So we come to the end of Judges, an era of turmoil and apostasy, but still marked by God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises. And so the story ends in a sort of raw hopefulness.

We might sometimes feel like we live in a similar time of chaos and decline, but we have so much more to go on. We have thousands of years more evidence of God’s faithfulness (in the face of human sin and corruption), and we have Christ our King sitting on His throne forever. So even when foolish men seek to do what is right in their own eyes, they cannot get away from His grace.

The Text: “Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, there shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife…” (Judges 21:1-25)

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

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This chapter continues the story of the corruption of Gibeah and the tribe of Benjamin, with judgment falling on them and on the rest of Israel. This teaches lessons about the covenant, just war, and the difference between punishment and discipline.

The Text: “Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh…” (Judges 20:1-48)

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

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The Bible is Rated-R, and that is because it deals honestly with the horror of human sin. This chapter is one of the darkest episodes in all of Scripture, and so it is an opportunity to look our sin straight on.

The Text: “And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-Judah…” (Judges 19:1-30)

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

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Today we finish the first of two final horror stories in the book of Judges, final gunshots of warning to God’s people about the chaos that fills a land that turns away from God and His word.

The Text: “In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in…” (Judges 18:1-31)

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/kingscrossmoscow.

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/kingscrossmoscow.

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/kingscrossmoscow.

The final episodes in the book of Judges (17-21) are something like an appendix, describing earlier episodes in the era of the judges to help explain why the whole era was so rough. It’s likely that Samuel was the author of Judges, Ruth, and much of 1 Samuel, and he may have included these final stories here as background for what would follow in Ruth and Samuel as well.

The overarching themes are the failure of Israelite education and the syncretistic worship that followed together with the absence of a unifying king who would fear God and protect His people. As Henry Van Til argued, “culture is religion externalized.” Every nation reflects culturally and politically the God/gods they worship. And education is always training for worship.

The Text: “And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah…” (Judges 17:1-13

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

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The end of Samson’s life is largely a tale of tragic decline, but even in his sin, the Spirit warns us to avoid his failures. And perhaps most important of all, the Spirit teaches us that it is never too late and God loves to hear and answer the prayers of repentant men – and even in Samson’s death, points to the Greater Samson.

The Text: “Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither…” (Judges 16:1-31).

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/kingscrossmoscow.