This is our final study from the Old Testament book of Judges. Join Pastor Jim as he walks us through the outcome of Israel’s idolatry and what we can learn from their mistakes. There’s also abundant hope seen in the tenacity of God’s grace toward repeat sinners from the text of this ancient story!
Sermon Notes
The repeated themes found in the book of Judges are:
- “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” occurs 7 times!
(Judges 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1) - “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
[Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:2] - Apostasy
- Anarchy
- Assimilation
- Idolatry
“And gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.”
Joni Eareckson Tada
“We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”
C. S. Lewis
Mere Christianity
1. The Predicament of Human Idolatry
“In those days there was no king in Israel and everyone did that which was right in their own eyes.”
Judges 21:25
“No other book in the Old Testament offers the modern church as telling a mirror as this book. This is a wake-up call for a church moribund (on its deathbed) in its own selfish pursuits. Instead of heeding the call of truly godly leaders and letting Jesus Christ be Lord of the church, everywhere congregations and their leaders do what is right in their own eyes.”
Daniel Block
Judges-Ruth
“Our human predicament is not ignorance, but sin. The solution to it lies not inside ourselves but outside. The true good news is not that I can awaken to my true self as being divine, but that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”
John Stott
2. The Tenacity of YHWH’s Grace
“Jesus came the first time, and he is coming again, as the king over all kings. King of Israel, king of all the nations, king of nature and the universe. Until he comes again, there is a day of amnesty and forgiveness and patience. He still rides a donkey and not yet a white war-horse with a rod of iron. He is ready to save all who receive him as Savior and Treasure and King. Come to him. Know him. Receive him. Live your life in allegiance to him.”
John Piper