There are few books in Scripture as dismal as the book of Judges. The first 10 verses or so chronicle the people of Israel as they take the Promised Land, just like God commanded them. But the next twenty-one chapters show what happens when God’s people don’t follow his lead. Judges is a book that reinforces an enduring spiritual truth: small areas of disbelief produce large areas of disaster.
As Tim Keller points out, the opening of Judges reads like Israel’s press release about their military campaign. It’s a series of justifications for why they weren’t able to drive the Canaanites out. We hear about the Canaanite’s iron chariots and their iron will, and we think, “You know what? Israel tried. They did their best.”
But then comes God’s assessment of the situation: “You have not obeyed my voice” (Judges 2:2). Period. Israel said, “We can’t drive them out, God!” And God says, “Actually, it’s not that you can’t; it’s that you won’t.” The spiritual failures in their lives—and in ours—have nothing to do with lacking in strength; they have everything to do with lacking confidence in God’s grace.
Here’s a question we should all ask ourselves: What small area of disbelief is lurking in my heart? Where am I saying, “I can’t” but God says, “No, you won’t”? You see, every one of us has unconquered “lands of Canaan” in our heart. Lurking in every crevice of our lives are little pockets of unbelief and sin. And left alone, they will do more damage than the iron-clad Canaanites ever did.
Perhaps that unconquered land is in your integrity. You think, “God, if I were totally honest in my job, I’d lose it. I just can’t be expected to play fair in this field and get ahead…or even survive.” So you sacrifice honesty on the altar of expedience, and somehow still hope that God will bless your business efforts.
Maybe that unconquered land is forgiveness. “I know I should forgive him. It’s the ‘Christian’ thing to do. But I just can’t. I’ve been hurt too deeply.” And God replies, “I forgave you when the pain was deeper than anything you could ever conceive. Can’t forgive? You must not know what you’ve been forgiven from.”
Or maybe that unconquered land is avoiding sexual temptation. “I know it’s wrong…but I just can’t say no.” So you start rationalizing behavior that a matter of months ago (or weeks!) you would have considered sin. And you twist Scripture to fit your preferences. But God says, “Your sexual desires aren’t ‘too strong.’ Your faith in my sufficiency is too weak.”
Perhaps that unconquered Canaan is the area of generosity. “I can barely afford things as they are, much less be generous with my money. Giving to the church simply isn’t something I can afford right now.” Again God responds, “Those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much.”
We tend to ignore the areas where we are being disobedient, reminding ourselves of all the ways we’re honoring God. But small areas of disbelief are what our Enemy will use to bring death into our lives.
For Israel, that death came in the form of Canaanite warriors who fought against them—and eventually enslaved them. We can’t see the warriors of sin fighting against us, but be assured: left unchecked, they will assault and they will enslave. So send out gospel warriors to subjugate the remaining areas of your heart. Preach the gospel to every part of your life—your worries, your goals, your temptations, your security.
Israel’s compromise started with a failure to believe. And so does ours. As Martin Luther said, “Every sin springs from a wicked heart of unbelief.” The solution, then, is not to grit our teeth and “try harder” at obedience. It’s not to get more religious. After all, Israel was just as religiously zealous in Judges 2:2 as they were in Judges 1:1. The solution is to recover what Israel had lost: the practice of walking by faith.
There are only two ways to approach a relationship with God: either you keep him around as a divine safety net; or you yield total control and trust him completely. If you live in the first category, you will always find areas of your life that you just can’t (or won’t) drive out the “Canaanites” of sin. But take your hands off of your life and move to that second group, and you’ll find that what you fear in losing control will be swept away in light of the thrill of obeying God.
