own family before coming against another idolatrous nation.
Gideon obeyed, but at night, “because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople” (Judges 6:27).
This is a sad statement. Like Gideon, we are so afraid of offending a world steeped in sin that we become just like it? Shouldn’t we learn to be bold, not apologizing for God?
When it was time to go to battle, God sent Gideon with only 300 soldiers carrying shofars and torches instead of weapons, and a vast horde of Midianites fled in terror. It wasn’t their strength but the power of the Spirit that achieved the victory.
As I consider the state of the world at this moment in history: wars abroad and violence at home, political manipulations on right and left, climate catastrophes, human trafficking, drug epidemics, chronic illnesses, social unrest and decay, and lack of human decency, I believe it is time for the church to stop practicing religion and step into the fight of faith.
Not in a worldly, physical, or exclusively political sense (though if you are called to a political role, please obey and serve), but fully clothed in the armor of God. Full of faith, full of spiritual strength, courageous, ready to die for the name of Christ and all he stands for.
Our individual assignments might look different, but as God’s army, we collectively have the power to pull down strongholds, put spiritual enemies to flight, and pursue righteousness and justice as we await Christ’s return.
But only if we are fearless in our faith. I have come to believe this:
If we do not stand firm in our faith, we will not stand at all.
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