Anarchy is awful. The absence of a government is a nightmare. To live in a failed state is to experience lawlessness, chaos and confusion. Just ask the people of places like Somalia, Yemen or South Sudan!
Over the course of human history, few nations have chosen to operate without any form of government. Societies have differed in the form of government they have adopted, such as monarchies, autocracies or democracies, but few have intentionally chosen anarchy as an option.
Imagine living in an anarchical society where everyone did as they pleased. A dystopian society with no laws, rules or rights. It would be a ‘survival of the fittest’, with no safety or security, without any hope of justice. Whatever we may think of our present government, we should thank God that we have a government.
The Bible tells us that government is a God-given institution – anarchy is not an attractive alternative. We see this most clearly in the book of Judges, which we’ll be looking at together over the next month.
Anarchy in Israel…
Let me begin by setting the scene. Judges is set around 1200 years BC, and describes anarchy in Israel. The prophetic leadership Moses and Joshua has passed away, but the monarchy is yet to be established. There was no king in the land – monarchs like David and Solomon were still to come. Government was absent at this time.
What’s more, the Israelites may have escaped from Egypt and entered the Promised Land, but they are still surrounded by hostile nations. Pagan peoples like the Canaanites, Hitties and Amorites posed a spiritual, moral and military threat to the leaderless Israelites. The people of Israel faced a constant temptation to compromise their faith to avoid conflict with their neighbours.
But the biggest threat to the Israelites came not from outside, but from within. In the days of Judges – as we are told repeatedly in the book – “everyone did as they saw fit”.
You see, Judges paints a sobering portrait of what a human society is like when God is ignored and his rules aren’t followed. It is a powerful reminder of the folly of secular individualism – the foolishness of trying to live life on our own, without God and without a moral compass. In short, Judges is a picture of what happens when people take Frank Sinatra’s song to the extreme – “I did it my way!”
A Dozen Judges…
Thankfully, however, the book of Judges also reminds us the grace of God. It shows us the Lord’s great patience with his wayward people, and it repeatedly demonstrates his power to save. For throughout this book God sends judges to rescue the Israelites from the consequences of their sin and folly.
Its important to realise that these ‘judges’ are not confined to a courtroom like the judges we have today. Rather, these judges were leaders, warriors, and heroes. They included eleven men and one woman who saved their nation from destruction. Twelve judges whom God used to rescue the twelve tribes of Israel.
Over the next few weeks we will get to know four of the most famous judges – namely Ehud, Deborah, Gideon and Samson. Each one of them was a surprising choice in many ways. None of them was perfect (far from it), but in one way or another they all point us towards Jesus – our supreme Saviour and ultimate Judge. If we’re Christians we can look at the lives of these judges and be reminded of some of the most attractive character traits of Jesus Christ.
A Recurring Pattern…
Careful readers of Judges quickly notice a recurring pattern in this book – its not just a historical record of events or a selection of unconnected stories. Rather, we see a recurring cycle of behaviour involving the Israelites and the Lord. Conveniently, this cycle can be summarised in three words beginning with the letter ‘R’ – namely: Rebellion, Retribution and Rescue.
We actually see this 3-phase cycle described in our passage from Judges chapter 2 this morning. Israel’s initial rebellion is described in verses 10 to 12. We’re told that after Joshua’s generation had died, “another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them.”
In short, the people of Israel succumbed to the temptation to adopt the faith and morals of their surrounding cultures. They conformed to pagan worship rather than serve the one true God. As Christians today we face a similar temptation to go along with the norms and values of our surrounding culture, rather than remain faithful to biblical ethics. Whether it concerns our time, our money or our lifestyle, Christians face a constant temptation to follow the world’s priorities and the world’s wisdom, rather than God’s words and Christ’s example.
As our passage continues, we read that Israel’s rebellion provokes the Lord’s righteous anger and just retribution – because in verse 14 it says that the Lord gave Israel “into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them.”
Astonishing as it may seem, God used neighbouring nations as his instruments against Israel – as the tools he used to discipline his own people for their disobedience.
Thankfully, however, that’s not the end of the story, because the Lord’s judgement is followed by mercy. Like any good parent, God doesn’t discipline his children forever. Seeing their distress (and hopefully seeing some signs of repentance), the Lord proceeds to rescue his people. As it says in verse 16, “the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.” As we’ve heard already, these judges were God-given leaders. Heroes and heroines raised up by the Lord to deliver Israel from her enemies.
A Downward Spiral…
Now if that were the end of the story, it would mark a happy ending to a single unfortunate episode. Yet as our passage proceeds we see that that the cycle keeps repeating itself – Israel’s sinful pattern of behaviour keeps re-appearing and the whole sequence of rebellion, retribution and rescue occurs again and again.
Listen again to verses 17-19. The Israelites “would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 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. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshipping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.”
What is particularly depressing is that each generation seems to be worse than the previous one. We’re told that each generation returned to ways “even more corrupt” than their ancestors. So what’s described here is not just a vicious cycle, but a downward spiral. We see this spiral across the book of Judges as a whole, as the behaviour of God’s people becomes progressively more immoral – as it becomes more and more accommodating to the surrounding pagan culture than the one before.
A Coming Saviour…
The diagnosis of this pathology, of this downward spiral, comes repeatedly through the book. One particular refrain that appears again and again in Judges, including in its final verse: “In those days Israel had no king, everyone did as they saw fit”.
In one sense that’s a description of every human society without God – indeed of every human heart. Scripture says that fallen humanity’s natural instinct is to ignore our Maker and go our own foolish way. As the apostle Paul put it in our New Testament reading from Romans chapter 3: “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. ‘There is no one righteous, not even one… there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, there is no one who does good, not even one.”
What the world really needs is a redeemer and a ruler:
- A redeemer who can cure our sinful hearts and forgive our failings.
- And a righteous king who will rule us with justice and righteousness.
- A perfect king who will be infallible and immortal – even greater than the judges we read about in Judges.
That great Redeemer and perfect Ruler is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ. May our journey through judges over the coming weeks help us grow in our gratitude and appreciation of him. But for now, let’s pray.