Here Comes the Judge
Life is a cycle. Our own lives are a cycle sometimes. We live faithful to God for a period of time, then we slip back. We might even be strong and faithful to God every Sunday but we slip back into sin on Tuesday. We might not intend to do it but our faith is weak and our self-control is fragile.
But book of Judges is just straightforward history. But, when you read through these twenty-one chapters, the “impression is one of self-inflicted chaos suffered by a people who forget who they are and how they got to Canaan” (House, 214).
There are a lot of horrible sins committed by God’s people in Judges: murder, rape, idolatry, homosexuality, fratricide. At this time, Israel no longer has a leader like Moses or Joshua. Most of the leaders who rise up in Judges are seriously flawed. It seems that failure and defeat are the norm as opposed to victory and success, under Moses and Joshua.
LIFE BEGINS AS ISRAEL IS BLESSED BY GOD – 1:1-26:
The history begins by showing how God brought Israel into the promised land. Judges takes place after the death of Joshua. Just as the historian has told us there was no “king” in Israel, it seems also that he is telling us there is no “Joshua” in Israel. Notice verse 1 begins by pointing out that, at this time, Israel “inquired of the Lord.” As long as Israel inquired of the Lord and then did what God told them, everything worked out well. But this is the last time Israel will inquire of the Lord until the end of the book when they have descended into moral chaos.
ISRAEL RESPONDS WITH A LACKADAISICAL ATTITUDE – 1:27-36:
The beginning of Israel’s problems is seen in verse 28 – economic and military security. When things go well for us financially, we decide we don’t have time or need for God anymore. It seems that Israel decided they could be smarter than God and not do things God’s way. God had warned Israel to destroy all the inhabitants of the land or they would drag them back into idolatry (Deut. 7:1-6).
GOD GIVES ISRAEL UP TO HER OWN COURSE – 2:1-5:
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ISRAEL GOES HER OWN WAY – 2:11-15:
Please observe the verbs describing Israel’s actions in verses 11-13. But, because God is holy, you cannot sin with impunity. God is going to react. Why? Because sin keeps man out of God’s presence and God hates sin. Therefore, God gets angry and punishes those who do sin. It might bring that individual to repentance or it might bring someone else to repentance who sees God’s punishment. So, we see the anger of God emphasized in verses 14-15.
HERE COMES THE JUDGE – 2:16-19:
God raised up judges as an act of grace to lead these stubborn and hardhearted people back to Him. Only one judge was a judge as we understand the term (Deborah). Most of the judges were military leaders. The word “judge” can be translated “deliverer.”
Unfortunately, Israel, in large part, did not listen to the judges (verse 17). Why? Because they found it more appealing to commit spiritual adultery with the religions around them. Judges 10:6 will identify seven gods / idols the Israelites will serve. They do that because (2:17), they were not obeying the commandments of the Lord.
God raised up these judges (vs 18) and He worked through them and brought rest and peace to the land. Why? Because that is Who God is. He was moved to pity by the groaning of the Israelites. In 11:27, God is described as a judge – the Judge, the true Deliverer – of Israel.
SIN MUST BE PUNISHED – 2:20-23:
Once again, God will not allow sin to go unpunished. It will be punished now or it will be punished throughout eternity. We have another reference to the anger of the Lord in verse 20. Observe God’s judgment of Israel: They transgressed the covenant and would not listen. So, He will not help them by driving out the nations that were left. This is going to test Israel to see if they truly did love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
The Lord allowed those nations to remain to see if Israel would stay committed to God. That’s why God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. That’s why God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. That’s why God allows challenges to come into our lives – to test us to see if we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Will we stick with faithful obedience to the covenant of Jesus Christ or will we follow the cycle in judges and look for approval from the world?
Remain dedicated to God’s covenant and refuse the enticements of Satan.
