Judges 10:15 “And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.”
As a nation, Israel had abandoned “the LORD” and “served other gods”; so, “the LORD” told them “wherefore I will deliver you no more” (Judges 10:13). They were so weakened by their sin and idolatry that they were helpless against their enemy, the Ammonites. When they realized that their “other gods” could not help them, in a spirit of true national repentance, “Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day”. Well, “the LORD” did help them, but in an unexpected way. They had previously rejected and cast away an undesirable; “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot” (Judges 11:1). While he “was a mighty man of valour”, he was course, brash, and his mother was “an harlot”. Also, he did not seem to have the civil graces that one would expect of a national leader. However, “the LORD” had greatly humbled Israel, so they sent and asked “Jephthah” to lead them in battle against the Ammonites. He agreed if they would make him “head” over them, their Judge. In their humbled state, they agreed. While he was otherwise most undesirable, “Jephthah” prayed unto “the LORD” and he “passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands” (Judges 11:32). In our day, most do not set up alters and worship idols as Israel did, but we have many idols in our Nation that have captured the attention and affection of many. These are the idols of wealth, the idols of power, the idols of fame, the idols of greed, the idols of sensuality, the idols of ease, the idols of entertainment, etc. Like, in the worship of the awful god, Molech, our children are shamefully slain, in our case before they are born. Furthermore, even those who cloak themselves with Christianity, deny the sovereign power and authority and completed work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many teach that our Lord made everyone savable, but left the consummation of our salvation to us. This teaching flies in the face of our Heavenly Father who sent His “beloved” and “only begotten” Son into this world to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21), not to just simply make us savable. The savable doctrine denies that Jesus Christ “finished” (John 19:30) everything necessary to “save his people from their sins”. And it denies, that our Lord “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Timothy 1:9). As the Lord told Israel, the same applies to us, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14). And this is how we get started, loudly and plainly declare, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15)!