LESSONS FROM FAILURE
Judges 2:11-19 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 13 And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 16 Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so. 18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Introduction
Well, we are continuing today with our Foundations of the Faith series of messages. We have flown quickly over Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and now we have finished the book of Joshua. And as we have looked at these sections of Scripture, in each we have discovered truths that apply to our lives today we have found ideas and theologies that should shape who we are as believers.
I couldn’t help but think of what Paul said about these stories from the Children of Israel shaping us in 1 Corinthians 10.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
These stories are examples for us. And so far, they have taught us a great number of lessons; God is the Creator of everything, God Is the Initiator of Redemption, God Is Faithful to His Promises, Obedience Matters — Blessing and Consequence Are Real, God Is Holy and Demands Holiness, Faith Must Be Passed to the Next Generation, Victory Is Possible, But Compromise Is Dangerous, God Uses Ordinary, Flawed People, God’s Word Is Central to Identity and Direction, and God Alone Is Worthy of Worship.
And that list could go on and on with all the lessons that we have covered so far. And what I’ve tried to do is to group the lessons under titles and headings that help us understand when and how they apply to our lives. When we were studying the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, I called that group of lessons; lessons from the wilderness. And I talked about how we all go through wilderness/suffering/questioning times in our lives, and God teaches us in those times.
Well then, we started studying the stories about Joshua leading the Children of Israel in conquest and victory over the Promised land. I called that series of sermons; tests during times of victory. And now we have come to the part of the story where the land has been conquered; the enemies have been defeated.
The covenant has been renewed. So, Joshua gathers Israel at the end of his life and says, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” And the people answer with confidence, “we will serve the Lord.”
But the book of Judges opens with a chilling note. The book of Judges is not like the book of Joshua. It is not a story of progress. It is not a story of revival. It is not a story of faithfulness that is rewarded. It is a story of failure. And the failure is not sudden, but gradual; not loud, but quiet.
Our Scripture reading at the start of the message today condenses the whole story of the book of Judges in just a few verses. Let me condense it even further.
A Limerick from Judges 2:11–19
There once was a people God saved, Who the Lord’s mighty works quickly waved.
They chased after Baal, found their strength start to fail,
And were crushed by the gods they had craved.
When the weight of their chains made them cry, God raised judges who came from on high. While the judge yet remained, they were freed, unrestrained—
Till he died… then they turned by and by.
Rinse and repeat; They kept failing over and over again. God would bless them, they would turn to idol worship, a foreign power would begin oppressing them, they would cry out to God, God would send a deliverer to save them, God would bless them, eventually they turn back to idols.
How is that an example for us? Well, just as God teaches us lessons in the wilderness, and during success, He also teaches us lessons in failure. Just as Israel ran after other things rather than God, we also pursue other things rather than God first; Trusting Prosperity Over God, Blurring Worship and Sin, Cultural accommodation and compromise, Redefining Moral Boundaries, Admiring Strength Over Obedience, Rejecting God’s Authority, Adding God Instead of Obeying God. And when we do so, we can experience a fall, a failure. But just as He did with Israel, God calls us back.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You today not to measure ourselves against others, but to place our lives under the light of Your Word. You are the God who brought Your people out of bondage, who led them through the wilderness, who gave them victory in the land—and yet You are also the God who sees when hearts drift and when obedience stops halfway. Lord, as we open the book of Judges, we ask You to guard us from pride. Keep us from reading these stories as distant history instead of honest mirrors.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts. Show us where we have tolerated what You told us to remove, where we have trusted substitutes instead of You, where we have remembered Your name but forgotten Your works. Prepare our hearts now to receive Your Word. We ask this not in our own strength, but in the name of Jesus Christ, our true Judge, our faithful Deliverer, and our eternal King. Amen.
Point #1 The Problem
Well today, we are introducing the book of Judges as lessons in times of failure. And this is what today’s message looks like. First, I need to remind you of where we left the nation of Israel at the end of Joshua’s life. Second, we are going to look at a very special visitation to the Children of Israel; The Angel of the Lord. And third, we are going to look at the first of the judges who was sent to Israel in their first time of falling away from God’s commands. Where they’ve been, where they are, and where they are going.
So, first, let’s remember where we left the nation of Israel at the end of Joshua’s life.
We start with chapter one of Judges. There are three noteworthy things in this first chapter. Number one: Joshua is still living. He dies at 110, but we do not read that he dies until chapter 2:8. And number two, up until his death this is what the book says about the people.
7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.
Israel did pretty well in their faithfulness as long as they had strong leadership. But when Joshua and his generation of leaders died, they began to slip. But, number three we should also note that they had not been completely victorious in clearing the land of its inhabitants as they began settling it. Listen to these verses.
Judges 1:19 19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
Stop there for a minute. They could not drive them out because they had chariots of iron. Really!? Does anyone really think that is the reason they couldn’t drive them out? Did they come up to the battlefield, pray to God for His victory, and then have God reply, “Hold it guys, I see a lot of iron chariots on the other side. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make this happen.”
21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
Stop again: They were strong enough to make them tributaries, to subjugate them, but not strong enough to destroy or drive them out? Sounds more like pragmatism. We’re tired. They promise to be good and pay us taxes if we let them live. But it left the worship of gods in the land.
31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: 32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.
You get the picture. They failed to do what God commanded them to do; drive out all the inhabitants of that land.
So, here’s the real question. What caused their failure? What was it that caused them to not thoroughly drive out, destroy the inhabitants of Canaan?
Here are some reasons; A lack of faith in God’s power, A lack of will to finish the job, simple disobedience: The verse repeatedly say, “they did not drive out, they did not drive out, they did not drive out. No reason given, they just didn’t get around to it. an Assimilation with Canaanite culture. The Israelites looked over and liked some of the Canaanite practices and culture, so they didn’t want to destroy it. So, they failed to destroy the culture completely. Remember when they conquered Jericho, they were supposed to destroy everything. The reason for that wasn’t just destruction for destruction’s sake. Their garments, their bowls, their figures, their altars were dedicated to, inscribed with, modeled after idols. God didn’t want anything left that would be a temptation later. But Israel left altars standing, high places intact, idolatrous people alive and idols within reach. They didn’t drive them out for a number of reasons
And there is so much that could be said here about our own lives, because we are really not that far removed from the same kinds of compromise that marked the children of Israel. Very rarely do we wake up one morning and decide to rebel against God outright. More often, our failures come because we haven’t finished the job of separating completely. We obey God up to a point, but when obedience becomes uncomfortable, inconvenient, or costly, we slow down or stop. Like Israel in the hill country, we move forward confidently until we see the “iron chariots,” and then we begin to reason, justify, and settle for less than what God commanded.
Instead of removing sin, we often try to manage it. We don’t fully sever the habit, the relationship, or the pattern—we just put boundaries around it and assume we can control it. We leave old altars standing, telling ourselves they no longer matter, even though God told us to tear them down. We keep backup plans for security, trusting God in theory while quietly leaning on money, control, approval, or comfort in practice. And over time, without realizing it, spiritual drift sets in. Scripture becomes less central, prayer becomes rushed, worship becomes optional, and what once would have troubled our conscience begins to feel normal.
We also absorb the values of the culture around us more than we care to admit. We adopt its definitions of success, happiness, and fulfillment, and we excuse compromise because “everyone does it.” We reassure ourselves with sincerity—telling God that our hearts are in the right place—while redefining obedience in ways that make room for sin. Outwardly, things may look fine. We can maintain public faith while allowing private compromises to grow quietly underneath. And because God is patient, we sometimes confuse His grace with His approval, forgetting that His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, not complacency.
Like Israel, we don’t usually lose ground in one dramatic moment. We lose it slowly, by leaving doors open—doors God clearly told us to close. And what is left unconquered does not remain neutral. In time, it presses back, shapes us, weakens us, and teaches us—often painfully—that partial obedience is never enough, and unfinished obedience always carries consequences.
So, that is where the Children of Israel have been.
Point #2: The Messenger
Where the Children of Israel are.
Judges 2:1–5 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. 4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.
What has happened here? This section starts off by describing “the Angel of the Lord” coming and speaking directly to the people. Let’s not gloss over that too quickly. A messenger from God came to speak with them. Well, this word for angel is used only one of three ways in Scripture. First, it sometimes just means messenger. It could be a prophet that God sends. Second, it could be one of God’s heavenly messengers; Angels. But third, there’s this special phrase “the Angel of the Lord.” A good example of that was when Moses went up on the mount because He saw the burning bush. It says the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the flame of the burning bush, then it says God called to him from the midst of the burning bush saying, “take your sandals off your feet for you are standing on holy ground.”
A similar encounter happened to Joshua remember? Before the Battle of Jericho, Joshua is walking near Jericho and sees a man with a drawn sword. And the man says to him “I come as captain of the host of the Lord.” And the captain said to him, “loose your sandals off of your feet for the place on which you stand is holy.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship,
Well, the angel of the lord that appears to the children of Israel here in the beginning of the book of Judges, I don’t think He is just a prophet, or even just an ordinary heavenly angel. We studied His appearance to Joshua months ago and identified Him as the preincarnate manifestation of Jesus Christ. He was God the Son, before He became a man.
What makes me think this is the same Messenger? That this is God the Son? Because unlike angels that bring messages from God, He doesn’t say, “Thus says the Lord,” or “I was sent...” He speaks as though He is God.
I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
So, what was the Messenger’s message? You haven’t kept the covenant. The reason you are going to fail is that. I’m leaving these enemies among you because you have not obeyed. You made alliances with the inhabitants of this land; ye did not throw down their altars: ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
You left the altars standing, tolerated pagan worship, made peace where God demanded purity. Became friends with the world.
In short, this is religious syncretism. You see, God had told Israel that they were to worship Him and Him alone. They were to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. And they did make Him a part of their lives. But they were not exclusive in their worship. They had followed other gods as well.
From the very beginning of Israel’s national life, Scripture shows a persistent pattern of turning to other gods that stretches far beyond the period of the Judges. In the wilderness, Israel worshiped the golden calf and joined itself to Baal of Peor, blending idolatry with immorality even after God’s deliverance from Egypt. During the monarchy, idolatry continued at both personal and national levels: household idols appear in David’s family, and Solomon openly sanctioned the worship of foreign gods by building high places for them. After the kingdom divided, idolatry became entrenched and institutionalized—Jeroboam’s golden calves redefined national worship in Israel, while kings like Ahab and Manasseh promoted Baal worship and pagan practices, even within the temple itself. The prophets repeatedly confronted this sin, portraying it as spiritual adultery, as Israel credited false gods for blessings, practiced child sacrifice, and adopted the worship customs of surrounding nations. From Exodus through the kings and the prophets, the biblical record is unmistakable: Israel’s recurring failure was not ignorance of the Lord, but divided loyalty—clinging to Yahweh in name while continually running after rival gods in practice.
So, God announces the consequence—not sudden destruction, but something worse:
“I will not drive (these nations) out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.” God allows Israel to live with what they refused to remove. And here is the people’s response.
The people weep. But these are regret tears, not repentance tears. They feel the pain of consequence—but not the weight of guilt. They cry because life will be harder—not because God was disobeyed. This sets the tone for Judges: sorrow without transformation.
2 Corinthians 7:10. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
So let’s move on to our third section. Where they have been, where they are, and where they are going. We are going to look at the story of the first judge as instructive about the revolving door of the book of judges.
Joshua dies in Joshua 2:8. The people are faithful for a time after his death, but...
Joshua 2: there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 13 And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Now I just want to show you the pattern of the whole book of Judges. Here’s the pattern; 1.Israel sins, 2.God disciplines through a foreign oppressor, 3.Israel cries out to God, 4.God sends a deliverer to deliver from the oppressor, 5.Israel has rest while the deliverer is alive, after the deliverer dies, go back to number one and repeat.
Step 1: Israel’s Sin
Judges 3:7: “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.”
Who did they go after?
Judges 3:7 says that Israel “forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth,” Baal was worshiped as a fertility and storm god—the one believed to control rain, crops, livestock, and agricultural success—while Asherah was associated with fertility, motherhood, and prosperity in the home. For an agrarian people settling into the land of Canaan, these gods offered a seductive promise: security, abundance, and control over daily survival. Instead of trusting the unseen LORD who had brought them out of Egypt, Israel was tempted to hedge their bets by adopting the visible, culturally accepted gods of the land, gods that seemed immediately relevant to planting seasons, harvests, and family growth.
But I’ve always wondered, how and why did this forsaking of God happen?
You know how this works. They get into the land. They don’t fully remove the altars, idols, and artifacts. They intermingle with and become comfortable with the people of the land. And then life happens. Your crop gets hit by a bad storm. Insects threaten the grain. Your wife can’t get pregnant or even loses a child. You have become chummy with the people of the land. So, what do the people of the land tell you? Why did this happen to me?
It’s because you haven’t been sacrificing to the gods of this land. And so, secretly at first, you do a sacrifice, and it works, the wife gets pregnant, or you have a bumper crop that year. You ask, “Did those gods really do those things?” No, but even today, people will allow themselves to be guided by circumstances not by God’s law. You follow after what seems to work. Old joke about a man who walked around always holding up his right arm. Someone asked, “why do you do that?” it keeps the lions away. there’s no lions around here, see it’s working.
Step 2: God’s discipline
Judges 3: 7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. 8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.
Chushan-rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia, the first foreign oppressor named in the book of Judges. His name is kind of interesting. This probably wasn’t his real name. It was the probably what the children of israel called him. Chushan may be related to Cushan or Cush, while rishathaim literally means “double wickedness” or “twofold evil,” They may have taken his real name and twisted it a little to say what they really felt about him.
Where did he rule? Historically, Mesopotamia refers to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, far to the northeast of Israel, indicating that this oppression came from outside Canaan. Here’s something else we are going to see repeatedly in the book of Judges: irony: Israel abandoned the LORD for the local fertility gods of Canaan, yet God disciplined them by placing them under the authority of a distant pagan ruler, reminding them that turning from the true God does not bring security, but deeper bondage. Note again the irony: God often uses irony in this book to get a message across.
Step 3: Israel’s cry
9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord,
“In the time of their trouble, when they cried unto Thee, Thou heardest them from heaven; and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them saviours” (Nehemiah 9:27). “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses”
Step 4: God sends a judge
9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
What Is a Judge?
Before we go any further, it’s essential to understand what a “judge” actually is in the book of Judges. The Hebrew word shofet does not describe a courtroom official or lawgiver, but a deliverer raised up by God in times of crisis. A judge in Israel was a military rescuer, not a king; a temporary leader, not the founder of a dynasty; These judges arise when the nation is in distress, not when it is stable, and they are appointed by God’s initiative rather than chosen by popular vote. But most importantly, the judge is never meant to be the hero of the story—God is. The judge is merely an instrument in His hand, often deeply flawed, reminding us that deliverance comes not through human strength or virtue, but through the mercy and power of the LORD Himself.
Who was Othniel?
Othniel stands at the beginning of the Judges cycle as the ideal that quickly fades. When the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD, Scripture tells us that God raised up a deliverer—Othniel son of Kenaz. By every measure, he is impressive: he comes from the tribe of Judah, is connected by family to faithful Caleb, has already proven himself as a capable warrior, and is explicitly empowered by the Spirit of the LORD. If Israel were ever going to be rescued by the “right kind” of leader, this is it—the strongest, most faithful judge they will ever have. Yet the irony is unmistakable: even at Israel’s best, deliverance still comes by grace, not merit. The people did not earn rescue through repentance, obedience, or reform; they simply cried out in distress, and God responded in mercy. From the very first judge, the pattern is set, salvation flows not from human worthiness, but from the gracious initiative of God.
Step 5 The nation has rest.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Step 6 the cycle worsens
12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.
The book of Judges unfolds through a tragic and repeating cycle that reveals Israel’s steady spiritual decline. The pattern is consistent: Israel turns from the LORD to idols, God responds with discipline by allowing foreign oppression, the people cry out—often more from pain than true repentance—and God, in mercy, raises up an unlikely judge to deliver them. For a time, the land has rest, but once the judge dies, the people fall back into sin.
And here’s something else you will notice; with each repetition of the cycle the sin gets worse, and the deliverer gets worse. The sin that begins Judges is going after and worshipping Baalim and Asherah. The sin that ends the book of Judges is all of Israel going to war against one tribe of Israel because that tribe is protecting men in their community who raped and murdered a man’s concubine. The book of Judges starts with the judge Othniel who stands out as qualified in every way, and the last judge is Samson, a judge driven by the flesh. The last individual presented as a leader in the book is Micah, whose story starts with his stealing from his mother, then becoming the priest for hire to a graven image for the tribe of Dan.
With each turn, the judges become more flawed, the sins more shocking, and the deliverances more ironic, exposing the depth of human failure and the astonishing persistence of God’s grace.
Who cares about this ancient history. Remember what Paul said to the Corinthians.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Judges is meant to be a cautionary tale precisely because the same pattern repeats itself in us on multiple levels. What unfolds nationally in Israel often unfolds personally in a single life—small compromises lead to spiritual drift, drift leads to bondage, and over time the decline deepens. The same spiral appears in families when one generation fails to pass on the faith with clarity and conviction, assuming the next will “figure it out,” only to watch vigilance weaken and devotion fade. History shows this pattern repeating in nations, in churches, in denominations, and in Christian institutions that begin with strong convictions but slowly trade faithfulness for comfort, relevance, or cultural acceptance. Judges reminds us that spiritual decline is rarely sudden; it is gradual, predictable, and devastating unless deliberately resisted through obedience, remembrance, and faithful transmission of truth.
Prayer