Letter From God 9
The Israelites Reject Their Lord KingFaithful God Sends Judges to Deliver
WRITING "LETTER FROM GOD" 9
Judges covers about three hundred years of
Jewish history after Joshua's death. Joshua did not appoint someone
to follow him. God wanted His people to look to their Lord King. When
the Israelites rejected their Lord King,
God sent judges to deliver them. Although
these days were dark and sometimes ugly, it was fascinating to see God's
plan unfolding in history.
In studying the Judges, we were thrilled to
see the winner believer Judge Othniel fight and win the battle over
the king of Mesopotamia (Iran today). We stood in awe as the left-handed
Judge Ehud plotted and killed the oppressor King Eglon of Moab. We watched
as Judge Deborah and her General Barak fought and defeated Commander
Sisera with his huge army and nine hundred chariots. We were amazed
to see how a woman named Jael was able to kill Commander Sisera with
a tent peg!
With weapons of trumpets and clay pot with
torches, Judge Gideon and his band of three hundred prepared warriors
defeated one hundred thirty-five thousand Arab soldiers. Gideon's band
had followed God's instructions exactly.
We discovered how the self-made king of Israel,
Abimeleck, was killed when a woman dropped a millstone on his head.
We then studied the sad story of Jephhah and his desperate vow. Who
could believe the super strength of Judge Samson in his conflicts with
the Philistines?
It was interesting to note the different type
of judges God chose to deliver the Jews. Each judge seemed right for
their mission. Most of the judges were the Jew's military leaders.
The author of Judges wrote these lessons when
Israel was in their dark days to show us the problems the Jews had when
they rejected their Lord God and His Law. Hopefully, we will not repeat
their wrong thinking. We need to store God's letter in our souls to
protect us from sinning against Him, Psalm 119:11.
