Role Models

Judges 2:10-11 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

Where would you be today without a Christian influence in your life? Can you imagine growing up without hearing the Gospel? Most of us are blessed beyond compare with godly men and women in our families and to live in a place where there is no one sharing the Gospel seems so distant and unheard of. While talking with a man from California yesterday, I came to realize how blessed I truly have been. He began telling me about his life of sitting around with friends and smoking crack and drinking alcohol. He said he thought this was the normal thing to do, because he never really had anyone around who was a Christian. As I briefly shared the Gospel and explained the guilt and shame that he was experiencing, he was amazed that God could forgive him. He couldn’t understand why Jesus had died on the cross for sinners like you and me.

In the book of Judges, we read about what happens when there is no one to replace the leaders of the past generation. When Joshua led the children of Israel, they were faithful to the Lord. Even after he died, the elders who had seen the great works of God were able to keep the people focused on serving the Lord. However somewhere in between these generations, people quit speaking of God and living for him. Maybe they assumed that everyone would be fine by finding there own way. Basically, they began to compromise and allow the world to infiltrate there lives through intermarriage with the Canaanites which led to them serving Baal and Ashtaroth. Baal was the Canaanite god who was called “the lord of heaven”. He was the farm god of rain and the storm. The worship practices included animal sacrifices, ritual meals where they would offer food to the gods and sensual dances. Ashtaroth, a sacred prostitute, was the goddess of sex and war. With these false gods, the children of Israel were led into sin, sin and more sin. They looked for prosperity instead of the Person of God and promiscuity instead of purity until the oppression became too great, and they began to pray in repentance and anguish.

The days of Judges were dark and dreary, but God’s faithfulness always shone through by raising up a leader who would deliver the people from their oppressors. This would last a while until the Judge died, and the people returned to their wicked ways. Four times we read, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). We are living in these days today. God is being attacked more and more and disregarded as Ruler of the Universe. The Bible is scrutinized and dulled down by man’s opinions and the Church of Jesus Christ is hidden among the tares of false professors. What an opportunity to live for and reflect the glory of God!

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians saying, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (Philippians 2:14-16 NKJV). The Philippians were following Christ and had the example of Paul to remind them. Paul told them to live pure and holy that they might shine forth like stars in the country sky. Like runners in a race, he desired to pass the baton, the word of life, to the next generation who was coming along. Today, you have been placed in providential places to be a spiritual leader to those around you. Do you see someone wandering in the darkness of sin or drifting away from Christ? Don’t be afraid of reaching out and showing them that you care. You may be the very person that God uses to be an index finger pointing others to the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world!