Judges

Purpose of Judges: to show that God’s judgement against sin is certain, and his forgiveness of sin and restoration of relationships with us are just as certain for those who ask for forgiveness and follow him

end of Joshua: 24:

¹⁹ Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”

²¹ But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”

²² “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”

“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”

Joshua ends with the people of Israel devoting themselves fully to God

• After Joshua dies we see the people of Israel slack in their commitment
• In one of their battles they fail to kill all the people in the land as God had commanded, this started the decline of their loyalty
  • because of this God was no longer helping them win their battles
  • this created a downward spiral of sin
  • Israelites began to live among the Canaanites, Amorites (those living against the Lord) and they eventually began to marry them too
• They cried out to God for help so he sent a series of judges 
• Judges functions
  • saviors (delivers) and redeemers (Gideon)
  • providers of rest and peace (Ehud and Jair)
  • famous and powerful (Samson)
  • leaders of the nation (Othniel and Deborah)
  • **each demonstrated that God’s judgment follows abandonment of religious belief, while repentance brings restoration
  • the majority of them were prophets
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• Judges 10
  • The Ammonites Oppress Israel
    
    6 Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They served the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at all. 7 So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites, 8 who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites (that is, in Gilead). 9 The Ammonites also crossed to the west side of the Jordan and attacked Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.
    The Israelites were in great distress. 10 Finally, they cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “We have sinned against you because we have abandoned you as our God and have served the images of Baal.”
    11 The Lord replied, “Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried out to me for help, and I rescued you. 13 Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”
    15 But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and said, “We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.” 16 Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery.

So where is Jesus?

Jesus was considered to be a judge:

• John 5 
  19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.
  24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
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• Jesus was given the power of a judge, just like the other judges in the old testament 
• he played a slightly different role than them though, considering there were kings over the Israelite
• but remember, Jesus was also King of the Jews
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• Takeaway: When we stray from God, he will continue to be there for us. 
  • there is not judgement without the chance for redemption