When the Word of the Lord Was Rare

First Samuel 3 verse 1 says, "The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." These words describe the dark days of the judges, which came to an end when God raised up the first prophet, Samuel, to give people the Word of God. Israel was brought out of darkness by the light of God's Word. This delivered Israel from the situation in Judges 2, verse 10 that took them away from God 3.5 centuries earlier: "There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel." https://youtu.be/Ao-rM2kWBao "The word of the Lord was rare in those days" (1 Samuel 3:1). The dark days of the judges, which ended when God raised up the first prophet. Table of ContentsSermon Lessons for When the Word of the Lord Was RareFamily Worship Guide for When the Word of the Lord Was RareSermon Notes for When the Word of the Lord Was RareLesson one: Israel moved from victory to defeat because they did (part four) what was right in their own eyes.Lesson two: vision should come from God’s Word.Lesson three: God’s Word restrains sin. Sermon Lessons for When the Word of the Lord Was Rare NOTE: parts one through three are from the previous sermon: There Arose Another Generation Who Did not Know the Lord. Lesson one: Israel moved from victory to defeat because they did: (part one) not know the Lord (Judges 2:10a, Jeremiah 9:23-24). (part two) not remember what the Lord has done (Judges 2:10b). (part three) not remain holy (Judges 2:1-2 cf. Judges 1:28-35, 1 John 2:15-16). (part four) what was right in __________ ______ ________ (Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25 cf. 1 Samuel 8:7, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 6:22-23, 15:19, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Genesis 6:5, 8:21, Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). Lesson two: vision should come from __________ _______ (1 Samuel 3:1, Ezekiel 7:26, Proverbs 29:18). Lesson three: God’s word __________________ ____ (Exodus 32:25, Proverbs 29:18, Amos 8:11-12). Family Worship Guide for When the Word of the Lord Was Rare Directions: Read the verses and then answer the following questions: Day one: Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25 cf. 1 Samuel 8:7, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 6:22-23, 15:19, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Genesis 6:5, 8:21, Proverbs 14:12, 16:25. Why was Joshua’s death such a pivotal moment for the nation of Israel? Who were they supposed to start following at that moment? Who, or what, did they end up following instead? What does the Bible tell us about our hearts? Day two: 1 Samuel 3:1, Ezekiel 7:26, Proverbs 29:18. Samuel is a transitional figure between what two offices? What is the relationship between vision and God’s word? Why were the days of the judges so spiritually dark based on 1 Samuel 3:1? How did God bring the dark days of the judges to an end? Day three: Exodus 32:25, Proverbs 29:18, Amos 8:11-12, Ezekiel 11:19, 18:31, 36:26. How does God’s word restrains us? Aside from the book of judges and the time Moses and Joshua went up on Mount Sinai, can you think of other instances in Israel’s history of them being unrestrained because of the absence of God’s Word and vision? Regarding God’s word, why are we so fortunate today? Our hearts are incurable, or desperately sick, so what is the solution? Sermon Notes for When the Word of the Lord Was Rare The title of this morning’s sermon is, “When the Word of the Lord Was Rare.” Go ahead and open your Bibles to Judges 2 and I will open us in prayer. Last week I shared that we were going to talk about the vision of our church. We haven’t done so for over seven years. We began by considering the dramatic change that takes place between the books of Joshua and Judges: Joshua is largely a book of victories Judges is largely a book of defeats As much as Joshua is victory, after victory, after victory, Judges is defeat, after defeat, after defeat. We see why this happened in Judges 2:7-12. Let’s briefly read through these verses again… Judges 2:7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. You see Israel’s unfaithfulness began after Joshua’s death. Let me invite you to think about Israel’s life as a nation up to this point, so you can see why this is such a pivotal moment. Egypt served as a womb for Israel to grow as a nation: 70 people went into Egypt at the end of Genesis, and they multiplied and became millions of people: They left Egypt, which was their birth as a nation From that moment they were under the strong leadership of Moses for 40 years Moses died and then they were under the strong leadership of Joshua for 25 years He led them into the Promised Land and in victory against the Canaanites. So here’s the point… When Joshua died this was their first time without a leader. How were they going to respond? They were supposed to start following God. He was supposed to be their King We know that from 1 Samuel when the days of the judges were ending. The people asked the prophet Samuel for an earthly king, it displeased him, he prayed to the Lord about it, and listen to how God responded… 1 Samuel 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have REJECTED ME FROM BEING KING OVER THEM. It is clear God was supposed to be Israel’s king. So when Joshua died, it’s clear the people had no leadership: Moses and Joshua are dead They won’t look to God You could say, “Weren’t the judges the leaders of the nation?” Not really. They were deliverers more than they were anything else. God raised them up when He wanted to give Israel victory over an enemy nation afflicting them. So here’s the important question… If nobody is in charge, then who is in charge? The answer is… Every single person. Turn to the right to Judges 17:6… Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel. Judges 19:1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, And then the book of Judges ends with this verse: Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. It’s true that there was no king in Israel, but there was supposed to be one, and that was God. With no king, everyone did what was right in their own eyes, which is to say the people were their own highest authority…and this reveals the last reason Israel went from victory to defeat… Lesson one: Israel moved from victory to defeat because they did (part four) what was right in their own eyes. The days of the judges were 340 years long and they were some of Israel’s darkest days. The first 16 chapters serve as a history of that time. The remaining five chapters, 17 to 21, which is where we read that repeated phrase, serve as an appendix to the book. The appendix provides two accounts from the days of the judges that illustrate what it looks like when every man does what is right in his own eyes. If you’re familiar with these two stories you know that they are some of the most bizarre and darkest in all of Scripture. People are doing things that aren’t only evil, they don’t even make sense. One of the reasons it is so difficult to teach these chapters is it is hard to explain why the people are doing what they’re doing. What’s my point? When God is not king and man does what is right in his own eyes, it is a disaster filled with wickedness and confusion. Now here’s what’s absolutely shocking about all of this… It doesn’t say everyone was doing what they knew was wrong. If it said that it would make sense. It says Everyone was doing what they thought was right. They were engaging in all this wickedness and they thought it was the right thing to do! If you read the last five chapters you can tell that at times the people were trying to do the right thing…even if it was really messed up. This is important… Doing what is right in man’s eyes is often doing what is evil in God’s eyes. When man is his own moral compass, it becomes obvious that he needs a different moral compass. Let me share a story with you from my life that I think about when reading the book of Judges… When I was in the military we did an amount of land navigation. You’re given a map, compass, and told to find different points. Something you learn early on – hopefully – is that if you’re off even a little, let’s say one or two degrees, because you’re walking so far and for so long, you can end up very far from the destination YOU THINK you’re heading toward. But you don’t find out you’re going the wrong way until you get to the very end and turn in your points to the evaluator who grades you. Here’s what didn’t matter: How you felt when you were walking… How convinced you were that you were going the right way… How hard you tried… All that mattered is you didn’t end up where you were supposed to go. You reach the evaluator, turn in your points, he marks them wrong, but imagine you say… “I was very sincere. I thought I was going the right way. I tried hard. I had no idea that I was so far off.” He isn’t going to care is he? We understand this,