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Before we jump into the 4th cycle out of the 7 cycles of Judges, let’s do a quick review to get our bearings.
Starting at the very beginning, Israel subdued the land of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership.
However, soon after Israel fell into idolatry.
God responded by sending a nation from the territory of Edom to punish them.
When things became too unbearable, Israel cried out for help.
God responded by sending a savior named Othniel to rescue them.
Othniel judged Israel for some years but after he died, Israel fell right back into idolatry.
Then God responded again by sending the Moabites to persecute the tribes in the southeastern territories.
When things became unbearable, Israel again cried out for help.
And God responded yet again by sending another savior in the form of Ehud.
After 80 years of rest, Ehud passed away and Israel slipped into idolatry again.
Meanwhile, on the west coast of Israel, the very same phenomenon was repeating itself.
The Israelite tribes in the western regions, apparently oblivious to what happened to their brothers in the east, were having their own fun flirting with idolatry.
And of course, God couldn’t ignore it.
He responded by sending the Philistines to punish them.
And yet again, when the oppression became too unbearable, Israel cried out for help.
So the Lord responded by sending a judge named Shamgar to rescue them.
And here we are right back where we started with yet another another group of Israelite tribes going hog wild and falling into idolatry all over again.
I don’t know about you.
But I’m seeing my own cyclical struggle with sin in my life here.
I fall into sin, God judges me, I feel remorse and repent, life is good, I start to take God’s blessings for granted and fall into sin yet again.
And this happens over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and again and again.
In fact, I’m embarrassed to say I fell into sin yet again last night (the temptation common to all high testosterone men) and I know in some form or another, the Lord is gonna make me pay.
Is there any way to break this vicious cycle?
We saw it with the Israelite tribes thousands of years ago.
And we see it in our own lives today.
Alrighty, here’s what you homies need to know.
And like a lot of stuff on this site, this ain’t something you’re gonna hear from your friendly neighborhood pastor of gentile origin.
Because he has no idea.
The Lord was trying to communicate something really important to Israel through all these repeating cycles of apostasy and deliverance.
Have any idea what it might be?
Don’t fall into the ridiculous Christian trap that He was trying to convince Israel that of their own power they couldn’t keep His commands.
That’s the farthest thing the Lord was trying to communicate.
Here’s the answer.
God was trying to show Israel they could NOT live properly without a king.
That it was impossible to rule themselves.
And here’s the thing.
This doesn’t just apply to Israel.
It applies to all of mankind.
However, a serious problem arose.
The kind of King the Lord wanted for Israel was a king like Joshua.
In other words, a king who would be a servant to both Hashem and the people.
However, Israel didn’t want a king like Joshua.
They wanted a king like their gentile neighbors.
You may ask why in the world would Israel want to leave behind their individual tribal freedoms to be ruled by a central government controlled by one king?
The answer is because in our own human nature, we truly want to be ruled by a king.
And if you want evidence of this, just look at the world today.
Amidst all of the pain and chaos going on right now, the world is crying out for a king.
They desperately want someone to step in and just freakin’ fix everything.
Because it seems like the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket right now.
That’s why the world is looking for a savior.
Don’t be fooled by the arrogant communists or atheists.
Every group of mankind no matter where they’re located on the planet deep down inside is seeking a savior.
And a savior will indeed come.
In fact, two saviors are on their way to us.
One will be a savior of God’s choosing.
The other will be a savior chosen by Satan.
I pray God will give you the wisdom to know which one is which when it happens.
I’ll give you a hint.
The law breaker, the one who says he has done away with God’s Law.
That’s the evil one.
Let him who has ears to hear, listen.
In this country, The USA didn’t want a king, they wanted a president who would save us from the evil King George, who by the way: was a devout Christian. The man chosen for this country’s “KING” (president) was something on the order of “OTHER” than a Christian {mason}. 240 yrs later we were clamoring for a King that would be our SAVIOUR but what we got was a person who does not serve God or His fellow men.
Interesting comment George. Thanks for sharing.