The Book of Judges and Today
I have been listening to the podcast The Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz, for a few years now. I love his dialogue after reading the scriptures. I have learned much from listening to the Bible daily and listening to his commentary afterwards.
I recently went through the book of Judges in the Old Testament; and although quite different time periods from the modern time, there is, indeed, a connection between the book of Judges and our world today.
First, let's start with some background on the book of Judges.
The book of Judges was likely written between 1045 and 1000 B.C. Although no author is named, it is thought that Samuel could have authored the book. This would align with the author most likely having lived after the period of Judges.
Even though the book of Ruth comes after Judges, instead of 1 and 2 Samuel, Ruth was originally part of the book of Judges.
The book of Judges illustrates the life of the Israelites after the death of Joshua. Although they were living in the Promised Land, the Israelites turned away from God. They began worshiping Baal and Ashtaroth, both false gods.
When God’s people would run into a crisis, usually in the form of foreign enemies, they would remember the Lord and cry out to Him and repent. God would forgive them, as He always does when we call out for forgiveness, and open His arms in love out to them (Judges 2:18 NIV). The Lord would then raise up leaders, a.k.a. judges, for the people to restore peace.
The heartbreaking part of this is - God was their king. They may have needed priests and people in a leadership position, but God was to be their king. But time and time again the people begged for a judge to “rule over them” (Judges 8:22 NIV). Eventually, the people asked Samuel to give them a king.
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king [. . .]” - 1 Samuel 8:6-7 NIV
One of the most convincing scriptures, for me, is Judges 21:25 (NIV) that states, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” Everyone did as they saw fit. Whether right or wrong in the eyes of the Lord, the people did what they thought was right. Does that sound like our world today?
Think about if we take away all the “barbarism” of the book of Judges. There is a cycle. The people accept the Lord and ride on the ¨high of life.” Because of this high, where everything is good, they quickly become stagnant in their faith and begin searching for other idols.
They have a crisis, and then remember God, cry out to him, and ask for forgiveness. In God’s mercy and love, despite the people’s sin and constant rejection of Him, the Lord delivers them and provides for them. And the cycle continues. Does this sound like what happens to us today at times?
Jesus died on the cross for us and remains faithful to His love to us, even if we reject Him, turn from Him, or sin against Him (2 Timothy 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, 1 John 1:19, NIV). We may have to deal with the consequences of those actions and the decisions we made, but the Lord will be faithful to you and me. He will keep us strong until the end (1 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV).
Our world is in a time where “everyone does as they see fit.” But that does not mean it is right. They are searching for leaders within social media and the government to lead. Let us not forget our first love (Revelation 2:4 NIV).
Before you automatically agree with something the world sees fit to believe, I challenge you to let the Holy Spirit lead you. Do you feel convicted? What does the Bible say about such things? What do the spiritual leaders in your life teach about this or that?
The book of Judges still holds relevance today. I challenge you to stand firm in the word of God and what is right in God’s eyes and what He sees fit.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney can be described by the opening lyrics of a few Tom Petty songs. She's a good girl who grew up in a small Indiana town who loves her mama, Jesus, and America, too. She practices medicine as a physician assistant at an urgent care, and is a certified health coach. Whitney is a music enthusiast and leads worship at her church. She has a heart for people, and wants to help young girls and women find their worth in Christ rather than what the world says of them. Whitney loves a good dad joke, Southern manners, holistic wellness, attempting macrame crafts, and hiking and traveling with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Milly.