In this week’s reading we finished up the book of Judges. I want to bring us to the final verse of the book of Judges, which reads, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.” (CSB) When reading through the book of Judges we see some triumphs and we see some downfalls in Israel, but the book ends with an overarching feel of defeat or helplessness. There is no fairy tale ending to the book of Judges, in fact it is rather sad and depressing.
When we look at the cycle of Judges we see five parts to each, with Israel first in sin, then oppression, which leads to repentance and then deliverance (through a Judge), and ends with peace… and then they cycle back through. As this continues from Judge to Judge we see more and more corruption even within the leaders. Then the book ends with the verse “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.” This whatever he wanted statement was not a positive statement. It is showing that Israel has gone from being set apart as God’s to becoming more and more like those around them, doing whatever they wanted.
The end of the book of Judges looks rather bleak, but as we continue to read through 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, we will see God raise up kings for His people, and through His covenant with David the hope of the coming Messiah. Thankfully the Biblical Narrative does not end with Judges, but continues to first and second Samuel and first and second Kings, and then we get to the New Testament and the Gospels and we can see the full picture of redemptive history all the way to the Second Coming and Eternity with Christ. Although reading through Judges can get tough, don’t forget it does not end there, history will end when Christ comes and gathers His people to live with Him for eternity.
Let us not become our own masters deciding for ourselves what is right or wrong as Israel did here, but let us rely on God’s Word for our morality and live not gratifying the desires of the flesh, but live by His Spirit!
Thanks for reading,
Pastor Josh
Also if you have the time check out the Bible Project and watch the video on the book of Judges.
https://thebibleproject.com/explore/judges/