Let’s get our bearings of where we’re at in our preamble to the Book of Judges.
FIRST, recall what the true Biblical definition of a Shofet or Judge is.
Remember, it’s not some somber looking dude wearing a black robe arbitrating over a variety of civil or criminal charges in a courtroom.
No, a true Judge according to the Bible was one who functioned as a savior or rescuer of Israel for a select number of tribes during times of persecution.
SECOND, the number of Judges will vary depending on which scholar’s definition of a judge you hold to.
This number can vary anywhere from between 12 to 16.
THIRD, the period of judges is considered to have started when Joshua’s leadership ended around 1300 BC and finished when Saul became King around 1020 BC.
FOURTH, we know the Israelite tribes operated as a loosely held-together alliance bound together by common blood and a devotion to the covenant God made with them through Moses.
I used the Greek word AMPHICTONY to describe this phenomenon of being a loosely held-together confederation.
Onward.
Let’s next take a quick look at the situation as it existed when Israel was transitioning from rulership under Joshua to the time just before being thrust into the period of Judges.
Under ideal circumstances, Israel should have went from being ruled by a strong central leadership under Joshua to accepting the Lord their God as their king.
And they should have bowed down to the Levitical priesthood as God’s earthly messengers.
Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out that way,
Instead, Israel became more like the Wild West with every man for himself.
There wasn’t a united train of thought or behavior that held the Israelites together during this time.
The truth be told, God’s high standards as reflected in Moses’ and Joshua’s leadership wasn’t necessarily something your average Hebrew was all excited about.
Your average Hebrew was too busy raising his family and making a living growing his crops, tending to his farmland and shepherding his livestock.
And, let’s not forget Joshua’s final act as a leader.
I’m talking about the covenant renewal ceremony he held.
During this ceremony, he begged the people to throw away their false gods and idols.
But again, because of the people’s tendency towards idolatry, this plea fell on deaf ears.
We’re gonna see that Israel soon put themselves on a path to destruction.
Finally, we have to come to terms with the fact that at the end of the day Joshua failed to completely conquer the land.
God’s command was either drive the Canaanite tribes out or utterly destroy them.
There was to be no wiggle room here.
But instead, what did Joshua and his men end up doing?
Under the guise of being “politically correct” and keeping the peace with his gentile neighbors, Joshua compromised and entered into peace treaties with his sworn enemies.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Tolerance at all costs” was the overriding theme of the day.
You know what happens when you compromise on God’s eternal commands and principles?
You lose that divine spark or divine fire to wanna go out and kick some serious butt for the Lord.
This is exactly what happened with the 12 tribes of Israel.
They lost their passion and desire to finish the work Joshua had begun in conquering the land of Canaan.
But rest assured, when the second Y’hoshua comes back, he’s gonna finish the job.
So folks, make no mistake about it.
You know all those troubles we’re seeing in the Middle East today?
The root cause is Joshua’s failure to completely drive out the Canaanites from the land of Canaan, period.
That IS the reason we have a Middle East crisis today.
And this is the very reason the whole world is gonna spiral out of control.
In the end days, Israel is gonna be viewed as a rebellious “problem child” who is getting in the way of world peace.
It’s gonna be the world against Israel.
And the world is gonna lose.
Why?
Because God is with Israel.
God will ALWAYS be with Israel.
And one with God is always a majority.
Over and out homies.
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