Most of us, we would say, are probably suckers for a tragic story with a happy ending.
We don't mind a bit of drama. In fact, some of us probably enjoy a bit of a drama,
whether we would admit it or not. We don't mind so much drama, but as long as we can anticipate
at the end of that story, or at the end of that movie, or at the end of that book,
there is a happy ending that we might enjoy, we are drawn into those stories and encouraged by them.
The problem is, when we come to the book of Judges, and we take it as a unit on its own,
you will find no such joyful climax as you hope you would find in most stories.
It's actually quite a tragic book, and it ends in tremendous tragedy.
It's the opposite of the stories that we long for. In fact, the difference between the promising
notes of blessing at the book's beginning and the devastating circumstances of its conclusion
are shocking, maybe even offensive to some extent to our modern sensibilities.
Before we explore the heart of this particular series of narratives, I want to consider here,
just for a moment, its opening and its close. By doing that, maybe that will give us a path forward.
As we jump into this book today. You're in Judges chapter 1. Let me just read the first two verses,
and we'll see how it begins.
After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord,
Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?
And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hand.
Now, that may not seem very much to you. There may not be a lot there. There actually is quite a bit
there for us to understand. Judges begins with the people of Israel on the brink of all that God
has promised them up to this point. So just think back. They've spent 400 years in exile.
Throughout those 400 years in exile and in bondage in Egypt, they have encouraged one another,
probably, mostly, on the promises that were given to their patriarchs, to Abraham and to Isaac and to
Jacob. Now they have been delivered from that bondage. They've spent some difficult years in the
wilderness, and they stand on the precipice of blessing now. The Lord has given the land into
their hand. All of these promises that he has made seem to be at their fingertips. That's what this book
is opening with. God has provided leadership through the tribe of Judah. God has assured them of success
in possessing the land of promise. And the people seem but steps away from enjoying a new type of Eden,
a new type of garden experience that they've been told about from Moses. So after hundreds of years in
bondage and in wilderness wonderings, they're on the verge of unimaginable blessing. And that's where
these opening verses link us back to. But like I said, that's not at all how the book ends. After a
devastating civil war in which one of Israel's tribes, Benjamin, almost is completely extinguished.
By the time you get to the end of the book, I think it's something like 600 people remain
in an entire tribe. It's devastating. And we find this refrain at the end of the book. And it's the
way that the author closes the book. In fact, if you just flip over to chapter 21, it's the very last
chapter. In the very last verse, you'll see this refrain working as something of a theme to summarize
the entire story of the book of Judges. Verse 25,
In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Now, when we read those first two verses, that is not what we anticipate being at the end of the book.
In the end, Israel is leaderless. In the beginning, God has given them leaders.
And not only has he just arbitrarily chosen this tribe of Judah, but as we'll find in the next few
weeks, he is actually fulfilling a promise that he made through the blessing of Jacob on his 12 sons,
highlighting Judah as the one that will lead the nation and from which will come a king who will
lead God's people. But when we get to the end of the book, they're leaderless. There is no king in
Israel. They have not possessed the land. And they have, instead of experiencing a new type of Eden,
they have actually experienced a new fall. God had designated them in Exodus chapter 19
to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But by the end, Israel had become like all of the
other nations around her. And the question that we ask as we begin to consider this particular book is,
how does Israel go from chapter 1 and verse 1 to chapter 21 and verse 25? How do they do that?
How do they move from here, unimaginable blessing, right ready for them, to now they have completely
gone as far away from that blessing as they could possibly go by the time they get to the end of the book?
Is God unwilling to fulfill his promise? Worse, is he unable to fulfill his promise? What on earth
happens to these people? As we study the book, we'll discover that the primary issue at play with the
people of Israel is precisely the same problem that plagues each of us day by day and that plagues our
churches week by week and year by year in the church. It is an unending struggle against sin that we will
find. Now there's this thing that the book of Judges continues to say over and over. Everyone did what
was right in his own eyes. That's really what the problem boils down to. And it's not very different
from our own culture. We live in a follow your heart type of culture where self, the individual,
is what people are concerned with first and foremost above everything else. We can call it postmodernism
or expressive individualism or some other philosophical ism, but it's all rooted ultimately
in the ever-present sins of pride and idolatry and rebellion, selfishness. So that rather than love,
obey, and worship Yahweh, people generally spend their lives serving their own appetites and being concerned
with pursuing their own agendas. And what's amazing about the whole thing is that this type of self-centeredness
and self-focus is actually celebrated in our society. It's praised. In fact, you're told that healthy
human behavior, true mental health, involves first and foremost self-care. You must take care of self
before you concern yourself with anyone else. And that's more than just a simple take care of yourself.
We know what underlies that type of philosophy. You do you or follow your heart or do what's best
for you. Or as I heard one person say at one time, look out for number one and don't step in number two,
right? These are the things we hear all the time. These are the, this is the mindset. These are the
phrases that we and our children are being trained to live by. So like Israel as a culture, even
unfortunately as Christians, we find ourselves doing what is right in our own eyes. And of course,
this is the antithesis of biblical teaching. In fact, at the very heart of the Christian message
is Jesus, the son of God, wholly submitting himself to the father and sacrificing himself for the
salvation of undeserving sinners. The last thing on Jesus's mind, what is that? The heart of the gospel
message is not self-care. It is not doing what's best for you. It's actually servant-heartedness. It is
giving yourself for others. It is sacrificing yourself for those who do not deserve,
to be sacrificed for. This mindset, this cultural agenda is the opposite of everything that the
Bible stands for and that Christianity is supposed to represent as we follow Christ.
But still, Christians seem to fall prey to this seductive spirit of the age. And God has all kinds
of things to say about this in the Bible. But the book of Judges gives us one of the clearest pictures
of the devastating consequences of doing your own thing. What happens when you just live life your way?
What happens when you disregard everything else that everyone has said? When you disregard what God has
said and you just do you? What happens? Judges tells us. It's a story of God's people doing life their own
way regardless of what God's life their own way regardless of what God has said. But it's also a story of God's
enduring mercy and steadfast love. In fact, that's the thing that comes to the surface most clearly as we get to
the end. There's little hope in the book, unfortunately, except in the fact that it ultimately points us to Christ,
a king and champion that will and does reign over his people in perfect righteousness, not only now, but for all of
eternity. Ultimately, that's what Judges teaches us. There is no king in Israel, but there is a king. There is a king
coming for Israel and for the people of God who will do what none of these judges could do, who will do what Joshua could not do,
and what Moses could not do, and what Abraham could not do, and what Adam could not do, and what Noah could
not do. King Jesus is on the way, and this book is pointing us forward to him and to the gospel. So, Lord
willing, we're going to spend the next several months examining the details of really this fascinating book
and the fascinating stories that it contains. But what I'd like to do today is just this kind of simple
survey so that we might better prepare ourselves for the study moving forward, okay? First thing, there's not
really much of a structured outline for you, but if you want to keep notes in those journals that were on
your seats or whatever, the first thing maybe that we want to do is look back, okay? So, we want to look
back. Would you flip with me, please, to Joshua chapter 1? Joshua chapter 1.
So, that to understand where we're going, we need to take a moment and kind of look over our shoulder,
so to speak, to see where we've already been or should have been at this point in the biblical text.
Now, we know this is necessary for us to do because the author has already said in chapter 1 and verse 1,
he's going to say it again in chapter 2, that all of this, the theming and the story, the plot line of this
book of Judges hinges, he's insisting on linking it to the death of Joshua. So, we know that if we're going to
understand Judges, we have to go back and see what was Joshua all about and what was happening there.
So, that just as the death of Jacob represents the end of the patriarchal period and the death of
Moses marks the end of the Exodus, the death of Joshua represents and marks the end of conquest
and points forward to the time of settlement in the land, okay? So, that's the link that's happening
here and I want to look at two particular texts. You're in Joshua chapter 1. Let's start there.
Verse 1.
After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun,
Moses' assistant, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, arise. Go over this Jordan,
you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.
Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, just as I promised to
Moses. From the wilderness in this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates,
all the land of the Hittites, to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your
territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses,
so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. So, be strong and courageous,
for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant,
commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success
wherever you go. In other words, if you do not do that, you will not have the success everywhere you go.
But so long as you listen to my word, you will have good success wherever you go.
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your
way prosperous, then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
So, God makes his plan for Joshua clear. He is to take up the mantle of leadership from Moses,
and he's to lead the people in the land that God has prepared for them. He's to teach them to trust
God's promises and obey God's law. Every word of it. Not only the things that says do this and don't do this,
but consider what all is contained in the Torah, in the law. It contains how they are to worship.
It contains instructions for what they are to do once they get into the land, and how they are to take the land,
and how they are to establish the kingdom from there. It has everything that they need
to function as the people of God once they move forward. And Joshua is told,
make sure to teach them God's law, to trust in God's promise. Nothing that God has said through
Moses is to be disregarded. And insofar as Joshua is faithful to lead the people, they will receive
the blessings of dwelling in the land. And Joshua was indeed faithful to that task. He wasn't a perfect
man, but he was faithful to the task that God gave him. And he leads the people valiantly,
and they conquer their enemies. So when we get to Judges, they are standing having conquered the
nation. There are remnants of people still there. They must still take possession, but there are no
kingdoms left in Canaan. Joshua, through the power of God, has defeated them. Now I want you to flip
ahead now to Joshua 23. Joshua 23, just toward the end of the book. So that after faithfully leading
the people, Joshua takes the charge that God has given him in chapter 1, and he now gives that same
charge, that same instruction to the entire nation in chapter 23. It's as if he's saying, look at what
God has done. He has proven himself to be faithful to his promise. He has kept his end of the covenant.
We must keep our end of the covenant. And he looks ahead with the people of Israel to settling the land
in the same way that he looked ahead to conquering the land. Chapter 23, verse 1.
A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies,
and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads,
its judges and officers, and said to them, I am now old and well advanced in years. And you have seen
all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake. For it is the Lord your God who
has fought for you. Behold, I've allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes, those nations
that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off from the Jordan to the great sea in
the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight, and you
shall possess their land just as the Lord your God promised. Therefore, be strong to keep and to do all
that's written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand
nor to the left. Now, remember this part, verse 7, that you may not mix with these nations remaining
among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to
them. But you shall cling to the Lord your God, just as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven
out before you great and strong nations, and as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to
this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you,
just as he promised you. So be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back
and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you, and make marriages with them, so that
you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer
drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides
and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.
So Joshua delivers this charge. No mighty nations are left. God gave them the land. They only need now
to possess it by driving out the remnant of remaining people. But this is where they failed.
They did everything that God said not to do. After Joshua's death, they failed to possess the land.
They intermingled and intermarried with the Canaanites, and ultimately they forsook Yahweh to follow after
the Baals or the Baals and the Astaroth, the gods of Canaan. So that rather than driving out the inhabitants
and destroying the false worship that existed in Canaan, Israel became thoroughly Canaanized.
That's what this book tells us. They did not obey God. They did not take the land. They actually became
Canaan. So that the promised land, as I said before, it was meant to be this picture of a new kind of Eden
where God's people. And instead, Judges tells us of this fall. So that just like Adam and Eve,
God made clear to the people, this is my law. This is what you must do, and this is what you must not do.
And just like Adam and Eve, Israel did what was right in their own eyes instead. And this is always how sin works. Always.
God gives us His truth. We rebel against it, opting to pursue our own path instead.
And all of this is pointing toward the fact that we need a better Adam. We need a better Moses. We need a better Joshua.
We need Jesus. Okay? That's looking back. Now let's look at the structure of Judges. Okay? Are you with me still?
Good. Let's look at the structure. The macro structure of the book is really actually quite simple.
There's three major movements here. In literary terms, we would call it a prologue, which is the introduction.
That's chapter 1-1 through 3-6. Then there's the cycle of Judges. That's the main body of text.
That's 3-7 through 16-31. And then there's what we would call the epilogue, which is the very end of the book.
But to understand this and the function of this structure,
Barry Webb has illustrated it with the process of compiling a musical composition.
Some of you are musical people, and you will understand this. The others of you just do your best. Okay?
I think this is really a helpful way for us to understand this. There are three parts sometimes.
There could be more, but there are three parts to this composition, so to speak, of the book of Judges.
First, there's the overture. The overture.
Now, if you're into musicals, you know what the overture does. It opens up before anybody comes out on stage.
The orchestra strikes. They begin to play a melody, some harmonies.
They range in scope and in intensity.
And what you find is that it introduces what is coming ahead,
so that as you work your way through the musical composition,
you begin to hear repetition of what you hear in the overture.
Okay? That's what these first couple of chapters do.
The author here, probably Samuel, maybe later with a revision from Ezra,
is writing this, most likely one of those two men.
And he is introducing for us things that we're going to continue to hear all throughout the book.
That's the overture.
Then there's the variations.
The variations is the main body of the composition,
with each part distinct, yet clearly woven into this tapestry
that presents this huge picture, this main message and point and plot line
that goes along through the musical or whatever it is that you're considering at that moment.
So there's different scenes that are taking place, and there's different characters,
but it's all basically telling one big story.
That's the cycle of Judges.
Okay?
And then we get to the end, and this is the coda.
Okay?
The coda brings the composition to a satisfying conclusion.
And what it does is it summarizes,
summarizes for us the overall point of the story.
Now, here's what I want to do real quick.
I want to take these three sections and just give you a taste
of what we're going to learn in these three sections,
and then we're going to come back and look at the overall message as we finish.
Okay?
First, let's consider this overture.
Okay?
In the overture, verses chapter 1 and verse 1 through chapter 3 and verse 6,
connects the story in chapter 1 to the death of Joshua,
showing in a general sense how Israel failed to do all that God had commanded.
We get to chapter 2 then,
and the nation is confronted by the angel of the Lord,
who pronounces judgment against the people.
And then we're introduced to what will be this cycle repeated over and over and over throughout the book.
And there's five parts to the cycle.
Okay?
Part 1 is this.
The people rebel against God.
Look at chapter 2, verse 11.
The people rebel against God,
and the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.
Or the Baals.
Okay?
So that's part 1 of the cycle.
Part 2.
God delivers them into the hands of their enemies.
Verse 14 of chapter 2.
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,
and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them,
and he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies
so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.
Okay?
That's God's doing.
That's part 2.
Part 3.
The people cry out to the Lord.
Now, this doesn't happen in every cycle,
but it's usually there.
Look at the second part of verse 18.
Then the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning
because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.
We'll find this usually spoken of in terms of the people
cried out to the Lord regarding their oppression,
and then the Lord responds.
Okay?
So that's part 4.
God raises up a judge who delivers the people and provides rest.
Verse 16 of chapter 2.
Then the Lord raised up judges
who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered.
And then there's the final part of the cycle,
and it all begins again.
The judge dies, and the people again rebel against God.
Verse 19.
Whenever the judge died,
they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers,
going after other gods,
serving them, bowing down to them.
They did not drop any of their practices
or their stubborn ways.
It's a vicious cycle for Israel.
They rebel.
God judges them by delivering them to their enemies.
They cry out to God.
God raises up a judge,
sometimes wicked men in and of themselves.
He raises up this judge,
delivers the people out of their oppression.
Then the judge dies,
and the people return back to the rebellion.
And over and over and over and over it goes.
But the cycle,
what we find is that it's more than repetition.
It's a downward spiral.
So that with each story,
the sins worsen,
the rest is shortened,
and the judges get more and more corrupt.
And eventually,
the people don't even bother
to call out for mercy any longer.
Sin is never stagnant.
That's the message.
It's never stagnant.
It always grows.
It always worsens.
And if you think for even a moment
that you can somehow maintain
this measure of sinfulness
or sinful pleasure in your life
without it going too far
or what you consider to be too far,
then you're already blind
to how pervasive sin
already is in your life.
In the end,
you will ultimately completely reject God
and turn to self or to some other God.
That's the cycle of sin
for the nation of Israel.
Okay?
We find all that in the overture.
We're going to see all that repeated
through the book.
Let's look at the variations.
This is beginning in chapter 3 and verse 7
and takes us through the end of chapter 16.
And it's the main body of text
which takes us through six of these cycles.
And in these six cycles,
we are acquainted with 12 what's called judges.
Six of them are minor judges.
They're just really just mentioned by name.
The exception to that is a man named Shamgar.
Shamgar who kills people
with an ox code.
That's all we get.
We get his name and we get an ox code.
He doesn't even have a sword.
The rest of them,
we just get their name.
Okay?
So six minor ones.
And then,
but the main storyline in the plot line,
it moves through six major judges
is what we would call them.
And it's important for us to realize
at the beginning,
they are not laid out chronologically.
There is overlap with these judges.
They are laid out theologically in the book
so that they progressively worsen the judges themselves.
By the time,
we start with Othniel,
who basically is the golden boy of the judges.
By the time you get to Samson,
who is the last one,
he is the worst.
I mean,
he's terrible.
There is almost nothing good
about Samson and Jephthah
and barely anything good about Gideon.
We're going to find that they get worse
and worse and worse
representing the culture of Israel
in which they live.
So they're not laid out chronologically.
They're laid out theologically.
And there's two groups of them.
So let's just walk through the two groups quickly.
Group one starts with Othniel
and it's signaled by this phrase,
and the people of Israel did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord.
Okay?
Two other judges are grouped with Othniel
and it's signaled by specific phrases.
The second one is Ehud or Ehud,
whichever way you want to say it.
I don't know what's right.
I'll probably say it both ways.
And the people of Israel again did evil
in the sight of the Lord is what it says.
And then the third one,
really the judge is Barak.
Deborah gets the attention
and that's part of the story.
But really the judge is Barak.
And Barak is in chapters four and five.
The people of Israel again did evil
in the sight of the Lord.
Then that brings us to group number two.
Group two starts with Gideon.
And we have the same phrasing as we have with Othniel.
The people of Israel did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord.
Then it's Jephthah.
The people of Israel again did evil
in the sight of the Lord.
And then there's Samson,
the people of Israel again did evil
in the sight of the Lord.
Now, there's a big question
that we need to answer now.
What in the world is a judge?
Who are these people?
Where did they come from?
And why does God use them?
Okay.
Well, a judge in this instance
is not a lawyer with a white wig
and a black robe that sits on a bench
and judges the law
and passes sentencing on criminals.
That's not what a judge is in this context.
The judges in this book
are military leaders
who are used by God
to deliver the people from oppression.
We might refer to it as the book of deliverers
or the book of saviors, perhaps.
It's also true that these deliverers
function somewhat like tribal chiefs.
Remember, the nation has not come together
at this point.
There's no king.
So there's no unifying force at work
or unifying person for the nation.
All the tribes have kind of split up
and done their own thing.
And these men are raised up as tribal chiefs
and the oppression that the people face
in the judgment of God is regional.
So there's probably not a point in Judges
where the Midianites or the Ammonites
or one of the other Ides comes in
and actually takes over all 12 tribes.
That's really not the picture
that we probably need to have of this.
These are regional oppressions.
God raises up these tribal chiefs
who are military leaders
to deliver the people in that area.
Okay?
So a judge then is an individual
uniquely raised up by God
and empowered by God's spirit
to deliver certain tribes
through military victory.
Okay?
That's the variations.
Now let's do the coda.
All right?
This is short.
The very end of the book,
17.1 through 21.25,
is like an exclamation point
at the end of this tragic story.
So after the author tells us
all of these cycles
and tells us about all of these judges,
he gives us two stories
that essentially describe
what life was like in Israel
that show us how bad things actually became.
And it's graphic.
It is terrible.
It's offensive.
It is everything that you will hate
about stories like this.
It just couldn't get much worse
than what we read at the end of the book.
And the point of that is to say,
this is what Israel became.
Because they did what was right
in their own eyes,
this is what they became.
Civil war comes through
and we see the near extinction of Benjamin
and the book ends.
It just ends.
And it sets us up for Samuel.
Samuel really probably would be
the next book for us to read after this,
where there is no king in Israel,
but now God's going to give
the people their king
who comes from the hated tribe,
Benjamin at this point,
Saul.
God judges the nation with Saul
and then God raises up his king
from Judah, King David.
Okay?
So that's where Judges is taking us
in the whole storyline.
Now let's talk about the message of it
and then we'll be finished.
Okay?
Typically, we interpret books
like Joshua and Judges
as simple histories.
In fact, in our English Bibles,
if we're categorizing them,
we say in the Old Testament
we have the books of law
and then we have the books of history, right?
And so that's primarily
how we think of them.
We observe the events
and then we draw certain moral conclusions
from the stories.
I want to suggest
a different approach
is actually probably
more appropriate here.
Judges is not less than history,
but I do think that it's actually
much more than that.
I want to submit
that Judges is a prophetic message
that is wrapped
and presented by God
in the shape
of a historical narrative.
And if we understand it this way,
it's going to alter
how we interpret the meaning
and the purpose of the text.
Okay?
So let me just explain that.
If you were to grab a Hebrew Bible,
you will very quickly realize
that it's not arranged the same way.
The Old Testament books
are not arranged the same way
that our English Bibles
arrange the Old Testament books.
In fact, it's divided
into three different volumes.
There is the Torah,
there's the prophets,
and then there's the writings
or what's sometimes called the Psalms.
So three-volume set.
Jesus even refers
to this three-volume set.
This is the way
that the Old Testament
would have been structured
even in Jesus' day.
We see it in Luke 24.
Jesus says to them
after his resurrection,
these are my words
that I spoke to you
while I was still with you,
that everything written about me
in the law of Moses,
it's the law of the Torah,
and the prophets,
that's the second volume,
and the Psalms,
that's the Psalms
or the writings,
must be fulfilled.
So Jesus is using
an Old Testament
that is a three-volume set.
It's categorized
in three different volumes
with a particular structure.
So are the apostles.
It's not until really
the invention
of the printing press
that the order
that we have
in our English Bibles
really becomes the standard.
So I want you to pretend
that you're at home
in your living room
and your bookshelf is there
and you have
a three-volume Hebrew Bible
on the shelf.
And you've decided
this afternoon,
I'm going to make sure
that Jared's right
and that he's not lying to me
and I'm going to go
and I'm going to do
a little studying
in my Hebrew Bible.
And so you go over
to your three-volume set
and you look
and you pull off
the second volume.
On the spine,
it's labeled prophets.
And so you open it up
on the prophets
and you look at
the table of contents
and you're going to see
that the prophets
are divided in two parts.
There's the former prophets
and there's
the latter prophets.
The latter prophets,
as you begin to read
through your table of contents,
looks exactly like
what you think
the prophets should look like.
There's Isaiah,
Jeremiah,
Ezekiel,
and then a fourth book
called the Twelve.
The Twelve includes
the minor prophets.
So that's part two.
But then you get curious
and you think,
okay, well there's
no more prophets left
based on what I understand
in the Old Testament.
So what could possibly be
in the former prophets?
And you find
there's Joshua,
Judges,
Samuel,
and Kings.
Now you may be surprised
to find it that way,
but it's that way
for a reason.
And that's what I think
we need to have in mind
as we come to this book.
Judges is not merely
a collection
of historical events.
The goal of this author
was not simply
to describe
the settlement of Canaan.
If that was his goal,
he failed.
Because this book
says almost nothing
about settling the land.
In fact,
when you get to the end,
you realize
they haven't settled the land.
They need David
to help finish
settling the land.
They don't even do it.
So that's not
what he's doing here.
Neither is the goal
of the author
to give us a series
of biblical heroes
to look up to.
In fact,
we'll find
that these men,
aside from specific moments
of incredible,
spirit-empowered faith,
were terrible role models.
They are not worthy
of our affection
in the way
that we typically
hold up people
as heroes in our lives.
So that's not
what he's doing.
The author,
considered by the Jews
to be a prophet of God,
which is why
this is in the prophets,
carefully selects
and arranges
this material
in order
to challenge readers
and effect in them
a spiritual
and moral transformation.
Okay?
That's the difference.
If we interpret
this book
as simple history,
we will reduce
its purpose
to little more
than moral lessons
to make us
better human beings.
But that's not
what this book is.
If we interpret it
as the author intended,
as a prophetic work
meant to persuade us
to turn from sin
and to love the Lord
and to obey the Lord
and worship the Lord,
then we will enter
this realm
of spiritual transformation
that can only come
from the penetrating work
of God's Spirit.
These are not
history lessons.
These are prophetic messages
from God
to His people.
As Daniel Block says,
recognizing the sermonic nature
forces us
to engage this text
as Scripture,
or better,
he says,
to let it engage us
to hear its message,
to respond
in accordance
with the human
and divine author's goal.
We come to this
in every other book
in the Bible,
not to look at it
and cast our opinion
about what it says
and on the characters
that are contained,
but to see what God says
to us,
to see what God has to say
to His people
so that He might transform us.
So what then
is the message?
The primary message
of Judges
is that Israel
Israel needs a king.
They need a king.
But not just any king.
They need God's king.
They need someone
who will be a man
after God's own heart.
They need someone
who will unite the nation
to worship God
and obey His law.
Judges anticipates
the arrival
of King David.
But even more,
Judges anticipates
King Jesus.
He is the one
who has defeated
the ultimate enemy.
He has provided
ultimate rest.
He has given us
an everlasting inheritance
that cannot be lost.
And this is one reason
for that refrain
at the end of the book.
In those days,
there was no king
in Israel.
As long as there is
no righteous king,
the people will flounder
in this hopeless cycle
of rebellion.
Now listen,
until you have
a righteous king
ruling over your life
to which you are
wholly submitted to
in faith
and love
and obedience,
you will flounder
in this continual cycle
of rebellion
and sin
and devastation
that will ultimately
end up
in an eternal hell.
You need a king.
I need a king.
And it's not Donald Trump
and it's not Joe Biden
and it's not Gideon
and it's not Samson
and it's not Jephthah.
It's not even David.
It's Jesus.
Jesus alone
can break the cycle.
Jesus alone
can conquer
your sin.
Jesus alone
can give you life.
That's what Judges
is ultimately about.
Israel needs a king
and who they really need
is Jesus.
It anticipates
the gospel.
But there's a second line
of messaging here
that we don't need
to forget.
Judges is a message
about God's
sovereign mercy.
His sovereign mercy.
Three ways
I think this is
proven true
in this book.
Jim Hamilton
has written
a central theme.
You've heard me
reference it before
that the central theme
of the Bible
is that God
is glorified
in salvation
through judgment.
Now this theme
comes to the surface
in Judges
as God seeks
to save his people
through
and from
his own judgment.
So think back
to that cycle.
In fact, Becky,
can you put the cycle
back on the screen
here for just a moment?
Think back to this cycle.
The people rebel.
Who's responsible
for delivering
the judgment?
God is.
God sells them
into the hand
of their enemies.
Now why does God
do that?
God does not do that
simply because
he's vengeful.
That's not why
God does that.
God sells them
to their enemies
in order that
he might drive
them to repentance
and he wants
to drive them
to repentance
because what he
really desires to do
is pour out
his mercy
on them
so that the moment
they cry out to him
for mercy
he raises up
a deliverer.
He raises up
a savior
who brings rest
to the people.
This is a book
about mercy.
God's unending
mercy.
Secondly,
we learn here
that God
in his mercy
uses weak
vessels.
Weak vessels.
Do you know
why God uses
weak vessels
to do his work?
Because there are
no other vessels
to use.
There are no
other vessels
to use.
The details
given about
some of these
judges
are spiritually
obscene.
Gideon
in the end
of his life
leads the nation
into idolatry.
In the beginning
he fights
against idolatry.
In the end
he's the one
that's causing
the nation
to horror
after this
ephod
that he has made.
Jephthah
makes a rash
vow to God
and what's even
worse about the
vow that Jephthah
makes is that
he follows through
with the vow
completely against
what God
would have wanted
and he sacrifices
his own daughter
as a pagan ritual
to celebrate
the victory
that God
had given.
Then you get
to Samson
and the only
good thing
that happens
in Samson's
life
is when he
kills himself
at the end.
That's the only
moment in the
whole Samson story
where God
is actually
using him
in this moment
of faith.
These men
are not role models
but then we get
to Hebrews chapter
11 and what
do we find
in this great
hall of faith?
It mentions
Barak
it mentions
Gideon
it mentions
Jephthah
and it
mentions
Samson
Why?
It's the
four worst
ones.
The writer
of Hebrews
adds them
to this
what we
see in
Hebrews chapter
12
to be the
great cloud
of witnesses
and what
are the
great cloud
of witnesses
!
They are
urging us
to look
unto Jesus
the author
and perfecter
of our faith.
Now what does
this teach us?
God uses
weak vessels.
We don't
come to these
men
looking for a
moral role model.
We come to
these men
looking to the
mercy of God
that despite
my sin
and despite
my failure
and despite
my weakness
God is
faithful
and God
is merciful
and he
continues to
pour out
that mercy
and then the
writer of
Hebrews
presents these
men as if
they're in
this whole
group
and it's
as if
they're
saying to
all of
us
coming
behind
in this
great
cloud
when you
go to
judges
don't
look at
us
look at
Jesus
look at
the author
look at
the finisher
of our
faith
we had
moments
empowered
by the
spirit
but don't
look to
us
look to
him
look to
him
look to
Jesus
that's
what
they're
doing
that's
what
they're
showing
us
and then
finally
the third
way I
think this
is a book
about mercy
is that
God never
abandons
his promise
never
when you
get to
the Samson
cycle
the people
do not
ask for
God's
mercy
yet God
still raises
up a judge
to deliver
them
why
because
God is
faithful
he's
faithful
this
encourages
me
in
this
sense
that
God
never
gets
so
frustrated
with
Christians
that
he
steps
back
and
he
says
you
know
what
forget
it
all
forget
it
all
he
could
have
done
that
with
Israel
he
could
have
said
this
is
just
ridiculous
forget
the
land
forget
the
king
forget
all
the
stuff
I'm
going
to
make
them
like
Sodom
and
Gomorrah
because
they've
actually
become
worse
than
Sodom
and Gomorrah
in fact
the last
story
that's
told
in the
book
is a
parallel
to
Sodom
Israel
has
become
as
bad
as
you
can
get
and
yet
God
does
not
step
back
and
say
forget
it
he
never
does
that
he
doesn't
step
back
at
the
church
and
say
forget
it
forget
the
church
just
continues
to
decline
they're
being
canaanized
just
like
Israel
is
just
forget
the
whole
thing
I'm
just
getting
rid
of
all
of
them
he
doesn't
do
that
and
even
in
your
own
personal
life
if
you're
in
Christ
there
is
no
sin
in
your
life
that
God
is
finally
going
to
get
to
a
point
he's
going
to
say
you
know
what
forget
it
forget
it
I'm
done
with
Josh
I'm
done
with
Ashlyn
I'm
done
with
David
forget
it
he
doesn't
do
that
God
is
faithful
to
his
promises
even
when
we
are
unfaithful
and
especially
when
we
are
unfaithful
this
is a
book
of
God's
mercy
his
mercy
the
book
of
judges
is
immediately
relevant
to
us
you
won't
have
a
hard
time
seeing
that
like
Israel
the
Christian
church
is
!
continuously
showing
signs
of
canonization
instead
of
driving
out
sin
and
following
God
as
he's
commanded
in
the
word
we
are
routinely
guilty
of
intermingling
and
intermarrying
so to
speak
with the
people
and the
ideas
of this
world
Brian
and I
were
talking
before
the
service
started
this
morning
that
when
people
don't
know
their
Bibles
they
will
be
carried
off
by
every
wind
and
wave
of
cultural
transition
and
cultural
movement
and the
more like
the world
we become
the less
we will
have any
kind of
footing
in what
is good
and right
and true
surely
we can
see the
signs of
that
rather than
fighting in
holy war
against sin
we regularly
fight against
one another
we see that
with Israel
instead of
submitting to
God
most people
seem to
just be
doing
whatever
seems
good
in their
own
eyes
judges
is a
warning
against
this
it's a
warning
against
the
idolatry
of
self
and
it's
a
call
to
turn
from
sin
to
the
unending
mercy
of
God
through
faith
in the
true
King
Jesus
Christ
let's
pray
to
take
to
take