Again They Did Evil in the Eyes of the LORD

Passage: Judges 13

The Book of Judges is a tough read. It follows the Book of Joshua chronologically as well as sequentially. And its narrative picks up immediately where Joshua’s leaves off. The Israelites have settled in the land God promised to give them. And life is good. At least it should be. But there’s this troubling prediction God makes in Deuteronomy 8:
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

It seems impossible – that God’s people would forget about God at the moment they finally partake of God’s promised abundance. Yet this is precisely what happens. The refrain throughout Judges is this: Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD… The story of Judges is the story of a people who repeatedly get themselves into trouble. They do so by turning their backs on God – the God who has rescued them without fail in the past; the God who promises to protect and provide for them every day of their lives. How in the world could God’s people forget his provision and his promises? It’s really very simple. There’s always something that feels more solid than the promises of an unseen God. A pocket full of coins. The touch of a stranger’s skin. The barrel of a gun. There’s no mystery here.

The story of Judges is our story. We trade in the promises of an unseen but unfailing God for the allure of someone we can see or something we can touch. Yet invariably people and property and politics fail us. Miserably. Judges ends with God’s people literally at each others’ throats, clawing and killing to save themselves. How much of our lives do we waste competing with each other for the stuff of life? Desperate to save ourselves?

The sliver of good news in Judges is this: every time the Israelites come to their senses and cry out to God, God shows up. Judges 13 introduces Sampson, a deliverer possessed of the power of God, sent to rescue God’s people from their troubles. When God rescues, he does so effortlessly and miraculously. All his people have to do is call. What do you need to be rescued from today? Don’t waste your life looking for help in the wrong places. Appeal to God, who responds to our cries for help without fail.