Remember God
Seth McFarlane is widely known as the creator ofThe Family Guy, a popular animated comedy show. On 9/11 he arrived late to Logan Airport and missed his American Airlines 11 flight to LA. Hours after the now infamous plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, McFarlane was still breathing, still able to love, work, feel the sun shine on his face at the end of the day. The host of NPR’s Fresh Air program, Terry Gross, asked McFarlane, “After that narrow escape, do you think of the rest of your life as a gift?” “No,” McFarlane said, “That experience didn’t change me at all. It made no difference in the way I live my life. It made no difference in the way I look at things. It was just a coincidence.” Judges 3.7-11 would say McFarlane forgot 9/11.
Verse 7 is the key that unlocks our personal story: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God (part 1) and served the Baals and the Asheroth(part 2).” Notice how God defines evil - forgetting Him. Israel did not forget data, doctrine, theology, or knowledge about God. For Israel, God simply wasn’t real. God’s loyal love didn’t shape their identity, reach their deepest needs and longings, and energize their lives, relationships, and careers. God’s deliverances did not penetrate them, grip them, generate gratitude and joy, and release life-giving power that changes everything. When God isn’t real to us, mini-gods (the Baals – part 2) take his place, unleashing a dark cycle of spiritual, emotional, and relational breakdown.
Is there a way out of the destructive control of mini-gods in our life? Mini-gods like money, shame, achievement, romance, needing people to like us, and the need to be a good person? The way out is in the problem. Instead of forgetting God, remember Him. This certainly means crying out to God (v.9), but it also means something more definitive (v.9) : “the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel….”
The text is clear. God’s answer to the mini-gods in life is sending a savior-leader. Israel could not deliver themselves; they needed to be delivered. Othniel is not a politician: he’s a deliverer. Othniel is the only man besides Joshua mentioned in Judges without a list of flaws tacked to his name – he’s the ideal Israelite. However, there is one flaw in Othniel, he dies (v.11): “So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.” This story doesn’t end in peace… it ends in death. Othniel’s delivering work doesn’t last.
We need a deliverer who doesn’t die in the end. In the last book of the Bible a better deliverer than Othniel says (Rev 1.18), “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” We need a Savior-Leader who doesn’t die. We need a deliverance that lasts. We need a better ending that goes something like this: “So the people (not just the land) had rest forever and ever.” Remember and live!
Join Jeff Hatton at noon on Thursdays in the private dining room of El Conquistador Hillsboro for Bible study and fellowship. Today’s article will be the topic for discussion on October 9. For Jeff’s sermons on audio or video visit
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