I Will Save You No More

This passage deals with the situation of the people of Israel in the time of the judges, who abandoned God, served many idols, and sinned. Reminding them of the history of salvation that goes back to Egypt, God firmly declares that because they have served other gods, he will save them no more. God coldly points out that, in the suffering brought on by their own choices, the people should go and ask their idols for help. This is the result of cutting off their relationship with God through human greed and pride, and it shows that idols are empty things that can never save.

The sermon draws insight by comparing Israel's behavior with modern people who live only for themselves and cut themselves off from relationships and community. It warns that God does not restrict human freedom, but when we fall for Satan's temptation and lose God at our center, we end up tied by the cords of sin. Through the examples of Abimelech, Gideon's betrayer, and the judge Jair, who boasted of his wealth, it also shows how a life that seeks only its own benefit leads to ruin. By contrast, through the faith of the judge Tola, who without any great events was faithful in his place and brought peace to the people, it points to the kind of true devotion that God remembers.

We are meant to live receiving teaching and rebuke through Scripture, but if we do not know God's word, we cannot see our own sins and we end up worshiping the riches and honors of the world. Even though God died for us on the cross, we must look back on whether we still stand in the place of abandoning God for our own righteousness and desires. Before the warning that God will save no more, we must judge for ourselves what choices we are making as we live now.