But will we learn...!

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim… But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz… Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel… Judges 3:7-12

Don’t worry! - I’m not intending to serve up all sorts of profound thoughts regarding Cushan-Rishathaim, Othniel and Eglon and other obscure figures from the pages of the Old Testament.

No. But the Book of Judges is part of scripture, so presumably God expects us to learn something from it. And I don’t think it’s stretching things too far to say that it offers us, among other things, a parallel between those dark and far-off days and the days in which we are living today.

What I mean is this. Christian leaders tell us, quite rightly, how we as Christians and churches can learn from the pandemic experience. Faith is strengthened through trouble and hardship, so when we eventually emerge from it we should be stronger, wiser, better followers of Jesus.

Ah, but will we be? That, of course, is the question.

The Book of Judges as a whole reflects a pattern which goes like this…

The people fall away from God… God allows them to be punished by their enemies… the people “cry out to the Lord”… so God “raises up for them a deliverer”… for a time all is well… but then again they “do evil in the eyes of the Lord”… And the same dreary cycle is repeated.

Sadly, exactly this pattern is reflected many times throughout Christian history, and we shouldn’t be complacent that it won’t happen again. Yes, we are presently receiving a nasty jolt about our spiritual shallowness. Yes, we are probably praying harder than we have for a long time. Yes, we are determined to learn from the present frustrations, difficulties and sadnesses.

But will we, in the end, simply slump back into that shallowness, like Israel in the days of the Judges? Only time will tell.

It may be useful to ask ourselves: What in fact is God wanting to teach us? – whether “us” means we in the church, or our nation and indeed our world as a whole.

There are many possible answers to that question. But let me pick out four of the most obvious…

First, life is uncertain.

Those of us who live in the so-called “developed” world often slip into a mentality of entitlement. I get sick? No problem, there’ll be a doctor to put me right. I fall on hard times? Don’t worry, there’ll be somebody to bail me out. I’m entitled to the good things of life: material prosperity, good education, nice holidays, treats and little luxuries. And when suddenly they’re threatened, I don’t like it.

So God is teaching me that, as for untold millions of people both past and present, life just isn’t like that. Life is uncertain.

Second, death is certain.

Surely God doesn’t need to teach me that! I’ve known it all my adult life. Well, yes; but there’s knowing… and knowing, if you get what I mean. I may know something with my mind, but never really absorb its reality; I know it only theoretically, not as something that actually affects me and makes a difference to the way I live.

For many of us, death is like that. Or was. But not any more. Suddenly I know personally people who have died, perhaps well “before their time” and perhaps in unusually sad circumstances. And at last I really do get the message that it’s only a matter of time before – well, it happens to me. Death is certain.

Third, we depend on one another.

If nothing else, the pandemic has made us aware of our own essential helplessness - and that is a blow to my personal pride and my claims to independence.

Of course, once again, I’ve always known theoretically that I am not independent; but how this has driven it home! The care-workers, the nurses, the doctors, the scientists in their laboratories, the teachers, even, yes, the politicians forced to make quick and massively important decisions... where would I be without them all, I who don’t have the remotest clue about these vital things?

But then, the most important of all the lessons God is teaching us: Christ alone offers hope.

Who else has visited earth to make known the character and love of God? Who else has died to deal with our sins and bring us back to God? Who else has defeated death and promised to us the gift of eternal life? Who else enables us to look death fairly and squarely in the face?

Answer: no-one. Jesus is simply unique.

Judges tells us that God “raised up for the people a deliverer”. Wonderful: but then he had to do it again… and again… and again.

With Jesus it’s different: he is the one-and-only deliverer. His life, death and resurrection are once-for-all, unrepeatable events. And so my faith in him and loyalty to him take precedence over everything else.

This alone is the way of life, peace and hope.

And the question is: Will I allow these difficult times to teach me this in a fresh, new way? And when everything has settled down and we all “return to normal”, will I hold fast to it; or will I just slide back to where I was before?

Questions only you and I can answer…

Dear Father in heaven, please forgive the ease and complacency with which I have so often approached life. I pray that when eventually the pandemic is over I will indeed be a better follower of Jesus – and not just for a few months! Amen.