The Judges
When we normally think of judges we think of those who preside in court and decide on cases, or at least are in charge of the legal proceedings. But in the bible it refers to the leaders God sent to Israel when they cried out to him after being oppressed by foreign nations because they had fallen away from God's covenant with them. The judge would lead the people back into repentance and they begin to prosper once again. But then they fall back into unfaithfulness and the pattern is repeated again.
Later God through the prophet Samuel sent them a King, Saul. And finally, as Paul recounts Israel's salvation history there came King David whose descendants led to Jesus. So we see throughout the Old Testament of God blessing and prospering one generation and then the next generation forgets the promises given to their forefathers. Finally, God sent the ultimate judge Jesus, who not only judged the people for their sin, but became the substitute that took on their sin on the cross.
So I wonder how differently we are than our ancestors and fathers of the faith, who have had passed on the faith to us. Some pessimists say that the next generation in our country is falling further and further from God and becoming more readily influenced by the culture around them. Whether this is true or not I think the main thing is that we who are believers should make passing on faith to the next generation one of our strongest priorities. And it starts with our own families if we have kids. I wonder if each adult reached out and took an active interest in one person under 18, besides their own kids. In most congregations, adults outnumber kids 2 to 1. That means all the kids and teens in our community could be influenced and discipled by a caring adult, and this could spill out into kids outside the church as well.
God desire is that all people would be saved but he has also given us the charge to go and make disciples of all people starting with those closest to us. As we do this we can break the pattern shown above and be part of the greatest purpose on earth, God's Great Commission.
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139:13-18
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Judges 2:16-23
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 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, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 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. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of people.
Acts 13:16-25
16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
Later God through the prophet Samuel sent them a King, Saul. And finally, as Paul recounts Israel's salvation history there came King David whose descendants led to Jesus. So we see throughout the Old Testament of God blessing and prospering one generation and then the next generation forgets the promises given to their forefathers. Finally, God sent the ultimate judge Jesus, who not only judged the people for their sin, but became the substitute that took on their sin on the cross.
So I wonder how differently we are than our ancestors and fathers of the faith, who have had passed on the faith to us. Some pessimists say that the next generation in our country is falling further and further from God and becoming more readily influenced by the culture around them. Whether this is true or not I think the main thing is that we who are believers should make passing on faith to the next generation one of our strongest priorities. And it starts with our own families if we have kids. I wonder if each adult reached out and took an active interest in one person under 18, besides their own kids. In most congregations, adults outnumber kids 2 to 1. That means all the kids and teens in our community could be influenced and discipled by a caring adult, and this could spill out into kids outside the church as well.
God desire is that all people would be saved but he has also given us the charge to go and make disciples of all people starting with those closest to us. As we do this we can break the pattern shown above and be part of the greatest purpose on earth, God's Great Commission.
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139:13-18
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Judges 2:16-23
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 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, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 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. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of people.
Acts 13:16-25
16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
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