Judges Review

The book of Judges is filled with what I refer to as cycles of faith.  The people of Israel would at first be faithful to God, though not always totally faithful, then God would bless them with prosperity, then new generation would grow up that didn't know God, and He would allow them to be defeated. They would then cry out to God, and He would raise up a judge to deliver them, and the cycle would repeat once again.  We as followers of Christ should never fall into this pattern, but we often do, except for the raising up of a judge.  Our Judge and Deliverer is Jesus Christ, and instead of Him being raised up again, we simply need to repent of any sin we might commit, and by our faith in Him, we will be restored to a right relationship with God.  Just as the people of Israel did not stop being God's Chosen People when they turned away from Him, neither do we stop being a part of God's kingdom if we allow sin back into our life once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Even though we like the people of Israel may stop receiving the blessings of God during such times, God stands ready to forgive us if we turn to Him again.  The book of Judges begins after the death of Joshua, when there was no successor appointed to rule over Israel.  We are told several times tha their was no king in Israel during these times, but they really didn't need one.  What they needed was a man, or in one case a woman, called by God to lead them under His direction.  This is what we still need today.  At least we will never be in this situation of not having a spiritual leader as Christians, because the Holy Spirit indwells us to guide our actions if we listen to Him.  We then have a record of the people of Israel conquering the Promised Land, though even then thay did not completely obey God, leaving some of the people in the land still alive.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we cannot leave any sin still alive in our life if we want to successfully follow Him.  Also, during their times when they forgot God they were without a judge, or leader of the nation.  Of course, God was really their ruler, if they had only allowed Him to be.  If we are without a preacher, or religious leader today, we still have the Holy Spirit to guide us.