Day 113

Judges 1:1–2:9; Luke 21:29–22:13; Psalm 90:1–91:16; Proverbs 13:24-25

TODAY WE BEGAN the book of Judges, and by its name, we can easily assume that it’s a book of judgment —but that isn’t its purpose. By way of quick review, we know that the children of Israel originated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and his children became known as the children of Israel. From those children came the tribes of Israel, who were freed from slavery in Egypt under Moses’ leadership. We spent an entire generation in the wilderness with these people before finally crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land, under Joshua’s leadership.

Now the land is settled. Not every square inch of the Promised Land is conquered, but the tribes have been granted land as their inheritance and have moved in. We concluded the book of Joshua with Joshua’s death, and the book of Judges is the story of what happened next.

Without a dominant leader, the tribes will begin to do whatever seems right in their own eyes. This will bring with it several challenges, and Judges begins to bring to the forefront the clear pattern that marks ancient Israel’s existence. Judges is a brief retelling of the next several centuries beyond Joshua, and in it, we’ll find the story of Israel’s slow but steady abandonment of God. Over time, they will suffer the repercussions of this decision, as Moses and Joshua warned, and in their misery, they will cry out to God in repentance. God answers by sending a leader (a judge) to rescue and lead the people forward.

Judges is also a book of change and transition. It covers the time between Joshua’s death and the time when Israel was granted its first king and began a monarchy. We’ll notice that its texture is different from the other books we’ve covered thus far. It’s not all pretty, but Judges gives us plenty to think about in our own lives. The numerous little things that pulled Israel in all sorts of unhealthy directions are still a part of our lives today, and because we’re covering centuries of time in a quick fashion, we get the benefit of seeing clearly where those pathways lead.

PRAYER:

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.