The book of Judges. It covers between 300 and 350 years from the death of Joshua
to the coronation of Saul by Samuel and the building of the monarchy in Israel.
The judges were civil leaders who God appointed, who were responsible for
delivering his people when they repented, bringing them back into fellowship with
him, and delivering them from the oppression of their enemies. The book of
Judges is about cycles. Disobedience led to discipline, but when they got right
with God, God would raise up a judge to bring about deliverance. The book of
Judges shows what happens in a society when that society drifts from God.
Because the generation after Joshua did not retain the faith in God, there was
cultural decline, which meant that there would be social disasters. The book of
Judges shows how God can use men and women to be his agents of delivery, even
though they are flawed themselves. Many of the judges had great flaws in their
lives, but God was still able to use them to accomplish his bigger kingdom program
of preserving and protecting and delivering his people, which God promised
to do if and when his people repented. There is a theme in the book of Judges
that every man sought to do what was right in his own eyes because there was
no king. Because the people did not want to operate by a divine standard,
ultimately God being the king, then they came up with their own human approaches
to life, which led to social, political, economic disaster.
The book of Judges is relevant for us today because it shows what happens when
people walk away from God. Then, that which is anti-god, creeps in and winds up
oppressing the people of God. And that means that until repentance occurs,
deliverance will not occur. The whole concept of deliverance is God
intervening in history to change circumstances around. The book of Judges
shows what that looks like when God intervenes. It also reveals to us the
fact that history is in God's hands, and that as God's people, we must be under
his authority if we're going to experience his victory in our lives.
The book of Judges lets us know that when we live in rebellion there are grave
consequences that we have to face. Just as the judges were deliverers in the
book of Judges, we have a perfect judge, Jesus Christ, who is our Savior or our
deliverer today. And so, this delivering principle even flows into the New
Testament, only, through a perfect person, not the flawed judges. We're introduced
to a female judge in the book of Judges, Deborah. She is one who God raised up.
It showed one, that a woman could be a civil leader, but it also showed the dearth of
men in the culture. And when those two realities take place,
then God will use who is most equipped to bring about the victory, and Deborah
was most equipped. There's another woman in the book, Jael, who is also used by God
to bring about deliverance against the military leader who was oppressing Israel.
So, to understand the book of Judges, you simply have to understand the
cycles. Disobedience brings discipline, and repentance brings deliverance. When
you get that cycle right in understanding the book, and when you get
that cycle right in your own life, then you can understand the road to seeing the
enemy defeated, who is seeking to hold you hostage because you've wandered from
God—predominantly into idolatry, which was their problem—but you've returned to
God, and you've watched God return to you.