“So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.” Judges 6:3-5
How important is it to God, our Father, that His children grow into the mature followers? God is concerned with our character, our purity more than anything else. He tells the church at Ephesus that He knows their works but He is concerned with their love. God allows His own temple to be destroyed and plundered when the people who worshipped there did so with unclean hearts. In Judges 6 we read of what God is willing to allow His people to go through so that they will turn from their sin and return to what He designed them to be.
So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up;
also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them God tells us of the repeated attacks on His people. Every time the Israelites sowed their crops they were attacked. It must have seemed the world was against them as the nomadic Amalekites joined the Midianites in their raids. It is instructive to note that the Israelites did not see God’s hand in these attacks. They did not associate their disobedience with their misfortune but likely saw it as circumstances or “the signs of the times.” When we forget that God is in control we tend to see events as bad luck, not God.
Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey Israel was being devastated. This was not a one time event. Over and over, every time a small bit of hope was raised over an upcoming harvest, the enemy would appear. The Bible says “where there is no hope the people perish”. God had to take away every ounce of Israel’s hope to turn their hearts back to Him. That is a hard heart!
For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number When the enemy invaded the land
God gave Israel they came in like a flood. Imagine the discouragement as Israel sees this same disaster falling on them again. They realize they are outnumbered and can never defeat this enemy. They would
Begin to realize they were so helpless, there was no way out. That is when they would start to remember.
They would enter the land to destroy it We see that God’s people cannot compromise with Satan’s world system and come out ahead. God’s word is always true whether we are living for Him or not. Christ
told His disciples that the world hated Him and it would hate them too. Adopting of the world’s practices and intermarrying into their families did not protect Israel. The enemies of the living and true God were still their enemies. Here we are told the enemy’s purpose – they are determined to destroy God’s work and people. The word destroy means to ruin or corrupt. If the world can’t take what we have they intend to ruin it or corrupt it so that God’s people cannot benefit from it either. When a soldier captures an enemy’s stronghold they either use what is there to strengthen themselves or they destroy it so their enemy can not come back and use it at a later time. There is no way we should ever believe that compromising with his anti-God system will achieve anything other than the destruction of our fruitfulness for God.
What can we learn? God’s children and their spiritual maturity is more important to Him than all the praise and worship in the world. Scripture tells us what is pleasing to God. “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) Altars and sacrifices mean nothing if our hearts are nor right. This is why God tells us that while man may judge based on the outward appearance, God “looks on the heart”. Israel was in pain and they cried and mourned but their hearts had still forgotten God.