Sermon Tone Analysis

*JUDGES 2:10*

The book of Judges covers the experience of the people of Israel from the time of Joshua and entrance into Canaan until the time of Samuel and the establishment of the dynasty of David.

§         The divine messenger’s interpretation [2:1-5]

§         The narrator’s interpretation [2:6-20a].

In vv.6-20a the reader needs to hear the narrator offer his divinely inspired analysis of Israel’s problem during the dark days of the Judges and to learn its lesson for his or her day.

#.

*PATTERN A – GENERATION SYNDROME ~/ ROOT OF ISRAEL’S APOSTASY*

In the section [2:6b-10] one can recognise the narrator’s division of the early history of Israel in the land into three eras: the days of Joshua [2:7a], the days of the elders who survived Joshua [2:7b], the days after the surviving witnesses [2:10].

We can consider these eras as two generations.

*1.        **1st Generation [2:7a] *

Note dependence on Jos.24:28-31.

*a.        **Joshua *

“/And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord died/…” [2:8].

*i.              **Responsive to God *

The first characteristic that stands out in Joshua life is his responsiveness to God: 

§         God’s challenge and promise: “/be careful to do all the law which my servant Moses commanded you…for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success/…” [Jos.1:7-8].

§         Throughout his life Joshua acted on that promise: “

*ii.

**Active Faith*

The second characteristic that stands out in Joshua life is his active faith:

§         Promise: “/just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you/” [Jos.1:15].

§         Active faith: “Jordan…and all the people passed over on dry land” [Jos.3:17];

“he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon…” [Jos.10:12];

*b.        **People’s Faithfulness*

This was a faithful generation: “/the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua/…” [2:7].

§         Wdb.[;Y

- “/served/” [2:7], ‘to work’; ‘to be slaves’; reflects Israel’s subordination to Yahweh; speaks of functioning as Yahweh’s agent in general and serving him in cultic worship in particular.

§         hw"hy>-ta - “/the Lord/” [2:7], the ‘object of their focus’, the ‘centre of gravity of their lives’, was Yahweh.

*c.        **1st Generation Prosperity  *

So Yahweh prospered with Joshua: “/So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses/…/and the land rested from war/” [Jos.11:23].

§         God did great deeds for his people through Joshua: “/who had seen all the great works of the Lord/…” [2:7].

*Application*.