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Living In the Time of the Judges
Living In the Time of the Judges
With the death of Joshua we see Israel without a dynamic national leader. Both Moses and Joshua had been the nail that held things together. The end of the book will declare: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
Now, if you were one of the people of Israel during that period, how would YOU have done with your faith? While I am sure that there were others besides these judges that remained faithful, yet the picture is bleak and discouraging. Even the judges themselves show weakness of character and faithfulness. Gideon was correct that Israel had a king: God was their king. He had given them a law to follow. He would provide for them. He would protect them, but He would also chastise and discipline them as they turned away from Him.
We have no real clue as to the population of Israel during this time, but in the reading of Judges there is very little glimmer of godliness. We have seen in Noah and Enoch that a person CAN be faithful to God in the midst of ungodliness. Even in the story of Lot, we see that among the ungodly there can be a person whose soul is grieved by ungodliness.
I think it is fortunate that we don't have to actually find out how we would have done, yet I do think that looking at how we are doing in our own time brings a sobering assessment of character. We have our own copy of God's word, we can read and study, we have been 'added together' with God's people, we have the strength of a body of people who believe as we do and are living for the same goal.
Yet, it is ME that must trust God. It is ME that must deny self and the temptations of the world. It is ME that must 'come out from among them and touch no unclean thing'. It is ME that must love God with all my heart, soul, and mind. I can receive help, strength, and encouragement from you, but then I can also find you to be a stumbling block and source of offense. Either way, it is ME that walks with God or not.
"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Hugh DeLong
