The Judges of ancient Israel were raised up by God, empowered by God and used by God to deliver God’s repeatedly wayward people. And yet, each of the Judges themselves and the overall storyline of the book about these Judges point forward to an ultimate deliverer and judge, Jesus Christ. Join Pastor Jim as he connects the dots for us between these ancient personalities from the Old Testament and the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Sermon Notes
“God seldom gives his people up to monotony but leaves them vivid episodes to remember.”
Dale Ralph Davis
Repeating cycle of spiritual decline in Judges:
1. Rebellion
2. Retribution
3. Repentance
4. Rescue & Restoration
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!
(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 21:25
Three things we are told about the Judges:
- God raised up the judges
- God was ‘with’ the judges
- God delivered His wayward people through these judges
Four things the children of Israel had done:
- Forgotten the Word of God
- Forsaken the God of the Word
- Formed covenants with pagan cultures
- Followed and served other gods
“Every moment in every circumstance we stand on the brink between the lure of idolatry and the delight of seeing and knowing God.”
John Piper
“A God of whom we never think is all the same to us as a God who does not exist. Strike God out of a life, and you strike the sun out of the system, and wrap all in darkness and weltering chaos.”
Alexander Maclaren
Three things about the God of the Bible:
- Gets properly angry at sin
- Allows real consequences to follow sin
- Takes the initiative to offer grace
“In God’s case, God’s wrath flows from his love for his creation. He is angry at injustice, greed, selfcenteredness, and evil because they are destructive. And God will not tolerate anything or anyone responsible for destroying the creation and the people that he loves.”
Tim Keller, The Reason for God
What do Jesus and the NT say about the wrath of God?
- “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” – John 3:36
- “More then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” – Romans 5:9
- “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” -1 Thessalonians 5:9
“There is nothing more essential for the people of God than to hear their God repeating to them amid all their changing circumstances, ‘I will be with you’ or ‘I will not forsake you.’”
Dale Ralph Davis