I have often been told that it is good to start your day off with reading the Bible. So this morning I read the book of Judges. How can I put this without being irreverent . . . it sure felt like a lousy way to start my day . . .
The 12 tribes of Israel have settled in the promised land. Their leader Joshua dies in the first couple chapters, and everyone starts doing what is right in their own eyes. The stories in the book are tragic and gruesome. Even the "good heros" that preserve Israel are "bad" people.
Take the popular story of Samson as an example. He is an immoral, arrogant man who when angered takes vengeance by killing hundreds of men at a time--and he is one of the "better" characters. But we have to seriously consider how we are telling this Bible story to kids (and adults) in Sunday school. Samson was a bad man that God used to preserve his chosen people. We should never aspire to be like Samson, but we should cling to the hope that if God can use Samson he can use us too.
The book closes with an awful story that illustrates how vile the 12 tribes had become as they ignored God and did what was right in their own eyes. You finish the book feeling disappointed, dirty, and defeated. What hope can their be? But thankfully Judges is just one act in God's drama. Hope is coming.
So it felt like a lousy way to start my day, but I suppose I would get a similar feeling starting my day reading the morning paper. Political parties slinging mud--murders--wars--rumors or wars--economic depression--corrupt leaders--corrupt political systems. However, one thing that Judges highlights that the newspaper does not is that God is at work through it all. He has given us a free-will to do what is right in our eyes or to do what is right in His eyes. Sadly Judges and the paper generally report on the tragic stories of doing what is right in our eyes, but both leave us longing for someone to come and make it all right. It is fitting that Ruth is the next book.
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