The book of Judges is a book of deliverers, a book of saviors God raised up
to continue the conquest of the promised land from its wicked inhabitors.
Israel was to be a purifying light in the dark land of Canaan.
They were to drive the evil Canaanites out, and they, as a holy people, would replace them.
But as the book goes on, the people and her saviors get worse and worse.
They are driving the Canaanites out but are becoming more like them with every verse.
We see this first in a comedic and ironic twist.
One of Israel’s first deliverers was Ehud, a left-handed man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name means the right hand.
And this left-handed man from the clan of the right hand used his left hand to stand against the evil king who ruled over them.
This story is comedic because it's ironic.
God used a wrong-handed man to save but also to judge the wrongs of the right-handed clan.
God’s saviors saved Israel, but his saviors also judged for these judges were a picture of what Israel had become.
[music]
And after each judge, a vicious cycle begins.
Israel sins, so the Canaanites win before God sends another deliverer to both save and judge them.
This savior was Deborah, a female prophet who advised the leader of Israel’s troops.
She too was an ironic rebuke of the cowardice of Israel’s men in this military coup.
Deborah prophesied that God would use another woman named Jael to crush the head of the enemy king with nothing but a tent peg.
God’s saviors saved Israel, but his saviors also judged for these judges were a picture of what Israel had become.
And then, the vicious cycle deepens.
Israel sins again, so the Canaanites continue to win before God sends another deliverer to both save and judge them.
The next savior is Gideon who God used to rescue Israel and conquer their enemies but
whose lack of faith and constant testing was an ironic picture of the people’s lack of trust in God’s blessing.
Jephthah continued the vicious cycle, but it was not God who raised him up or gave his approval.
Jephthah made political vows and was elected by Israel, but God elected to trap Jephthah in his political promises.
His daughter would die.
He would be bereaved ironically showing Israel that trusting the leaders they choose would only result in grief.
Finally, at the bottom of the cycle is Samson who saved Israel from their enemies through
his bloodlust and strength but was constantly made weak and ultimately brought to defeat
by his own vengeance and violence which served as an ironic critique.
Samson judged Israel’s brutality by being the brute they had become but could not see.
God’s saviors saved Israel, but his saviors also judged, for these judges were a picture of what Israel had become.
The cycle of Judges kept getting worse and worse.
Israel sins so the Canaanites win until finally, God does not send another savior.
He would not save. He would only judge them.
Instead of getting rid of the Canaanites, they become just like them so that at the
end of the book of Judges, Israel was its own enemy and ironically began its own destruction.
[music]
God’s final savior would save Israel, but this savior would also be judged for Jesus’ cross was a picture of what we had become.
He would defeat our vicious cycle of sin which was a war no savior was ever able to win.
And when he did, there would be no irony in his hands, no flaw in his character that pictured our judgment.
Jesus would do battle with sin.
He would crush its head, but he would do so ironically.
He would judge evil and sin by falling under our brutality.
Jesus, unlike faithless Israel, would not do what was evil in the sight of the Lord
but would save his people and his enemies by falling under the judges' own sword.
Jesus does not come to us like Israel’s judges came to them.
He does not come to us with ironic victories that prove we are condemned
for Jesus is not like Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, or Samson.
Instead, he comes with his cross of ironic judgment that brings our salvation.
Jesus is the savior that saves us because he is the savior who was also judged.
And now, he is the picture of what we have become.
We are not like Canaan.
The sin in us is undone.
So now, we go with purifying light into new lands of Canaan to deliver
and reclaim not as judges of the darkness but as bringers of the light that saves.
Hey everyone, I’m David with Spoken Gospel.
Thank you so much for watching our video introducing the book of Judges.
We are a nonprofit dedicated to speaking the Gospel out of every corner of Scripture.
And we give all of our resources like this video you just watched away for free.
So, if you want to view all of our free resources or if you want to help us make more of these
videos by being a donor, you can do all of that over at our website SpokenGospel.com.