Summary: The book of Judges is kind of like a museum of Israel’s spiritual history—particularly the first two chapters that we are going to look at today. In them you get a snapshot of Israel’s rocky history with God; you see them go up and down in their faith, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, usually just lukewarm. There are certain temptations they can’t seem to shake. I feel like it is something most of us can relate to? Do you ever ask: “Why do I up and down so much spiritually?” A lot of us feel like we are spiritually bipolar. One week I’m super-Christian; the next I’m not even sure I believe. “Why are there some sins that no matter how hard I try I can’t seem to get rid of?” “Why do I have so little joy, spiritually?” Everybody else seems to really have it together. I just feel like I am dragging myself along. Am I doing something wrong?” These first two chapters are Israel’s spiritual struggles recounted and explained. You’ll see yours in theirs. And out of them we’ll draw three core principles the writer uses to shape the rest of the book.
