Why study the book of Judges as a Christian? It's content often dips into descriptive depravity. It is not full of hope or doctrine. If we come to the book looking for human examples of faith and leadership, we are going to come away disappointed. In the book, we find that sin creates a life that is messy, foul, and complicated. Yet, we also find that God rules in and over the chaos of sin.

Scripture References: John 5:39, Genesis 49:8-10, Judges 17:6, Leviticus 24:19-20, Judges 1:1-36, Deuteronomy 31:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-8, Joshua 5:13-15, 2 Samuel 5:1-25, Joshua 24:14-28, Judges 3:7-11

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From Series: "A Study of Judges"

A quote that is often attributed to Mark Twain says, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” There is a cycle that we have seen in the book of Judges that the writer intends for us to notice is rhyming. There are different people, different tribes, different enemies, different sins, different responses, and different judgment and chastening. However, we find one thing that does not change in the book: God. God’s character, nature, power, and grace do not change. In the midst of chaos, He controls. This evening, let’s take a final look at this book and apply it to our hearts in wisdom. The book of Judges is saturated with things like genocide, murder, deceit, idolatry, holy war, slavery, broken families, mistreatment of women, and human abuse. It is important to remember that just because these things are in the Bible does not mean that they are condoned by it. We should have noticed that not only is Judges bad, but it gets worse throughout. We ended the book last week with God’s people surpassing the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. So, why did we study the book?

Scripture References: Judges 18:1, Proverbs 26:16, Judges 17:6, Proverbs 21:2, Judges 21:25, Proverbs 16:2, 1 Samuel 7:15, 1 Samuel 14:18, 1 Samuel 8:4-7, Judges 19:1, Proverbs 30:12

More Messages from James Sumpter | Download Audio

A quote that is often attributed to Mark Twain says, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” There is a cycle that we have seen in the book of Judges that the writer intends for us to notice is rhyming. There are different people, different tribes, different enemies, different sins, different responses, and different judgment and chastening. However, we find one thing that does not change in the book: God. God’s character, nature, power, and grace do not change. In the midst of chaos, He controls. This evening, let’s take a final look at this book and apply it to our hearts in wisdom. The book of Judges is saturated with things like genocide, murder, deceit, idolatry, holy war, slavery, broken families, mistreatment of women, and human abuse. It is important to remember that just because these things are in the Bible does not mean that they are condoned by it. We should have noticed that not only is Judges bad, but it gets worse throughout. We ended the book last week with God’s people surpassing the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. So, why did we study the book?

Scripture References: Judges 18:1, Proverbs 26:16, Judges 17:6, Proverbs 21:2, Judges 21:25, Proverbs 16:2, 1 Samuel 7:15, 1 Samuel 14:18, 1 Samuel 8:4-7, Judges 19:1, Proverbs 30:12

More Messages from James Sumpter | Download Audio

From Series: "A Study of Judges"