God's Government Will Stand

 Matthew Poole was a great writer of the seventeenth century.  He lived from 1624 to 1679.  I have come to love his commentary of the Scriptures.  I love his insight and wording of explanations.  The following post is his explanation of Judges 2:16, which I began discussing in the last post, "Nevertheless".   I feel this short explanation speaks volumes of the kind of government we desire to be under.  And it's such a logical and exemplary standard, I wanted to share it as we approach this most controversial and convoluted election we will be facing in 24 days.  What a government this would be!!

And by the way, Mr. Poole uses the 1611 translation of the KJV.  But the commentary translates the old English to the English we use today.  Judges 2:16, "Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them."  He writes: "The Lord raises them up, by inward inspiration and excitation of their minds and hearts and by outward designation, testified by some heroical and extraordinary action."  And the following is the practical and moral description of these men, God's judges.  They were "supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by His particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God's laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies; to preserve and purge religion; to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors."  All I can say (because I am not gifted with words) is WOW!  

WOW!  "Under God.  God's laws.  Protect and save from their enemies.  Preserve and purge religion.  Maintain liberties of the people against all oppressors".  What's not to love about that kind of leadership?  This must be our daily prayer.  And most especially, this must be the "self-government" of each individual as well!  We, as believers, through Jesus Christ, must govern ourselves, if we are to hope for and seek a better way of life for our country!  That is where we can begin and that is where we must start.

And how did God's people of that time respond?  Verse 17 says, "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, obey the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so."  

"Rise up O men of God, have done with lesser things.  Give heart and soul and mind and strength, to serve the King of Kings."  Have done with lesser things!  God's government does and will stand!

Nevertheless

 In the book of Judges, we see once again, as in all the former history of Israel, a pattern of "forsaking the LORD, their God".  Joshua had led well and the people were blessed by God's favor as they followed the godly leadership of His servant Joshua.

Joshua exhorts the people to "fear and serve God in sincerity and truth and put away other gods".  (A great topic for a post another time!)  But Joshua dies and while the people served for a time, Judges 2:10 tells us "another generation arose who did not know the LORD nor yet the work He had done for Israel".  They continually provoked God to anger and found themselves God less.  They would no longer stand against their enemies with success.  They become "greatly distressed".  (v. 15)

Oh, my, what a picture of our own nation!  And not just now in 2020!  It's been going this way for many years.  But listen to this amazing mercy and love of God toward His people in the midst of turmoil, "Nevertheless"!  I so love this translation's rendition of this word.  My NASB says, "then" which is a time word.  But "nevertheless" is a word of mercy!  Dictionary meaning: even so, yet though, in spite of that, be that as it may, regardless and the list goes on.  While God's hand went against this stubborn people (and  that is not just Israel, but a picture of the human race in its entirety), "nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them".

What could be written is "because of His great love and by His mercy, He had compassion on them and provided, yet again, a way out of their great distress".  This is our God, Who does not change.  His mercies, Jeremiah says in Lamentations, "are new every morning".  I'll stop there and continue in my next post.