Week 8/2024
The Book of Judges is not a book that many people read these days. It records the history of the Jewish people after the great leader Joshua died and the sad state of affairs when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes”. (chapter 17v6 and 21v25). They thought they were enjoying ultimate freedom, but it was actually a recipe for chaos, anarchy and danger. They interpreted the Law of Moses to fit in with their personal desires and choices with no concern for the welfare of others and created a god of their own understanding instead of being wholeheartedly following Jahweh. They rejected God’s law instead of embracing it, forgetting that the Law was brought in to protect society and keep them from falling out of the love of God. Every time the people did what is right in their own eyes, there was no cohesion, focus or morality so they became easy pickings for their enemies who enslaved them. However, God in His mercy continually raised up judges to bring them back to safety. Well known ones were Gideon and Samson.
So, is the law relevant for us today? Definitely yes! That is why we read in Galatians 3v24: “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith”. Without God’s law there is no conviction of sin and therefore no desire to repent and surrender one’s life to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. However, we are not Christians because we keep the law, it is because of faith as Ephesians 2v8 makes clear: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”.
However, we should always be thankful for the law as Paul makes it clear in Romans 7v7: “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet”.
Graeme Greenwood