You Need A King!

Most of us, we would say, are probably suckers for a tragic story with a happy ending.

We don't mind a bit of drama. In fact, some of us probably enjoy a bit of a drama,

whether we would admit it or not. We don't mind so much drama, but as long as we can anticipate

at the end of that story, or at the end of that movie, or at the end of that book,

there is a happy ending that we might enjoy, we are drawn into those stories and encouraged by them.

The problem is, when we come to the book of Judges, and we take it as a unit on its own,

you will find no such joyful climax as you hope you would find in most stories.

It's actually quite a tragic book, and it ends in tremendous tragedy.

It's the opposite of the stories that we long for. In fact, the difference between the promising

notes of blessing at the book's beginning and the devastating circumstances of its conclusion

are shocking, maybe even offensive to some extent to our modern sensibilities.

Before we explore the heart of this particular series of narratives, I want to consider here,

just for a moment, its opening and its close. By doing that, maybe that will give us a path forward.

As we jump into this book today. You're in Judges chapter 1. Let me just read the first two verses,

Judges 1 · chapter mention

and we'll see how it begins.

After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord,

Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?

And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hand.

Now, that may not seem very much to you. There may not be a lot there. There actually is quite a bit

there for us to understand. Judges begins with the people of Israel on the brink of all that God

has promised them up to this point. So just think back. They've spent 400 years in exile.

Throughout those 400 years in exile and in bondage in Egypt, they have encouraged one another,

probably, mostly, on the promises that were given to their patriarchs, to Abraham and to Isaac and to

Jacob. Now they have been delivered from that bondage. They've spent some difficult years in the

wilderness, and they stand on the precipice of blessing now. The Lord has given the land into

their hand. All of these promises that he has made seem to be at their fingertips. That's what this book

is opening with. God has provided leadership through the tribe of Judah. God has assured them of success

in possessing the land of promise. And the people seem but steps away from enjoying a new type of Eden,

a new type of garden experience that they've been told about from Moses. So after hundreds of years in

bondage and in wilderness wonderings, they're on the verge of unimaginable blessing. And that's where

these opening verses link us back to. But like I said, that's not at all how the book ends. After a

devastating civil war in which one of Israel's tribes, Benjamin, almost is completely extinguished.

By the time you get to the end of the book, I think it's something like 600 people remain

in an entire tribe. It's devastating. And we find this refrain at the end of the book. And it's the

way that the author closes the book. In fact, if you just flip over to chapter 21, it's the very last

chapter. In the very last verse, you'll see this refrain working as something of a theme to summarize

the entire story of the book of Judges. Verse 25,

In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Now, when we read those first two verses, that is not what we anticipate being at the end of the book.

In the end, Israel is leaderless. In the beginning, God has given them leaders.

And not only has he just arbitrarily chosen this tribe of Judah, but as we'll find in the next few

weeks, he is actually fulfilling a promise that he made through the blessing of Jacob on his 12 sons,

highlighting Judah as the one that will lead the nation and from which will come a king who will

lead God's people. But when we get to the end of the book, they're leaderless. There is no king in

Israel. They have not possessed the land. And they have, instead of experiencing a new type of Eden,

they have actually experienced a new fall. God had designated them in Exodus chapter 19

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But by the end, Israel had become like all of the

other nations around her. And the question that we ask as we begin to consider this particular book is,

how does Israel go from chapter 1 and verse 1 to chapter 21 and verse 25? How do they do that?

How do they move from here, unimaginable blessing, right ready for them, to now they have completely

gone as far away from that blessing as they could possibly go by the time they get to the end of the book?

Is God unwilling to fulfill his promise? Worse, is he unable to fulfill his promise? What on earth

happens to these people? As we study the book, we'll discover that the primary issue at play with the

people of Israel is precisely the same problem that plagues each of us day by day and that plagues our

churches week by week and year by year in the church. It is an unending struggle against sin that we will

find. Now there's this thing that the book of Judges continues to say over and over. Everyone did what

was right in his own eyes. That's really what the problem boils down to. And it's not very different

from our own culture. We live in a follow your heart type of culture where self, the individual,

is what people are concerned with first and foremost above everything else. We can call it postmodernism

or expressive individualism or some other philosophical ism, but it's all rooted ultimately

in the ever-present sins of pride and idolatry and rebellion, selfishness. So that rather than love,

obey, and worship Yahweh, people generally spend their lives serving their own appetites and being concerned

with pursuing their own agendas. And what's amazing about the whole thing is that this type of self-centeredness

and self-focus is actually celebrated in our society. It's praised. In fact, you're told that healthy

human behavior, true mental health, involves first and foremost self-care. You must take care of self

before you concern yourself with anyone else. And that's more than just a simple take care of yourself.

We know what underlies that type of philosophy. You do you or follow your heart or do what's best

for you. Or as I heard one person say at one time, look out for number one and don't step in number two,

right? These are the things we hear all the time. These are the, this is the mindset. These are the

phrases that we and our children are being trained to live by. So like Israel as a culture, even

unfortunately as Christians, we find ourselves doing what is right in our own eyes. And of course,

this is the antithesis of biblical teaching. In fact, at the very heart of the Christian message

is Jesus, the son of God, wholly submitting himself to the father and sacrificing himself for the

salvation of undeserving sinners. The last thing on Jesus's mind, what is that? The heart of the gospel

message is not self-care. It is not doing what's best for you. It's actually servant-heartedness. It is

giving yourself for others. It is sacrificing yourself for those who do not deserve,

to be sacrificed for. This mindset, this cultural agenda is the opposite of everything that the

Bible stands for and that Christianity is supposed to represent as we follow Christ.

But still, Christians seem to fall prey to this seductive spirit of the age. And God has all kinds

of things to say about this in the Bible. But the book of Judges gives us one of the clearest pictures

of the devastating consequences of doing your own thing. What happens when you just live life your way?

What happens when you disregard everything else that everyone has said? When you disregard what God has

said and you just do you? What happens? Judges tells us. It's a story of God's people doing life their own

way regardless of what God's life their own way regardless of what God has said. But it's also a story of God's

enduring mercy and steadfast love. In fact, that's the thing that comes to the surface most clearly as we get to

the end. There's little hope in the book, unfortunately, except in the fact that it ultimately points us to Christ,

a king and champion that will and does reign over his people in perfect righteousness, not only now, but for all of

eternity. Ultimately, that's what Judges teaches us. There is no king in Israel, but there is a king. There is a king

coming for Israel and for the people of God who will do what none of these judges could do, who will do what Joshua could not do,

and what Moses could not do, and what Abraham could not do, and what Adam could not do, and what Noah could

not do. King Jesus is on the way, and this book is pointing us forward to him and to the gospel. So, Lord

willing, we're going to spend the next several months examining the details of really this fascinating book

and the fascinating stories that it contains. But what I'd like to do today is just this kind of simple

survey so that we might better prepare ourselves for the study moving forward, okay? First thing, there's not

really much of a structured outline for you, but if you want to keep notes in those journals that were on

your seats or whatever, the first thing maybe that we want to do is look back, okay? So, we want to look

back. Would you flip with me, please, to Joshua chapter 1? Joshua chapter 1.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention Joshua 1 · chapter mention

So, that to understand where we're going, we need to take a moment and kind of look over our shoulder,

so to speak, to see where we've already been or should have been at this point in the biblical text.

Now, we know this is necessary for us to do because the author has already said in chapter 1 and verse 1,

he's going to say it again in chapter 2, that all of this, the theming and the story, the plot line of this

book of Judges hinges, he's insisting on linking it to the death of Joshua. So, we know that if we're going to

understand Judges, we have to go back and see what was Joshua all about and what was happening there.

So, that just as the death of Jacob represents the end of the patriarchal period and the death of

Moses marks the end of the Exodus, the death of Joshua represents and marks the end of conquest

and points forward to the time of settlement in the land, okay? So, that's the link that's happening

here and I want to look at two particular texts. You're in Joshua chapter 1. Let's start there.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

Verse 1.

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun,

Moses' assistant, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, arise. Go over this Jordan,

you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, just as I promised to

Moses. From the wilderness in this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates,

all the land of the Hittites, to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your

territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses,

so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. So, be strong and courageous,

for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant,

commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success

wherever you go. In other words, if you do not do that, you will not have the success everywhere you go.

But so long as you listen to my word, you will have good success wherever you go.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night,

so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your

way prosperous, then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

So, God makes his plan for Joshua clear. He is to take up the mantle of leadership from Moses,

and he's to lead the people in the land that God has prepared for them. He's to teach them to trust

God's promises and obey God's law. Every word of it. Not only the things that says do this and don't do this,

but consider what all is contained in the Torah, in the law. It contains how they are to worship.

It contains instructions for what they are to do once they get into the land, and how they are to take the land,

and how they are to establish the kingdom from there. It has everything that they need

to function as the people of God once they move forward. And Joshua is told,

make sure to teach them God's law, to trust in God's promise. Nothing that God has said through

Moses is to be disregarded. And insofar as Joshua is faithful to lead the people, they will receive

the blessings of dwelling in the land. And Joshua was indeed faithful to that task. He wasn't a perfect

man, but he was faithful to the task that God gave him. And he leads the people valiantly,

and they conquer their enemies. So when we get to Judges, they are standing having conquered the

nation. There are remnants of people still there. They must still take possession, but there are no

kingdoms left in Canaan. Joshua, through the power of God, has defeated them. Now I want you to flip

ahead now to Joshua 23. Joshua 23, just toward the end of the book. So that after faithfully leading

the people, Joshua takes the charge that God has given him in chapter 1, and he now gives that same

charge, that same instruction to the entire nation in chapter 23. It's as if he's saying, look at what

God has done. He has proven himself to be faithful to his promise. He has kept his end of the covenant.

We must keep our end of the covenant. And he looks ahead with the people of Israel to settling the land

in the same way that he looked ahead to conquering the land. Chapter 23, verse 1.

A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies,

and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads,

its judges and officers, and said to them, I am now old and well advanced in years. And you have seen

all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake. For it is the Lord your God who

has fought for you. Behold, I've allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes, those nations

that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off from the Jordan to the great sea in

the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight, and you

shall possess their land just as the Lord your God promised. Therefore, be strong to keep and to do all

that's written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand

nor to the left. Now, remember this part, verse 7, that you may not mix with these nations remaining

among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to

them. But you shall cling to the Lord your God, just as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven

out before you great and strong nations, and as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to

this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you,

just as he promised you. So be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back

and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you, and make marriages with them, so that

you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer

drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides

and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

So Joshua delivers this charge. No mighty nations are left. God gave them the land. They only need now

to possess it by driving out the remnant of remaining people. But this is where they failed.

They did everything that God said not to do. After Joshua's death, they failed to possess the land.

They intermingled and intermarried with the Canaanites, and ultimately they forsook Yahweh to follow after

the Baals or the Baals and the Astaroth, the gods of Canaan. So that rather than driving out the inhabitants

and destroying the false worship that existed in Canaan, Israel became thoroughly Canaanized.

That's what this book tells us. They did not obey God. They did not take the land. They actually became

Canaan. So that the promised land, as I said before, it was meant to be this picture of a new kind of Eden

where God's people. And instead, Judges tells us of this fall. So that just like Adam and Eve,

God made clear to the people, this is my law. This is what you must do, and this is what you must not do.

And just like Adam and Eve, Israel did what was right in their own eyes instead. And this is always how sin works. Always.

God gives us His truth. We rebel against it, opting to pursue our own path instead.

And all of this is pointing toward the fact that we need a better Adam. We need a better Moses. We need a better Joshua.

We need Jesus. Okay? That's looking back. Now let's look at the structure of Judges. Okay? Are you with me still?

Good. Let's look at the structure. The macro structure of the book is really actually quite simple.

There's three major movements here. In literary terms, we would call it a prologue, which is the introduction.

That's chapter 1-1 through 3-6. Then there's the cycle of Judges. That's the main body of text.

That's 3-7 through 16-31. And then there's what we would call the epilogue, which is the very end of the book.

But to understand this and the function of this structure,

Barry Webb has illustrated it with the process of compiling a musical composition.

Some of you are musical people, and you will understand this. The others of you just do your best. Okay?

I think this is really a helpful way for us to understand this. There are three parts sometimes.

There could be more, but there are three parts to this composition, so to speak, of the book of Judges.

First, there's the overture. The overture.

Now, if you're into musicals, you know what the overture does. It opens up before anybody comes out on stage.

The orchestra strikes. They begin to play a melody, some harmonies.

They range in scope and in intensity.

And what you find is that it introduces what is coming ahead,

so that as you work your way through the musical composition,

you begin to hear repetition of what you hear in the overture.

Okay? That's what these first couple of chapters do.

The author here, probably Samuel, maybe later with a revision from Ezra,

is writing this, most likely one of those two men.

And he is introducing for us things that we're going to continue to hear all throughout the book.

That's the overture.

Then there's the variations.

The variations is the main body of the composition,

with each part distinct, yet clearly woven into this tapestry

that presents this huge picture, this main message and point and plot line

that goes along through the musical or whatever it is that you're considering at that moment.

So there's different scenes that are taking place, and there's different characters,

but it's all basically telling one big story.

That's the cycle of Judges.

Okay?

And then we get to the end, and this is the coda.

Okay?

The coda brings the composition to a satisfying conclusion.

And what it does is it summarizes,

summarizes for us the overall point of the story.

Now, here's what I want to do real quick.

I want to take these three sections and just give you a taste

of what we're going to learn in these three sections,

and then we're going to come back and look at the overall message as we finish.

Okay?

First, let's consider this overture.

Okay?

In the overture, verses chapter 1 and verse 1 through chapter 3 and verse 6,

connects the story in chapter 1 to the death of Joshua,

showing in a general sense how Israel failed to do all that God had commanded.

We get to chapter 2 then,

and the nation is confronted by the angel of the Lord,

who pronounces judgment against the people.

And then we're introduced to what will be this cycle repeated over and over and over throughout the book.

And there's five parts to the cycle.

Okay?

Part 1 is this.

The people rebel against God.

Look at chapter 2, verse 11.

The people rebel against God,

and the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.

Or the Baals.

Okay?

So that's part 1 of the cycle.

Part 2.

God delivers them into the hands of their enemies.

Verse 14 of chapter 2.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,

and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them,

and he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies

so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.

Okay?

That's God's doing.

That's part 2.

Part 3.

The people cry out to the Lord.

Now, this doesn't happen in every cycle,

but it's usually there.

Look at the second part of verse 18.

Then the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning

because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

We'll find this usually spoken of in terms of the people

cried out to the Lord regarding their oppression,

and then the Lord responds.

Okay?

So that's part 4.

God raises up a judge who delivers the people and provides rest.

Verse 16 of chapter 2.

Then the Lord raised up judges

who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered.

And then there's the final part of the cycle,

and it all begins again.

The judge dies, and the people again rebel against God.

Verse 19.

Whenever the judge died,

they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers,

going after other gods,

serving them, bowing down to them.

They did not drop any of their practices

or their stubborn ways.

It's a vicious cycle for Israel.

They rebel.

God judges them by delivering them to their enemies.

They cry out to God.

God raises up a judge,

sometimes wicked men in and of themselves.

He raises up this judge,

delivers the people out of their oppression.

Then the judge dies,

and the people return back to the rebellion.

And over and over and over and over it goes.

But the cycle,

what we find is that it's more than repetition.

It's a downward spiral.

So that with each story,

the sins worsen,

the rest is shortened,

and the judges get more and more corrupt.

And eventually,

the people don't even bother

to call out for mercy any longer.

Sin is never stagnant.

That's the message.

It's never stagnant.

It always grows.

It always worsens.

And if you think for even a moment

that you can somehow maintain

this measure of sinfulness

or sinful pleasure in your life

without it going too far

or what you consider to be too far,

then you're already blind

to how pervasive sin

already is in your life.

In the end,

you will ultimately completely reject God

and turn to self or to some other God.

That's the cycle of sin

for the nation of Israel.

Okay?

We find all that in the overture.

We're going to see all that repeated

through the book.

Let's look at the variations.

This is beginning in chapter 3 and verse 7

and takes us through the end of chapter 16.

And it's the main body of text

which takes us through six of these cycles.

And in these six cycles,

we are acquainted with 12 what's called judges.

Six of them are minor judges.

They're just really just mentioned by name.

The exception to that is a man named Shamgar.

Shamgar who kills people

with an ox code.

That's all we get.

We get his name and we get an ox code.

He doesn't even have a sword.

The rest of them,

we just get their name.

Okay?

So six minor ones.

And then,

but the main storyline in the plot line,

it moves through six major judges

is what we would call them.

And it's important for us to realize

at the beginning,

they are not laid out chronologically.

There is overlap with these judges.

They are laid out theologically in the book

so that they progressively worsen the judges themselves.

By the time,

we start with Othniel,

who basically is the golden boy of the judges.

By the time you get to Samson,

who is the last one,

he is the worst.

I mean,

he's terrible.

There is almost nothing good

about Samson and Jephthah

and barely anything good about Gideon.

We're going to find that they get worse

and worse and worse

representing the culture of Israel

in which they live.

So they're not laid out chronologically.

They're laid out theologically.

And there's two groups of them.

So let's just walk through the two groups quickly.

Group one starts with Othniel

and it's signaled by this phrase,

and the people of Israel did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

Okay?

Two other judges are grouped with Othniel

and it's signaled by specific phrases.

The second one is Ehud or Ehud,

whichever way you want to say it.

I don't know what's right.

I'll probably say it both ways.

And the people of Israel again did evil

in the sight of the Lord is what it says.

And then the third one,

really the judge is Barak.

Deborah gets the attention

and that's part of the story.

But really the judge is Barak.

And Barak is in chapters four and five.

The people of Israel again did evil

in the sight of the Lord.

Then that brings us to group number two.

Group two starts with Gideon.

And we have the same phrasing as we have with Othniel.

The people of Israel did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

Then it's Jephthah.

The people of Israel again did evil

in the sight of the Lord.

And then there's Samson,

the people of Israel again did evil

in the sight of the Lord.

Now, there's a big question

that we need to answer now.

What in the world is a judge?

Who are these people?

Where did they come from?

And why does God use them?

Okay.

Well, a judge in this instance

is not a lawyer with a white wig

and a black robe that sits on a bench

and judges the law

and passes sentencing on criminals.

That's not what a judge is in this context.

The judges in this book

are military leaders

who are used by God

to deliver the people from oppression.

We might refer to it as the book of deliverers

or the book of saviors, perhaps.

It's also true that these deliverers

function somewhat like tribal chiefs.

Remember, the nation has not come together

at this point.

There's no king.

So there's no unifying force at work

or unifying person for the nation.

All the tribes have kind of split up

and done their own thing.

And these men are raised up as tribal chiefs

and the oppression that the people face

in the judgment of God is regional.

So there's probably not a point in Judges

where the Midianites or the Ammonites

or one of the other Ides comes in

and actually takes over all 12 tribes.

That's really not the picture

that we probably need to have of this.

These are regional oppressions.

God raises up these tribal chiefs

who are military leaders

to deliver the people in that area.

Okay?

So a judge then is an individual

uniquely raised up by God

and empowered by God's spirit

to deliver certain tribes

through military victory.

Okay?

That's the variations.

Now let's do the coda.

All right?

This is short.

The very end of the book,

17.1 through 21.25,

is like an exclamation point

at the end of this tragic story.

So after the author tells us

all of these cycles

and tells us about all of these judges,

he gives us two stories

that essentially describe

what life was like in Israel

that show us how bad things actually became.

And it's graphic.

It is terrible.

It's offensive.

It is everything that you will hate

about stories like this.

It just couldn't get much worse

than what we read at the end of the book.

And the point of that is to say,

this is what Israel became.

Because they did what was right

in their own eyes,

this is what they became.

Civil war comes through

and we see the near extinction of Benjamin

and the book ends.

It just ends.

And it sets us up for Samuel.

Samuel really probably would be

the next book for us to read after this,

where there is no king in Israel,

but now God's going to give

the people their king

who comes from the hated tribe,

Benjamin at this point,

Saul.

God judges the nation with Saul

and then God raises up his king

from Judah, King David.

Okay?

So that's where Judges is taking us

in the whole storyline.

Now let's talk about the message of it

and then we'll be finished.

Okay?

Typically, we interpret books

like Joshua and Judges

as simple histories.

In fact, in our English Bibles,

if we're categorizing them,

we say in the Old Testament

we have the books of law

and then we have the books of history, right?

And so that's primarily

how we think of them.

We observe the events

and then we draw certain moral conclusions

from the stories.

I want to suggest

a different approach

is actually probably

more appropriate here.

Judges is not less than history,

but I do think that it's actually

much more than that.

I want to submit

that Judges is a prophetic message

that is wrapped

and presented by God

in the shape

of a historical narrative.

And if we understand it this way,

it's going to alter

how we interpret the meaning

and the purpose of the text.

Okay?

So let me just explain that.

If you were to grab a Hebrew Bible,

you will very quickly realize

that it's not arranged the same way.

The Old Testament books

are not arranged the same way

that our English Bibles

arrange the Old Testament books.

In fact, it's divided

into three different volumes.

There is the Torah,

there's the prophets,

and then there's the writings

or what's sometimes called the Psalms.

So three-volume set.

Jesus even refers

to this three-volume set.

This is the way

that the Old Testament

would have been structured

even in Jesus' day.

We see it in Luke 24.

Jesus says to them

after his resurrection,

these are my words

that I spoke to you

while I was still with you,

that everything written about me

in the law of Moses,

it's the law of the Torah,

and the prophets,

that's the second volume,

and the Psalms,

that's the Psalms

or the writings,

must be fulfilled.

So Jesus is using

an Old Testament

that is a three-volume set.

It's categorized

in three different volumes

with a particular structure.

So are the apostles.

It's not until really

the invention

of the printing press

that the order

that we have

in our English Bibles

really becomes the standard.

So I want you to pretend

that you're at home

in your living room

and your bookshelf is there

and you have

a three-volume Hebrew Bible

on the shelf.

And you've decided

this afternoon,

I'm going to make sure

that Jared's right

and that he's not lying to me

and I'm going to go

and I'm going to do

a little studying

in my Hebrew Bible.

And so you go over

to your three-volume set

and you look

and you pull off

the second volume.

On the spine,

it's labeled prophets.

And so you open it up

on the prophets

and you look at

the table of contents

and you're going to see

that the prophets

are divided in two parts.

There's the former prophets

and there's

the latter prophets.

The latter prophets,

as you begin to read

through your table of contents,

looks exactly like

what you think

the prophets should look like.

There's Isaiah,

Jeremiah,

Ezekiel,

and then a fourth book

called the Twelve.

The Twelve includes

the minor prophets.

So that's part two.

But then you get curious

and you think,

okay, well there's

no more prophets left

based on what I understand

in the Old Testament.

So what could possibly be

in the former prophets?

And you find

there's Joshua,

Judges,

Samuel,

and Kings.

Now you may be surprised

to find it that way,

but it's that way

for a reason.

And that's what I think

we need to have in mind

as we come to this book.

Judges is not merely

a collection

of historical events.

The goal of this author

was not simply

to describe

the settlement of Canaan.

If that was his goal,

he failed.

Because this book

says almost nothing

about settling the land.

In fact,

when you get to the end,

you realize

they haven't settled the land.

They need David

to help finish

settling the land.

They don't even do it.

So that's not

what he's doing here.

Neither is the goal

of the author

to give us a series

of biblical heroes

to look up to.

In fact,

we'll find

that these men,

aside from specific moments

of incredible,

spirit-empowered faith,

were terrible role models.

They are not worthy

of our affection

in the way

that we typically

hold up people

as heroes in our lives.

So that's not

what he's doing.

The author,

considered by the Jews

to be a prophet of God,

which is why

this is in the prophets,

carefully selects

and arranges

this material

in order

to challenge readers

and effect in them

a spiritual

and moral transformation.

Okay?

That's the difference.

If we interpret

this book

as simple history,

we will reduce

its purpose

to little more

than moral lessons

to make us

better human beings.

But that's not

what this book is.

If we interpret it

as the author intended,

as a prophetic work

meant to persuade us

to turn from sin

and to love the Lord

and to obey the Lord

and worship the Lord,

then we will enter

this realm

of spiritual transformation

that can only come

from the penetrating work

of God's Spirit.

These are not

history lessons.

These are prophetic messages

from God

to His people.

As Daniel Block says,

recognizing the sermonic nature

forces us

to engage this text

as Scripture,

or better,

he says,

to let it engage us

to hear its message,

to respond

in accordance

with the human

and divine author's goal.

We come to this

in every other book

in the Bible,

not to look at it

and cast our opinion

about what it says

and on the characters

that are contained,

but to see what God says

to us,

to see what God has to say

to His people

so that He might transform us.

So what then

is the message?

The primary message

of Judges

is that Israel

Israel needs a king.

They need a king.

But not just any king.

They need God's king.

They need someone

who will be a man

after God's own heart.

They need someone

who will unite the nation

to worship God

and obey His law.

Judges anticipates

the arrival

of King David.

But even more,

Judges anticipates

King Jesus.

He is the one

who has defeated

the ultimate enemy.

He has provided

ultimate rest.

He has given us

an everlasting inheritance

that cannot be lost.

And this is one reason

for that refrain

at the end of the book.

In those days,

there was no king

in Israel.

As long as there is

no righteous king,

the people will flounder

in this hopeless cycle

of rebellion.

Now listen,

until you have

a righteous king

ruling over your life

to which you are

wholly submitted to

in faith

and love

and obedience,

you will flounder

in this continual cycle

of rebellion

and sin

and devastation

that will ultimately

end up

in an eternal hell.

You need a king.

I need a king.

And it's not Donald Trump

and it's not Joe Biden

and it's not Gideon

and it's not Samson

and it's not Jephthah.

It's not even David.

It's Jesus.

Jesus alone

can break the cycle.

Jesus alone

can conquer

your sin.

Jesus alone

can give you life.

That's what Judges

is ultimately about.

Israel needs a king

and who they really need

is Jesus.

It anticipates

the gospel.

But there's a second line

of messaging here

that we don't need

to forget.

Judges is a message

about God's

sovereign mercy.

His sovereign mercy.

Three ways

I think this is

proven true

in this book.

Jim Hamilton

has written

a central theme.

You've heard me

reference it before

that the central theme

of the Bible

is that God

is glorified

in salvation

through judgment.

Now this theme

comes to the surface

in Judges

as God seeks

to save his people

through

and from

his own judgment.

So think back

to that cycle.

In fact, Becky,

can you put the cycle

back on the screen

here for just a moment?

Think back to this cycle.

The people rebel.

Who's responsible

for delivering

the judgment?

God is.

God sells them

into the hand

of their enemies.

Now why does God

do that?

God does not do that

simply because

he's vengeful.

That's not why

God does that.

God sells them

to their enemies

in order that

he might drive

them to repentance

and he wants

to drive them

to repentance

because what he

really desires to do

is pour out

his mercy

on them

so that the moment

they cry out to him

for mercy

he raises up

a deliverer.

He raises up

a savior

who brings rest

to the people.

This is a book

about mercy.

God's unending

mercy.

Secondly,

we learn here

that God

in his mercy

uses weak

vessels.

Weak vessels.

Do you know

why God uses

weak vessels

to do his work?

Because there are

no other vessels

to use.

There are no

other vessels

to use.

The details

given about

some of these

judges

are spiritually

obscene.

Gideon

in the end

of his life

leads the nation

into idolatry.

In the beginning

he fights

against idolatry.

In the end

he's the one

that's causing

the nation

to horror

after this

ephod

that he has made.

Jephthah

makes a rash

vow to God

and what's even

worse about the

vow that Jephthah

makes is that

he follows through

with the vow

completely against

what God

would have wanted

and he sacrifices

his own daughter

as a pagan ritual

to celebrate

the victory

that God

had given.

Then you get

to Samson

and the only

good thing

that happens

in Samson's

life

is when he

kills himself

at the end.

That's the only

moment in the

whole Samson story

where God

is actually

using him

in this moment

of faith.

These men

are not role models

but then we get

to Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

11 and what

do we find

in this great

hall of faith?

It mentions

Barak

it mentions

Gideon

it mentions

Jephthah

and it

mentions

Samson

Why?

It's the

four worst

ones.

The writer

of Hebrews

adds them

to this

what we

see in

Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

12

to be the

great cloud

of witnesses

and what

are the

great cloud

of witnesses

!

They are

urging us

to look

unto Jesus

the author

and perfecter

of our faith.

Now what does

this teach us?

God uses

weak vessels.

We don't

come to these

men

looking for a

moral role model.

We come to

these men

looking to the

mercy of God

that despite

my sin

and despite

my failure

and despite

my weakness

God is

faithful

and God

is merciful

and he

continues to

pour out

that mercy

and then the

writer of

Hebrews

presents these

men as if

they're in

this whole

group

and it's

as if

they're

saying to

all of

us

coming

behind

in this

great

cloud

when you

go to

judges

don't

look at

us

look at

Jesus

look at

the author

look at

the finisher

of our

faith

we had

moments

empowered

by the

spirit

but don't

look to

us

look to

him

look to

him

look to

Jesus

that's

what

they're

doing

that's

what

they're

showing

us

and then

finally

the third

way I

think this

is a book

about mercy

is that

God never

abandons

his promise

never

when you

get to

the Samson

cycle

the people

do not

ask for

God's

mercy

yet God

still raises

up a judge

to deliver

them

why

because

God is

faithful

he's

faithful

this

encourages

me

in

this

sense

that

God

never

gets

so

frustrated

with

Christians

that

he

steps

back

and

he

says

you

know

what

forget

it

all

forget

it

all

he

could

have

done

that

with

Israel

he

could

have

said

this

is

just

ridiculous

forget

the

land

forget

the

king

forget

all

the

stuff

I'm

going

to

make

them

like

Sodom

and

Gomorrah

because

they've

actually

become

worse

than

Sodom

and Gomorrah

in fact

the last

story

that's

told

in the

book

is a

parallel

to

Sodom

Israel

has

become

as

bad

as

you

can

get

and

yet

God

does

not

step

back

and

say

forget

it

he

never

does

that

he

doesn't

step

back

at

the

church

and

say

forget

it

forget

the

church

just

continues

to

decline

they're

being

canaanized

just

like

Israel

is

just

forget

the

whole

thing

I'm

just

getting

rid

of

all

of

them

he

doesn't

do

that

and

even

in

your

own

personal

life

if

you're

in

Christ

there

is

no

sin

in

your

life

that

God

is

finally

going

to

get

to

a

point

he's

going

to

say

you

know

what

forget

it

forget

it

I'm

done

with

Josh

I'm

done

with

Ashlyn

I'm

done

with

David

forget

it

he

doesn't

do

that

God

is

faithful

to

his

promises

even

when

we

are

unfaithful

and

especially

when

we

are

unfaithful

this

is a

book

of

God's

mercy

his

mercy

the

book

of

judges

is

immediately

relevant

to

us

you

won't

have

a

hard

time

seeing

that

like

Israel

the

Christian

church

is

!

continuously

showing

signs

of

canonization

instead

of

driving

out

sin

and

following

God

as

he's

commanded

in

the

word

we

are

routinely

guilty

of

intermingling

and

intermarrying

so to

speak

with the

people

and the

ideas

of this

world

Brian

and I

were

talking

before

the

service

started

this

morning

that

when

people

don't

know

their

Bibles

they

will

be

carried

off

by

every

wind

and

wave

of

cultural

transition

and

cultural

movement

and the

more like

the world

we become

the less

we will

have any

kind of

footing

in what

is good

and right

and true

surely

we can

see the

signs of

that

rather than

fighting in

holy war

against sin

we regularly

fight against

one another

we see that

with Israel

instead of

submitting to

God

most people

seem to

just be

doing

whatever

seems

good

in their

own

eyes

judges

is a

warning

against

this

it's a

warning

against

the

idolatry

of

self

and

it's

a

call

to

turn

from

sin

to

the

unending

mercy

of

God

through

faith

in the

true

King

Jesus

Christ

let's

pray

to

take

to

take

take

take