Judges 1:19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley… The statement of this verse is perplexing; hardly softened if we render "there was no driving out," etc. On the one hand, apparently, infinite power is on the side of Judah; on the other, there are sharply-defined limits to his success, and singular reasons for his failure. (Describe inhabitants of mountain and valley.) One would suppose that if God had really been with Judah, the chariots of iron would be neither here nor there in the question. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" But the difficulty arises from looking at the problem wholly from the Divine side. The same difficulty faces us to-day. "But this temptation was so great!" "But was not the Lord with you?" Infinite power may be on our side, but we may be debarred by failure of faith from making full use of it. I. UNREALISED SPIRITUAL POWER. Many of the brutes have power greater than man, but they cannot bring it to bear. Is man never similarly unfortunate? In what sense can the power of God in the saint be unrealised? It is not power wasted or lying idle, but simply like a cheque unused. Our spiritual nature is not developed enough. II. INSUFFICIENT REASONS FOR FAILURE OR SUCCESS. These arise from the same cause as the preceding. The tool in hands of tyro and master. The true panoply of a Church is spiritual; and its material advantages may sometimes be as Goliath's armour to David; and so may the spiritual advantages, if we do not realise them, keep ourselves in continual communion with them: and test their virtue by continual exercises of faith. III. WAYS IN WHICH MAN LIMITS GOD. By failure of faith. By neglect of the means of grace. By personal unholiness. "God's arm is not shortened," etc., "but ye are straitened in your own selves."- M. Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. |
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