But When the Judge Died…

Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. (Judges 2:18-19, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “Stubborn ways” just about sums it up. To be stubborn is to be unreasonably or perversely unyielding. Difficult to handle, manage, or treat. In short, “refused to give up their evil practices.” They did okay as long as the judge (warrior/leader) ruled over them. Then they would fall back into their sinful ways. The most prominent of the judges were: Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Eli, and Samuel.

“Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, ‘Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.'” (Judges 2:20-22, NIV 1984).

These nations, which include Edom, Moab, Midian and Philistia, were a continual threat to Israel. Israel would sin. God would deliver them to one of these nations who oppressed them. Israel would cry out to the Lord in distress. God would have compassion and would raise up a judge to deliver them. They would do okay as long as the judge lived. Then the cycle would begin anew. Evil, oppression. Deliverance. Obedience. Evil.

This cycle was a problem that the law could never permanently break. A problem that was aptly described by the Apostle Paul. “I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:14-15, 21-24, NIV 1984).

If the judges (and later the kings and prophets) could never permanently break the cycle, who could? “Who will rescue [us] from this [cycle] of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25, NIV 1984). Rescued once and for all. The cycle broken – “through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Problem solved, if you place your faith in Him.

My Advice – So, “what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us.” (Romans 8:3-4, NIV 1984).

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.’ (Romans 8:1-2, NIV 1984). You need to be set free.