Judges is a truly fascinating and instructive
book. It illustrates something very
important for us today. And at the same
time we say it is filled with stories that are strange to say the least. The stories are all a mix of good and bad, if
you will, with the bad getting weirder as it moves on.
It begins with Barak who won’t go to war unless
Deborah goes with him (Jud. 4-5); how unlike the days of Joshua. Gideon is famous as a Biblical hero (Jud.
6-8); but people often don’t realize that by the end of his story he becomes an
encouragement to idolatry in Israel.
Samson is a hero (Jud. 13-16) but it didn’t go all that well given the
immoral women in his life. The lesser
known stories involving Abimelech (Jud. 9) and Jephthah (Jud. 11-12) are
morally complicated.
And then you have the idolatry of the Danites
(Jud. 17-18) and the Levite who cut his concubine’s dead body in twelve pieces
to call Israel to action, action that results in the near-annihilation of the
tribe of Benjamin (Jud. 19-21). In three
days battle 65,000 people died; and then another city’s citizens were destroyed
(except for the virgins who were mercifully spared). Today’s passage is the end of that
story. And we say, truly strange.
Wait a minute!
Last night was a big night for Fox News, starting a whole new lineup of
programs. And the big interview, the
attention-getting event, was an interview with a man who became a woman and had
what he or she called the “final surgery” to seal the decision. Huh? Do
you know how many people have been killed in the Syrian situation in the last 3
years? I saw an estimate: 400,000 which
was said to be unofficial because who
really knows! Perhaps you heard that World War I was called the war to end all wars. But of course it’s
“I” because there was a “II”. And we
live in constant fear of “III” and in the process overlook a long list of
genocides (a name we use that helps us put it all in a box we can hide in the
attic of our collective minds) that have occurred since 1945!
Here’s the deal. If you think Judges is strange or excessively
evil, I will tell you Judges is mild compared to the abuses and oddities of our
day that we just shove to the back of our minds and newspapers. More importantly the reason for both Judges
and today is the same: In those days there was no king in Israel;
everyone did what was right in his own eyes. It’s not just that we have no king today, by
which we mean there is no one who can tell us what is right and wrong and then
enforce it. No one. And like it or not, our seeming confusion
about something as simple as male and female is an indication of how far we are
from the God who created us and thus owns us and to whom we must give account
of our lives. We are not advanced and enlightened
people. We are hopelessly lost. We need the promised King to come and reign
in Israel (Psalm 2:6-9).
While we wait for His arrival all who are
willing can bow to Him (Psalm 2:10-12), confessing Him as Lord and Savior (Rom.
10:9-10). He’s the One foolish men
killed 2000 years ago (1 Cor. 2:7-8) and the One God raised from the dead (Acts
2:23-24). Jesus’ resurrection from the
dead is proof that He is the One who will judge the world in righteousness
(Acts 17:30-31).
You can laugh about this; but God will not be
mocked (Gal. 6:7). You can think about
it; but before long that will be just a stalling tactic. It’s never right to hesitate bowing before
Sovereignty. Do the only thing that is
sensible: believe on, commit your life to, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts
16:31). For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom.
10:13).
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