HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 586
Judges
H AV E Y O U E V E R N O T I C E D that the pinnacle of success is often
the doorway to failure? You’ve seen it before. Someone succeeds,
becomes prosperous or famous, and at the point where he or she could
be a great influence for God, falls deep into sin. How many sports
heroes who could be role models have instead boasted of their immoral
lifestyles? How many prosperous people have used their prosperity to
walk away from God? We have seen this in others. We see it again in
Judges. But are we perceptive enough to see it in ourselves and catch
ourselves before it is too late?
The story of Judges is a story of conquest and vicWhat you will be
reading about
tory, followed by pride and related sin, followed
by defeat, followed by repentance, begging God
1:1–2:5
The Israelites fail to
for help. Then the cycle starts over—victory, then
completely conquer
pride and sin, and so on. It is a never-ending
the land
story. Too often, this is the cycle of life for each of
2:6 –3:11
us. In our nothingness, we beg God for help. He
Disobedience, disaster,
gives us the victory. At the pinnacle of celebraand deliverance
tion, we allow personal pride to take over: “I did
3:12-31
it!” Pride brings sin and sin brings defeat. In our
The story of Ehud
nothingness, once more we cry out to God—and
4:1– 5:31
he once more delivers us.
The story of Deborah
The period of the judges was a time of national
6:1– 9:57
darkness, the early dark ages of Israel. But stars
The story of Gideon
shone in the dark skies, names that remind us
10:1–12:15
of heroic deeds, names such as Ehud, DeboThe story of Jephthah
rah, Gideon, and Samson. These were imperfect
13:1–16:31
people like us, people with flaws. But they recogThe story of Samson
nized that God alone could offer deliverance from
17:1– 21:25
sin’s consequences. And so they got their personal
Two stories of immorality
lives straight with God and then, in most cases,
got the rest of the nation to do the same.
There are great similarities between the culture of Israel during the time of
the judges and our culture today. In victory and prosperity a nation forgets God.
But stars shine in the darkness, and God uses them. The never-ending cycle of
defeat to victory, victory to defeat, continues into our day.
In a very real way, this cycle continues in our personal lives also. As we read the
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