Glory to God! Hallelujah! The Lord has been good to us throughout the past week as He has been good to us all the days of our life. He is the One who created us in His image and likeness, and sustained us with everything we need so far in life. He continues to remain faithful to us as He chose and sanctified us and transformed our life from the inside out. He is our good Shepherd (Psalm 23:1; John 10:11, 14) and the anchor of trust and hope as we worship, adore, and serve Him all the days of our lives. He is the One who sent His One and only Son Jesus Christ, who is called Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11), to this lowly earth to deliver/save those who accept Him as the Lord and Savior of their life from the bondage of sin and death (John 3:16). Let us be grateful to Him for all that He has done for us and serve Him faithfully all the days of our life!

The Lord blessed us with an optimistic and promising Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week that is taken from Judges 2:16 (mentioned above). The book of Judges narrates the history of Israel during the rule of judges – an era after the death of Joshua (Judges 1:1a), the successor of Moses following Israel’s conquest and occupation of Canaan [the promised land], and prior to the inception of monarchial rule in Israel (1 Samuel 8:4-5). Nevertheless, the ministries of Eli [as priest and judge] and Samuel [as priest, prophet, and judge] are not included in the book as they were mentioned in the early part of the book of First Samuel (1 Samuel 1:9; 3:20; 4:18; 7:5-12, 15). Regarding the authorship of the book, it is still unclear that who exactly wrote the book of Judges and when it was written since there is no clear evidences recorded either in the Scriptures or in Jewish traditions. However, many Jewish Bible historians, scholars, and others believe that Samuel the priest, prophet, and Judge who gathered the historical factors [which happened prior to his lifetime following Israelites’ settlement in Canaan under the leadership of Joshua] and recorded the key incidents that happened during his life-time [that is, from his boyhood through prior to his death / 1 Samuel 1:24-28; 2:26; 3:1, 19-21; 15:34-35a; 16:1, 11-13; 25:1] and compiled it together as one document, which later titled as the book of Judges.  The book mainly speaks about all that happened in Israel after their invasion and settlement in Canaan, especially during the rule of judges. Prior to the time of Judges, we can learn from the Scriptures that God fulfilled His promise of giving the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a land that would become their inheritance for generations to come, as it is mentioned:

So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (Joshua 21:43-45).

We can understand from the Scriptures that as time passed and the Israelites settled down and established themselves in the land the Lord their God gave them as inheritance as He had promised to their ancestors [particularly, from the time God called and separated Abraham for His purpose / Genesis 12:7; 17:8; Exodus 6:8], they turned their back on the Lord, the God of their ancestors, as they worshipped the idols of other nations as gods and deities who were not god at all, as it is stated: For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens (1 Chronicles 16:26). His people continued to rebel and sin against the Lord their God despite His warning to them through His servant Joshua: God warned them, saying: If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you (Joshua 24:20). What we can understand from the book of Judges is that the Israelites [God’s chosen people / Exodus 19:5-6; Deuteronomy 7:6; 1 Peter 2:9] who served the Lord faithfully by seeing and experiencing all the great things the Lord had done for them during the time of Joshua and the elders of the people who outlived him (Judges 2:7) gradually abandoned the Lord, the God of Israel, and neglected following the righteous laws and decrees and commands He had given their forefathers through His servants, especially Moses (Leviticus 26:46; 2 Kings 17:13; Jeremiah 25:4-5; Malachi 4:4), as it is stated:

The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel … After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the LORD’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths (Judges 2:7, 10-13; also refer to: Deuteronomy 29:25; 2 Chronicles 24:18; Jeremiah 17:13; 2 Kings 17:11, 8; 21:2).

Despite God’s immense blessings upon the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whom He had chosen for Himself (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-17; Exodus 6:8; 1 Peter 2:10]), they became more and more unfaithful and rebellious against Him as they settled down and established themselves in the land the Lord their God had given them as inheritance. The Scriptures state that they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, and walked in their own ways and the ways of the people whom the Lord God had drove out from the land He gave to His people Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes, as it is mentioned that … everyone did as they saw fit (Judges 21:25). Thus, the people whom the Lord had chosen for Himself abandoned Him and worshipped other gods and did evil right before Him, as it is clearly mentioned in the Scripture that The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs (Judges 3:7). As a result, the Lord’s anger burned against them and He too abandoned them and handed them over to their enemies all around who plundered them and oppressed them in every sense:

They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the LORD’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In his anger against Israel the LORD gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress (Judges 2:12b-15).

Yet, God, being compassionate and loving (Psalm 103:8, 13; 116:5; 145:8), and remembering His covenant with Abraham – His friend (Genesis 17:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23); Isaac – a son whom the Lord God promised to Abraham (Genesis 17:19; 18:10; 21:1-3; 26:3-4, 24); and Jacob – God’s chosen servant (Genesis 28:13-15; 35:11-12; Psalm 105:9-10; 135:4; Isaiah 41:8; 44:1), could not remain silent when His chosen people were in great distress as their enemies were oppressing them. When they cried out to the Lord their God for help as they repented and returned to Him, He came to their aid and raised up judges who, with His help, saved them from the hands of their enemies, as it is mentioned: Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders (Judges 2:16). God raised judges (both men and women) when people rebelled against Him as a result of their deteriorated state spiritually, communally, socially, and morally. God supernaturally empowered these judges with power and authority to restore and deliver/save His people from their enemies’ oppression and lead and guide them morally, spiritually, socially, and politically. Nevertheless, whenever these judges delivered them from the oppression of their enemies and when they felt safe in the land, they repeated the similar mistakes of forsaking the Lord their God and turning themselves to other gods and worshiping them, as it is stated: Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors [ancestors like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and so on], who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands (Judges 2:17). Throughout the book of Judges, we can notice a pattern that goes round and round, like this – God’s compassion and blessings upon His people, their rebellion against Him when they are blessed and felt safe in the land, God’s punishment upon them as He hands them over to their enemies who would oppress them in response to their rebellion against Him, then the people will cry out to Him for help, then He would raise up judges who would deliver them from their enemies and He would continue to bless His people; again, when His people are blessed and felt safe in the land, they would forsake Him and sin against Him, then He punishes them, then they will cry out to Him and He comes for their help and rescue them; again, they will forsake Him and He will hand them over to their enemies and again they will cry out to Him for help and He comes to deliver them from the hands of their enemies. As we read through the book of Judges, we can notice such a pattern continues generation after generation. Despite their ongoing unfaithfulness and rebellion against Him, God raised up judges to deliver them whenever they cried out to Him for help, as it is mentioned: Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them (Judges 2:18).

Although there was a constantly disrupted relationship between God and His chosen people Israel, He neither abandoned them utterly nor destroyed them completely, rather He just disciplined them time to time in order to bring them back to the kind of relationship He had with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The judges whom the Lord God raised to deliver His people from their enemies acted on God’s behalf and served as military leaders, community/social leaders, spiritual leaders, and mediators between God and His people. They were vested with divine power and authority and dignity. Some of the notable judges whom the Lord, the God of Israel, raised to deliver [and rule] His people were: Othniel (Judges 3:7-11); Ehud (Judges 3:12-30); Shamgar (Judges 3:31); Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:1-5:31); Gideon (Judges 6:1-8:35); Abimelech (Judges 9:1-57); Tola (Judges 10:1-2); Jair (Judges 10:3-5); Jephthah (Judges 10:6-12:7); Ibzan (Judges 12:8-10); Elon (Judges 12:11-12); Abdon (Judges 12:13-15); Samson (Judges 13:1-16:31). In addition to these judges, Eli [the priest] (1 Samuel 4:18) and Samuel [priest and prophet] also served as judges in Israel (1 Samuel 7:15-17) along with their other God-given ministry responsibilities [like priestly, prophetic, and so on].

As we read the Scripture from beginning till end, we can notice that many people kept falling back and forth in their spiritual walk with God as result of forsaking Him as the God of their lives and not following His righteous laws and decrees and commands in its entirety. Many of them who are chosen by God kept on going back and forth in their moral and spiritual life. For instance: Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-24); Cain (Genesis 4:1-16); the generation prior to Noah (Genesis 6:1-7); the generation after Noah (Genesis 11:1-9); and many among the following generations ever since. Apostle Matthew quoted Jesus in his writing, saying:

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved … For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:10-13, 24).

In a similar manner, many of us who maintain a close relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may also fail to remain faithful to Him who laid down His life for ours’ sake (Matthew 20:28; John 15:13; Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:16). Despite all that is going on around us, we need to keep in mind the fact that the righteous people remain faithful to God and follow His righteous laws and decrees and commands wholeheartedly no matter what happens around them. For instance, Abel remained faithful to God and gave his best to the Lord (Genesis 4:4); Enoch remained faithful to God and walked with God (Genesis 5:21-24); Noah walked faithfully before God in a wicked and corrupt generation (Genesis 6:8-12); Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3); and so on.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, as we conclude this week’s SftW meditation, let us draw closer to God more than ever before and live a fruitful life as we serve in the vineyards of God’s Kingdom on earth. Though there might be some differences between the world we live in today (a modern and advanced/developed world) and the one the Israelites lived in thousands of years ago (an ancient world), the  human approach towards God did not change much. Many who acknowledged the Lord as Sovereign God and trusted Him were baffled between the choice of following Him faithfully and following their own ideologies (trusting in oneself more than trusting the God who created them). Remember, it is our call to trust Him faithfully and follow Him uncritically. Let us be a people who seek Him with a sincere heart and be grateful for all that He has done for us. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!