In Judges 10 the people have rejected the Lord and chased idol after idol. 18 years of oppression and their hearts were so hard that they still hadn’t repented of their sin. When they finally do, God tells them that he isn’t going to help. Instead, they need to ask their idols for deliverance. Then the people get desperate. Judges 10 tells us they finally got serious and paired their cry for deliverance with personal action and responsibility…they finally put aside their idols. How did God respond this time? The Bible says God responded “with impatience over Israel’s misery” (10:16). That was when God’s heart and attitude toward his people turned.
Sometimes we ask “What is God waiting for?” The answer may be that we aren’t really ready for Him to show up yet. We cling to our idols, as if they have anything to offer. In those times, God is unwilling to show up because He doesn’t really have our trust yet. We talk like He does but He knows the reality of what is in our hearts and it doesn’t line up. So God waits until it does. If you want God’s deliverance, it often takes action on your part and more than just a cry for God’s help while keeping a few idols in your back pocket for comfort. Deliverance comes to the repentant and true repentance comes through complete and unequivocal trust in the Lord.
2 Responses
Exodus 20 says that we are not to have any idols and that we are not to bow down to idols. Why is this! Many times the idols, dolls, status we buy are made for false gods Many idols were specifically made for use in religions and for worship. These idols are dedicated to other gods and those “other gods” are in reality Satan, the master deceiver. In reality demonic spirits are attached to these objects.
God responded “… with impatience over Israel’s misery?” That seems a bit … cryptic. Impatient in a good way or a bad way? Impatient with them because they are complaining about their misery? Like “Stop screaming and running around in circles or I’ll nail your other foot to the floor?”
I compared a bunch of other versions of this verse which all seemed equally easy to understand:
KJV: “and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
NASB: “and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer.”
NIV: “And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.”
ASV: “and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
MSG: “And God took Israel’s troubles to heart.”
Bishops: “And his soule had pitie on the miserie of Israel.”
You were putting specific emphasis on “… with impatience over Israel’s misery” and using quote marks and all, was there some sort of special significance to that phrase?