02. The Book of Judges

The Book of Judges The book of Judges is a sad book in many respects. It opens on a very high note. Two tribes were dependent upon the Lord and concerned about acquiring the territory that belonged to them in the purpose of God, a very noble ideal. There were clearly people operating in the mind of the Lord, but when we come to the end of the book we find a very, very sad condition, "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). There was no direction, no order, no law, but instead independency and lawlessness. What a sad end to such a promising start. This book contains high heights of faith and courage, but it also contains abysmal depths of sin, lawlessness and wickedness. In many ways it represents the days in which we find ourselves. Many of the people of God are concerned about the situation, and seek help from the Lord to do that which is right, but unfortunately many others, professing the name of Christ are not concerned about His glory or about His truth. The book occupies a very interesting place in the history of God’s dealings with His people, Israel. Preceding it is the glorious dual leadership of Moses and Joshua; Moses, the great deliverer out of Egypt, the lawgiver, the leader through the wilderness, the great man of God, the man who spoke to God "face to face" (Exodus 33:11), a man who was indeed for God in every sense of the word; and Joshua, his successor, leading the nation into the land, possessing much of the territory, setting a personal example to the nation, exhorting them not to serve other gods, and in spite of all that was against them, he could say, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). And then, immediately following it, we find the great recovery beginning with the Moabitish maiden, Ruth, and the recovery of Naomi. This paved the way for the introduction of Hannah, Samuel, David and Solomon, the great heights to which Israel rose under the power and the might of God. Here, between these two great peaks of glory and blessing we find a valley of darkness, of failure, and of departure from God. Thank God there are those that shine brightly in it, men and women inspired with a desire to be true to God, a desire to be faithful in a day when many were not. The Relevance of the Books of Judges and of Ruth to us today In viewing the great leadership of our Lord Jesus Christ and all that He accomplished on Calvary’s cross in the beginning of the Church period, we can say, ’what a triumph, what glory was there’, and we can thank God that what began there still exists. What a wonderful day that was when the power of the Spirit of God was evident to all, souls were being converted, assemblies set up, and the testimony of God circulating throughout the world; it was a time of unparalleled blessing and spiritual prosperity. However, it was not long before that time came to an end, divisions, troubles, sin and strife came in, and after the death of the apostles there was scarcely anything that was recognisable to what had begun at Pentecost, so much evil and false doctrine had crept in. But God, in His mercy, granted recovery, and down through the history of the Church we find men and women of God rising above the prevailing conditions, having faith in God and being dependent upon God, who refused to acquiesce in the conditions, who were concerned to overcome for the pleasure and for the glory of God. The history of the Church is bright with those names, names that are respected amongst us, men and women who fought valiantly for the truth down through the ages, and we would not be where we are today if it had not been for their faithfulness. Unfortunately, many of those great movements declined after the leaders died, when after the fresh exercise of those men and women of God declined there came deadness, failure and departure. This has marked every movement of God right up to the present day. But again we can say, ’Thank God, in spite of all the departure, there will always be those who desire, in the fear of God, and in the power of the Spirit of God, to be true to Him’. It is a challenge to our hearts will this be our attitude to the prevailing declension that we find in our own day? Will the book of Judges provide for us help and stimulation that we might desire, above all else, to be here for God in spite of all that is around?