The Vicious Downward Cycle

English Standard Version Chapter 2

16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

A father had won a toy at an office game. He called his three kids together to ask which one should have the present. “Who is the most obedient?” he asked. The children all stared back at him in silence. Then he asked, “Who never talks back to mother?” Again the kids appeared to be mystified by the question. Then the father asked, “Who does everything she says?” With that question, the kids were finally able to come to a conclusion. The three small voices answered in unison, “Okay, dad, you get the toy.”

A middle-aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30 years to live. Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck, etc. She even has someone come in and change her hair color. She figures since she's got another 30 years she might as well make the most of it. She walks out of the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding by. She arrives in front of God and complains, "I thought you said I had another 30 years." God replies, "I didn't recognize you."

There was a man named Mike that was recruited into the army, and he was very young. He joined the military because he thought that is what he must do. Now Mike was a well behaved man but he had an awful time at listening to orders. This really came to bite him in the backside one afternoon when he and his squad were going to carry out a mission. The commanding officer briefed the squad on their mission and what each and everyones job was. This was meant to be a very easy in and out task, they were going into Iraq to retrieve some vital information from the enemies base. Now the goal was to parachute in and follow commands. One person was going to keep watch, another was going to cut the wire to the fence on the outside of the camp, a pair was meant to cut the power at the same time so all power would be out during the few minutes that a person would be extracting the package. Now Mike was part of the pair that was going to cut the power for one of the other men to grab the package. When the time came everything was going fine but there was a problem with Mike. Mike believed that cutting the power the way his officer told him was not the correct way to do it. Mike decided to try it his way even though his partner was not doing it different. What end up happening is Mike turned on the alarm and half of the camp’s power went off and it was not even the side that the information was located at. They ended up having to change their plans and they snuck around during a hectic situation of people trying to figure out why the alarm is on. They all got in the building and got the information but when they turned around there was a group of men with Ak’s. They got caught and were thrown into a prison, luckily a squad of army men came later and with the guidance of the commanding officer. They saved the men and end up getting the documents they needed. Even though it took a while they completed their mission. There was a problem that they had to deal with. That problem was Mike. If Mike disobeyed would someone get hurt next time?

This story remind me of when Israel did not obey God and God had to go in and save Israel. It all worked out according to God’s plan but it made it such a hassle.

The history of almost two centuries is here summarized, indicating the principles behind the Lord’s dealings with Israel.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

The Time of Peace was when Israel was keeping God’s Commands

Israel ever since the beginning of the nation always was going through their vicious downward cycle and this cycle always began with Disobedience then God was furious and made them pay the consequences for their actions which was usually having them be held captive/be slaves for another nation. They were oppressed. Then after they would repent, and start following God’s commands and would cry out to God, God would save them. This happened over and over again. The vicious cycle is a three part scenario that we can get a glimpse of in today’s passage. The first part of this three way cycle is disobedience.

The history of almost two centuries is here summarized, indicating the principles behind the Lord’s dealings with Israel.

judges. In English the term judge is used to describe an official who maintains justice within the established court system. The Hebrew term used in the context of this book describes an individual who maintains justice for the tribes of Israel. This justice comes in bringing protection from foreign oppressors. Maintaining international justice was often the role of the king. What made these judges unlike kings was that there was no formal process for assuming the office, nor could it be passed on to one’s heirs. There was no supporting administration, no standing army and no taxation to underwrite expenses. So while the actual function of the judge may have had much in common with the king, the judge did not enjoy most of the royal prerogatives. Just as a king also judged civil cases, the judges may have had some of that responsibility (see 4:5), but this would have been a minor role. The judges did not serve as heads of government in general but did have the authority to call out the armies of the tribes. Prior to the monarchy, no one from any one tribe would have been able to exercise such authority over another tribe. God was the only central authority. Therefore, when a judge successfully rallied the armies of several tribes, it was seen as the work of the Lord through that judge (see 6:34–35). Only the establishment of kingship assigned a permanent human central authority over the tribes

Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., ). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Baal, the son of El in the Canaanite pantheon, was the god of the storm and the rains and therefore the controller of vegetation. He was the great active god, El being a somewhat nebulous figure, and Baal worship was widely diffused in the Ancient Near East.

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, p. 69). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Ashtaroth is the consort of Baal and is the goddess of war and fertility, there was many practices that were incorporated with this goddess. One of them was even incorporating child sacrifice.

Israel’s disobedience of not getting rid of the pagan gods allowed this temptation and sin to enter their life. They fell into Satan’s trap and worshipped Baal. Israel will always struggle with fighting off this urge to worship this pagan god. Even though God is the only true God and proved Himself over and over, many nations stilled worshipped other gods and most nations had their own god, but multiple gods were totally okay.

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, p. 69). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

The history of almost two centuries is here summarized, indicating the principles behind the Lord’s dealings with Israel.

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, p. 69). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Disobedience

Israel really struggled with keeping God’s commands and fall into the trap of temptation

English Standard Version Chapter 2

17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

Israel’s sin is evident—they prostituted themselves to other gods and turned from the way … of obedience to the Lord‘s commands. Since the practices of those who worshiped the Canaanite fertility gods involved sexual prostitution, the phrase “prostituted themselves” was literal as well as figurative.

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 383–384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

To get a full understanding of what was going on it helps to understand who the popular gods were at the time and what they involved.

Baal, the son of El in the Canaanite pantheon, was the god of the storm and the rains and therefore the controller of vegetation. He was the great active god, El being a somewhat nebulous figure, and Baal worship was widely diffused in the Ancient Near East.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

Ashtaroth is the consort of Baal and is the goddess of war and fertility, there was many practices that were incorporated with this goddess. One of them was even incorporating child sacrifice.

Israel’s disobedience of not getting rid of the pagan gods allowed this temptation and sin to enter their life. They fell into Satan’s trap and worshipped Baal. Israel will always struggle with fighting off this urge to worship these pagan gods. Even though God is the only true God and proved Himself over and over, many nations stilled worshipped other gods and most nations had their own god, but multiple gods were totally okay according to that cultural norm.

Every time that Israel gets into a desperate time or a time that they are being harshed upon, they call upon the Lord. When they go into a state of being free and life being good they just fall once again into their old practices of worship Baal and living for the flesh.

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, p. 69). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Imperfect obedience was shown even during the lifetime of the judges themselves, a process which is described as spiritual adultery, they went a whoring after other gods (av, rv), or they played the harlot after other gods (rsv). Israel, called to be the bride of the Lord, had forsaken him to follow other lovers, i.e. the fertility gods of Canaan. This graphic imagery of the violated covenant of marriage provides the background for the entire book of the eighth-century prophet to Israel, Hosea, and is also applied by Jeremiah to the equally desperate situation in Judah a century and a half later

It is very hard to just call on the name of the Lord when things are going easy, because there is a mindset that we can control our own life. When we get this mentality we lose that closeness to God. When we lose that they we can find ourselves given over to other aspects of life.

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, pp. 71–72). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

We see people have faith during hard times, we see people actually trusting in God during

Israel kept doing whatever was good in their own eyes after each Judge died. This is a repeated over and over event. This is the Vicious Downward Cycle. Each generation were worse than the last.

God tells us that we are lured by our own desires and that is what tempts us. Israel desired to do their own will and worship other gods. This is what they failed at over and over.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

English Standard Version Chapter 28

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

28 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:1-6

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Deuteronomy 28:1-6

28 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

God promised to bless Israel, all they had to do is Keep the Lord’s Commands but they struggled and failed with keeping God’s Commands.

God then goes on to mention if they do not follow His command’s they would suffer consequences and would be cursed rather than bless

So the second part to the vicious cycle was Consequences for Israel’s Actions

G

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

But when the judge died, Israel reactivated her downward spiral of progressive deterioration by following ways even more corrupt than the immediately preceding corrupt generation. (The “fathers” of v. 17 seems to refer to the obedient generation of Joshua’s day, while the fathers of v. 19 refers to the preceding generation.)

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

The Lord allowed the Canaanite nations to remain in the land for four reasons: (1) He chose to punish Israel for her apostasy in turning to idolatry (2:2, 20–21; cf. ). In identifying themselves with the peoples of the land through marriage and subsequent idolatry (cf. Jud. 3:6), the Israelites violated the covenant that the Lord gave their forefathers (cf. ). Therefore, as God had promised (, ), He would no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. (2) The Lord left the Canaanites in the land to test Israel’s faithfulness to Himself (Jud. 2:22; 3:4). This provided each generation with an opportunity to keep the way of the Lord (cf. “the way of obedience,” 2:17) or to continue in the rebellion of their immediate ancestors. (3) The Lord left the Canaanites in the land to give Israel experience in warfare (see comments on 3:2). (4) Another reason is stated in —to prevent the land from becoming a wilderness before Israel’s population increased sufficiently to occupy the whole land.

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

The voice of conscience can become dulled by successive acts of sin, and repentance can become more and more superficial until, ensnared in the character formed by a multitude of thoughts and actions, a miracle is needed to produce a genuine repentance and a seeking of the Lord with the whole heart

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, p. 72). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

The result of continued apostasy. Israel’s obligation within the Sinaitic covenant was to give loyalty and unswerving obedience to the Lord who had wrought such mighty works for them. This could not be considered onerous in view of their unique relationship to their Saviour-God (), who had kept his side of the compact in fulfilling the promise made to the patriarchs concerning the Promised Land. Israel’s disobedience, however, was followed inevitably by the divine chastisement. To the modern reader it seems somewhat incongruous that God should leave the foreign elements within Israel’s borders as a punishment for apostasy, and to test the future faithfulness of the nation, when the very reason for the nation’s defection is attributed to the failure to drive out this alien population.

There was no such difficulty to the Israelite historian, whose view of the Lord’s sovereignty ruled out all secondary causes, everything being directly attributable to his overruling will. In the changed situation caused by Israel’s disobedience this sovereignty was still manifested: the Canaanites were allowed to remain so that the loyalty of the covenant-people might be adequately tested. It was a searching examination which the nation, in the main, failed to pass.

Cundall, A. E., & Morris, L. (1968). Judges and Ruth: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 7, pp. 72–73). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

There is still consequences for us today or those who do not follow God’s commands. Even though it may not be a physical punishment for those who do not follow God will be forever separated from God, this is why we are to Love and find Pity on those just like God did for Israel. We need to Love other people and want for them to repent and come back to God. God and Jesus has given us the ultimate example of how we should treat people and find compassion for the lost and hurting.

Jesus Shows and tells us over and over again to Love God and Our Neighbors!

John 13:34-35

English Standard Version Chapter 13

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 John 4:7-12

English Standard Version Chapter 4

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Matthew 22:35-40

English Standard Version Chapter 22

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

God Loves us and This is why He always went back to saving Israel because He loves them and had pity on them after they repented, came back to Got, and cried out in agony to Him.

The third part to the vicious cycle is the Lord Saves!

Even through all this sinning happened and all the frustration God had with the Israelites. He heard their cry and saved them by raising up a Judge.

Even though God loves us

English Standard Version Chapter 2

16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them

English Standard Version Chapter 2

18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 2:18–19

Once God had raised up a judge, the deliverance from the enemy was effective during the rest of that judge’s lifetime because the LORD had compassion on His people.

18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jdg 2:18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jdg 2:18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jdg 2:18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.Once God had raised up a judge, the deliverance from the enemy was effective during the rest of that judge’s lifetime because the Lord had compassion on His people.

Once God had raised up a judge, the deliverance from the enemy was effective during the rest of that judge’s lifetime because the Lord had compassion on His people.

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Once God had raised up a judge, the deliverance from the enemy was effective during the rest of that judge’s lifetime because the Lord had compassion on His people.

So what Exactly are we Talking about when the Bible says “Judge”?

judges. In English the term judge is used to describe an official who maintains justice within the established court system. The Hebrew term used in the context of this book describes an individual who maintains justice for the tribes of Israel. This justice comes in bringing protection from foreign oppressors. Maintaining international justice was often the role of the king. What made these judges unlike kings was that there was no formal process for assuming the office, nor could it be passed on to one’s heirs. There was no supporting administration, no standing army and no taxation to underwrite expenses. So while the actual function of the judge may have had much in common with the king, the judge did not enjoy most of the royal prerogatives. Just as a king also judged civil cases, the judges may have had some of that responsibility (see 4:5), but this would have been a minor role. The judges did not serve as heads of government in general but did have the authority to call out the armies of the tribes. Prior to the monarchy, no one from any one tribe would have been able to exercise such authority over another tribe. God was the only central authority. Therefore, when a judge successfully rallied the armies of several tribes, it was seen as the work of the Lord through that judge (see 6:34–35). Only the establishment of kingship assigned a permanent human central authority over the tribes

Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., ). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Every time that Israel gets into a desperate time or a time that they are being oppressed, they call upon the Lord. When they go into a state of being free and life being good they just fall once again into their old practices of worship Baal and living for the flesh.

It is very hard to just call on the name of the Lord when things are going easy, because there is a mindset that we can control our own life. When we get this mentality we lose that closeness to God. When we lose that they we can find ourselves given over to other aspects of life.

We see people have faith during hard times, we see people actually trusting in God during Oppressed times. When people have faith in God great things happen!

We can see that all throughout the history of the Church the Church explodes during oppressed times.

The beginning the Church people were murdered over and over again but yet the church still explodes. Churches were created left and right after Jesus died on the Cross for the Truth.

History of just the restoration we can see that there is major growth out of the normal religion into the restoration movement. People were being burned at the stake for believing in the truth and yet it still became to be a Church movement and there is restoration churches all around the globe.

At Icom this year one speaker spoke on how the Church has grown in India even though Christians are looked down upon. Within the last couple years the Christian population in India has went from 2% to 8%, now that may not seem like a lot but when you take into consideration of India’s population of 1.3 Billion. (2% is 26 million)(8% is 104 million) between 2% and 8% is 78 million. Look at the Church explode in this part of the world that is against Christianity.

During this time People turned back to God and God had pity on them and saved them.

Think back to when we were all Children and our parents told us to do something. For example we are having people over so you need to go clean your room. So you decide instead of cleaning your room you play video games or go outside. When your parents come home they find that you did not clean your room. You realize what you did is wrong but it is a little late for that so your parent goes and makes you clean your room plus you now have to clean other rooms and are grounded for a week. Even though you are punished your parents still love you. Your parent gives you a speal that I know this seems harsh but I am doing it because I told you to clean your room and you disobeyed and I Love you and want you to turn out better than that.

This is how God is, God loved Israel so much but they disobeyed what He had commanded and He punished them for that. He said I do not want you to turn out that way and I know that your better than that. You will be punished but I am a loving father and this is for your own good, to bring you back in a obedient relationship with me. Then when you cry out I will have pity and save you, but this is for your good to test who you truly are.

God Has Saved Us today

God loves us so much but we do require straightening out sometimes but when we disobey him he tells us that we should be better that but God Has Saved Us today

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.Consequences

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

God loves us very much and he has done something crazy to save us. God sent His only Son Jesus to Die on the Cross and has saved us from eternal Damnation. The ultimate Sacrifice, the Ultimate Move, The Ultimate plan to save His People and show His Love For US.

But when the judge died, Israel reactivated her downward spiral of progressive deterioration by following ways even more corrupt than the immediately preceding corrupt generation. (The “fathers” of v. 17 seems to refer to the obedient generation of Joshua’s day, while the fathers of v. 19 refers to the preceding generation.)

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

But when the judge died, Israel reactivated her downward spiral of progressive deterioration by following ways even more corrupt than the immediately preceding corrupt generation. (The “fathers” of v. 17 seems to refer to the obedient generation of Joshua’s day, while the fathers of v. 19 refers to the preceding generation.)

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

John

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

English Standard Version Chapter 15