Judges

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Judges Dylan Allegrezza OBST515 09-17-23

1 The Recurring Cycle That Appears in the Book of Judges In the early chapters of the Old Testament book of Judges, the reader can see a few different but related recurring cycles. David J. H. Beldman explains Judges perfectly, “The book of Judges, which recounts a particular period in the life of God’s people, is by no means glamorous. It shows the tragic situation of a persistently and repeatedly unfaithful people. Judges portrays a chapter in history when God’s people, Israel, were maturing from an association of twelve tribes into a fully formed nation. But rather than living up to their calling as a holy nation and a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6), the Israelites became like the surrounding nations in their character and conduct. The consequences for themselves and the nations were drastic.” 1 The first recurring cycle that the reader can see is the fact that the Israelites keep returning to sin and idolatry. Judges 2:11-13 states, “Then the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them..." The Israelites started to serve Pegan gods and doing evil to the standard of God. Even though God had delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians, they chose to turn away from God and worship false gods. Since the Israelites decided to turn away from God, He allowed others to invade and loot their land for disciplinary reasons. He cannot allow God’s chosen people to continue to sin. A. D. H. Mayes explains, “The additions to this narrative have elaborated it and introduced a new theme: Israel served the gods of those nations into whose power Yahweh sold them and those of the land in which they dwell; this is a violation 1 David J. H. Beldman, Deserting the King: The Book of Judges , ed. Craig G. Bartholomew, Transformative Word (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 2.

2 of Yahweh’s covenant commandments, and for this Yahweh will not aid Israel in the completion of their conquest and occupation of the land.” 2 The second recurring cycle that the reader can see is God’s grace and mercy. Victor P. Hamilton explains, “God graciously and continually raised up judges to rectify the situation, not because of any repentance from the people, but because of the kind of God he is.” 3 The book is clear in this aspect, even though God disciplined his chosen people, he was still yet, merciful and showed grace to those who would cry out to Him. God’s unlimited kindness toward his people regardless of what they might deserve. 4 One can see this concept throughout the Old and New Testaments. “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (Ex 34:6)” 5 This is because God has a relationship with His people which can be seen as of the theological themes within the book of Judges. Prophetic Significance to the Recurring Cycles in Judges There is prophetic significance to the recurring cycles in Judges and the concluding statement of Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” This Old Testament passage served as a reminder that the heart of man is wicked and sinful in its natural state without the help from a Holy God. Jeremiah 17:9 explains, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” 2 A. D. H. Mayes, Judges (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 32. 3 Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 111. 4 Keith L. Johnson, “Grace,” ed. Daniel J. Treier and Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2017), 357. 5 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 34:6.

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3 The people of Israel kept choosing to disobey God and worship false idols because the heart of man is sinful. Mankind today is still sinful and is wicked just as they were in the times of the Old Testament. Today, man has a way to be righteous in the eyes of God though His Son Jesus. Jesus paid the ultimate price on Calvary when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. He redeemed the heart of his followers through the work on the cross, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The people of Israel constantly turned their hearts away from God and disobeyed him every turn. God would discipline them accordingly, but he was always gracious and merciful towards them. Every time the people would cry out for assistance. God would raise a judge or deliver to help God’s people. Unfortunately, the Israelites still continued to sin against God and had a cycle of this behavior. The Central Message in the Book of Judges The main theme and message of the book of Judges seems to be clear; God cannot tolerate sin from his people, and thus he must discipline his children accordingly. Gods, chosen people decided to give into their sin and abandon the covenant that they made with God. They started to worship, false idols, act immoral and overall embrace sin. Douglas Mangum explains, “In this speech (2:1–5), the messenger accuses God’s people of unfaithfulness and reminds them of the consequences of their disloyalty, namely, the difficulties posed by the nations remaining in their midst.” 6 Through that, God discipline them, and allowed them to be invaded by nearby lands. The central message of the book of Judges is that sin has consequences. God cannot and will not tolerate sin of His people. Notice that when the Israelites cried out to God, God would 6 Douglas Mangum, ed., Lexham Context Commentary: Old Testament , Lexham Context Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Jdg 2:1–3:6.

4 respond with grace. This theme or message continues in the rest of the Old Testament. God hates sin and would discipline accordingly to those who sinned or rebelled against Him. Before the book of Judges, God blotted out mankind with a violent flood and spared only eight people. This is how much God hates sin. On a positive note, God is gracious to those who call upon the name of the Lord. When someone confesses their sin and repent of their sin, God shows mercy, grace, and forgiveness. The book of judges shows that mankind can be incredibly wicked and sinful, however, God showed grace and mercy.

5 Bibliography David J. H. Beldman, Deserting the King: The Book of Judges, ed. Craig G. Bartholomew, Transformative Word (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017) Douglas Mangum, ed., Lexham Context Commentary: Old Testament, Lexham Context Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Jdg 2:1–3:6. A. D. H. Mayes, Judges (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 32. Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 111. Keith L. Johnson, “Grace,” ed. Daniel J. Treier and Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2017), 357. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 34:6.

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