“Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.” (v.6)
Once again we see the Israelites forsook the Lord their God again, and served the gods of the surrounding nations. They were attracted to these other gods not because of the beauty of an idol image, but because of what was associated with the pagan deity. Baal, the weather god, was associated with financial success. Ashtoreth, the goddess of fertility, was associated with love, sex, and romance. As for the other gods of the neighboring nations around them, it was a matter of conforming to the popular culture and doing what everyone else did. Sound familiar?
As a result, the Lord gave them up to the power of the Philistines and Ammonites and left them to groan for eighteen years under the severe oppression of the Ammonites (v.8), till they cried to Him in their distress saying, “We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!” (v.10). So the LORD said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines? Also the Sidonians and Amalekites and Maonites oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand. Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore, I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress” (v.14).
Yet, God looked upon disobedient Israel with compassion, not hatred (v.16). It was “difficult” for God to allow Israel to stay in their misery, though it was best for them. Like the perfect loving parent, God hated to see Israel suffer, even when it was good for them. He longed to rescue them, but would not do it until it was good for them. Later in chapter 11, He would send them deliverance through Jephthah, though not till He has first charged them with their sins, and they had put away the strange gods.
True repentance is not only for sin, but from it as well. Meaning, we must humble ourselves under His hand, seek deliverance from the powers of darkness, separate ourselves from it. All the while realizing that when we freely choose to return and repeat some past sin, God is able to prolong His mercy until we truly repent.
The good news is we are not under the law but under grace. And, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive us our sin, and cleans us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
The Truth: Jesus said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:12)
