Judges 10:6-18 “The Lord never gives up on us.”
The Word is Powerful.
The Word transforms our lives.
Let us desire the Word.
Today, two passages appear in the main text, and I hope you pay attention to these words, reflect on them, and experience them:
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“I will never save you again.”
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“He could not bear to only watch to suffering of Israel.”
The people of Israel abandoned God and began to worship seven idols—the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines.
Baal and Ashtoreth were the gods of the Canaanites, and the remaining five were the gods of the surrounding nations.
Israel repeatedly turned from God to idols, then back to God, only to abandon Him again. Eventually they worshiped every god of the nations that appeared even slightly powerful. So God handed them over to those very nations whose gods they worshiped.
Israel wanted to become strong by choosing idols, yet ironically, they became enslaved by the nations of those idols.
Once they were oppressed and suffering, they cried out to God.
In verse 10 they confess:
“We have sinned against you, for we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.”
From this we can see the nature of their cry. It was simply a desperate plea for help—nothing more.
When God rescued them, they would again abandon Him and return to idols.
They treated God as one god among many—one option among the idols.
And the reason they thought this way was simple: they did not know who God truly was.
Seeing God as one idol among others is wrong, but even more tragic is the deeper truth: such thinking leads to death, curse, and destruction.
This is what it means for God to “leave them” and “no longer save them.”
However, in verse 15 we read:
“We have sinned. Do with us whatever seems good to you, but please rescue us today.”
There is a clear difference between the cry of verse 10 and the confession of verse 15.
• In verse 10, they merely cry out for help—still centered on themselves.
• In verse 15, their confession shifts:
“Do with us whatever seems good to you.”
They surrender the outcome to God.
Their posture moves from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
Tim Keller describes this shift:
If someone says, “I want God because He can give me what I want,” then that “something” is their true god.
If someone says, “God, I want to be rich,” then money is their true deity.
But if a person says, “Whatever You give or don’t give, I still want You,” then that person is truly worshiping God.
After Israel confessed this way, they removed the foreign gods and returned to serving the Lord.
Then verse 16 declares:
“He could no longer bear Israel’s misery.”
This is the heart of God.
God did not save them because they repented perfectly.
He saved them because He had compassion—because He loved them.
The ultimate proof is the cross of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:8 says:
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Not when we were righteous.
Not when we had repented.
But while we were still sinners—full of betrayal and selfishness—Jesus died for us.
Application — Two Commitments
1. The Lord never gives up on us. So let us decide.
The cross proves that the Lord never gives up on us.
Holding on to this truth, we must also decide:
• to fight our idols
• not only visible idols like money or status
• but hidden idols of the heart
The greatest secret to overcoming idols is remembering who our true Master is.
Remember that Jesus is Lord.
Remember to whom we belong.
2. The Lord never gives up on us. So let us not give up.
God never gave up on Israel, even as they continually abandoned Him.
Their suffering moved His heart; He even sent His only Son because of His love.
If we remember this, we can endure fear, loneliness, disappointment, and hardship.
Is there someone you feel like giving up on?
Is there a soul you’ve already given up on?
By our own strength, we cannot endure.
But when we look to Jesus—our Savior who never gives up on us—we can encourage and lift up one another.
The Lord could not simply watch the suffering that Israel was going through;
He was grieved by it.
Our God is the One who looks upon our suffering and is moved with sorrow.
And the proof of this—His decisive act of love—is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
This is how deeply the Lord loves us.
He will never give up on us.
I hope we remember this truth, confess it before the Lord, and long for Him.
And before the Lord we pray,
“Lord, we also want to fight against idols. We do not want to give up.”
May You allow us to experience the grace of overcoming idols through the love of Jesus,
and guide us to become people who do not give up on even a single soul,
but pray and serve with tears.
