Deliver Us Only Jud. 10:6-16 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
When Israel finally had enough of the oppression from their enemies, they cried to God and said, Deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. Their desperate cry to the Lord to deliver them is so typical of sinners caught in sin. They’re not so interested in quitting their sin and returning to the Lord. They’re just interested in the Lord getting them through the consequences of their sin. Here are the lessons we learn from the idolatry of Israel:
They added iniquity unto iniquity – v.6. In Jud 2:11-13 they served Baal and Ashtoreth and the gods of the nations around them [in Canaan]. God had delivered them from the consequences of these sins before, but they kept going back to them adding even more gods to those they worshipped. This is just like Rom 6:19.
They forsook the Lord and quit serving him – v.6. Once you start returning to sin from which God has, in a way, delivered you or you start worshipping the false gods of this world you will forsake the Lord. You cannot serve two masters.
They were oppressed by their enemies – v.7-8. All sin has consequences. And when they began to have trouble from their enemies they didn’t turn immediately back to the Lord. They willing accepted the oppression they were under.
When they finally turned back to the Lord for help:
They waited until they were sore distressed – v.9. In other words they could put up with a certain amount of trouble [to be expected]. But when it got to be more than they could handle then they finally decided to look to God for help.
They knew exactly what they had done wrong – v.10. They didn’t need God to point out their sin to them. They knew what they had been doing wrong.
They didn’t find God receptive to their importunity – v.11-14. The Lord had delivered them many times before and he wasn’t interested in responding to the urgency of their request. Get the gods you’ve been worshipping to help you, he said.
They just wanted out of the trap – v.15. They said, Deliver us only this day. They didn’t want to live for God. They just wanted to get out from under the heavy consequences of their sin
They started behaving hoping God would respond – v.16. God is a merciful God and he used Jephthah to deliver them. Of course, in time, they went right back to their idolatry. God knew they would.
Conclusion: Judges 10 is an excellent chapter dealing with the sinner’s attitude about his sin, the consequences of his sin and the help he expects from God when the consequences of his sin catch up to him. So many sinners treat God the same way Israel did in this chapter. They forsake God to serve their sin and then when they can’t take the consequences any longer [when they think they have had enough] they cry out to God for help. But their desire is not to serve him and to return to him. Their desire is only to get out from underneath the heavy load of sin. They’ll go right back to the same sins again and again until their sins finally destroy them.