BY ROBERT MILLER
OPINION —
There is one word in Judges 3 that says more about Israel’s story than we might realize. Judges 3:12 says, “And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord.” That word is “again.” It tells us immediately that this was not the first time Israel had wandered from God, made the wrong choice or found themselves living with the consequences of their sin. They had been here before, and if we are being honest, most of us know something about that feeling.
“Again” can be a discouraging word because it often reminds us of the things we thought we had already dealt with. Again, I lost my temper. Again, I went back to the habit I promised I was finished with. Again, I allowed fear, bitterness, temptation or addiction to take control. There are times when our lives seem to get caught in that same cycle, and after a while we can begin to wonder whether anything is ever really going to change.
That is exactly where Israel found themselves. Their repeated disobedience had eventually led them into bondage under Eglon, king of Moab, and for eighteen years they lived under his oppression. The book of Judges repeatedly shows us that sin has consequences, and one of the most dangerous things about sin is that it often begins by convincing us that we are in control. Before long, however, the very thing we thought we could manage begins managing us. What started as a choice can eventually become a chain.
Then God raised up an unlikely deliverer named Ehud. He was a Benjamite who was distinguished by his use of the left hand, and he was chosen to take Israel’s tribute to Eglon. Ehud prepared a double-edged sword, concealed it beneath his clothing and carried the tribute into the presence of the king. Afterward, he left with the others and began walking away. At first glance, it looked as though this would simply be another day of Israel paying tribute to the power that held them captive.
But then something changed. Judges 3:19 tells us that when Ehud reached the carved images near Gilgal, he turned back. Gilgal already carried tremendous meaning in Israel’s history because it was near the place where Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land and where Joshua had twelve stones set up as a memorial of what God had done for His people. The text does not tell us exactly what went through Ehud’s mind at that moment, and we should not pretend that it does. What it does tell us is that Ehud reached that place and turned around.
I think that is where the story of “again” begins to change. Israel had sinned again, wandered again and found themselves in bondage again, but now we see another kind of “again.” Again, someone turns back. Again, someone remembers that oppression does not have to be permanent. Again, someone decides that the direction he has been traveling does not have to be the direction he continues to travel.
That is an important lesson for us because sometimes we become so discouraged by the first kind of “again” that we forget God gives us the opportunity for the second one. We think, “I’ve already promised God I would change. I’ve already asked for forgiveness. I’ve already fallen back into this too many times.” Eventually, we can begin to believe that because we have failed again, it must be too late to turn around. Scripture tells us something very different.
Maybe you have struggled with the same addiction for years. Maybe you keep returning to the same temptation, the same anger, the same bitterness or the same fear. You may be tired of saying, “Again,” but God’s grace gives us another kind of “again.” Turn to Him again. Pray again, open His Word again, ask for forgiveness again and trust His strength again.
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God does not tell us that His mercy expires after we have stumbled a certain number of times. Repentance means more than feeling bad about where we have been; it means changing direction. There comes a moment when, like Ehud, we stop walking the way we were going and turn around. That does not mean every struggle immediately disappears, but it does mean our failures do not get to decide the direction of the rest of our lives.
The most important “again” in your story may not be that you fell again. It may be that you turned back to God again. Ehud turned around and the rest of his story changed, and what began with oppression eventually became deliverance. Because of Jesus Christ, we can know that no failure has to be final and no bondage has to define the rest of our lives. We may have a story of wandering again, stumbling again and falling again, but by the grace of God, we can also have a story of returning again.
“Again” doesn’t always have to mean going back into bondage. Sometimes, “again” means turning back to God.
