Who are you to judge?

The Book of Judges is taking on new meaning for me in light of this current time we are experiencing. There is nothing new under the sun! Of course, when reading the Old Testament we

have to remember that it is the OLD Testament and that there is a NEW Testament, but there are some things that have not changed between the two.

Human nature hasn't seemed to change.  Human beings are still subject to evil. Not only are humans subject to evil, we have the choice to engage in it either by ignorance of deliberate decision.

God's original and eternal intention was and still is to bless his creation. When something goes awry it is something other than God that is setting a variance to the creation he set up. The trouble is when something goes wrong, man's natural inclination is to respond to what is wrong and diminish our relationship with God. We, humans, are great complainers when we engage our negative selfishness. It is not wrong to care about ourselves. We should; but to push it into a negative mindset and continue to stay hunkered down there is not what God had in mind for us. God has given us so many 'outs' for this dilemma, that it is a wonder why evil still floats around. God has given us so much through his love in his creation, his word, his spirit and his son. That is where our focus should be. Light dispels darkness, not the other way around. Focusing on the light is the only way out of any deep hole!

In Judges, it is a constant cycle of self-interest, stumbling, complaining, giving up, crying out and eventual deliverance similar to what is recorded in The Book of Exodus. God is so patient!
In each cycle, God was able to find someone to lead people out of the dark corners that they had drifted into.

Who were these judges? These were people who knew what they had to do because they loved God. They were not perfect but they must have been able to listen to God. Othniel was the first judge.  He was related to Caleb of whom we know 'wholly followed' the Lord. Othniel also had shown the same kind of tenacity in taking care of the enemy who had invaded the land in Judges 1.

10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim. Judges 3:1

The result was 40 years of rest for God's people!

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the rescuer today. Because of his life, every believer has the spirit of God in them to discern the good and the bad of this world without fear. Jesus Christ exposed the adversary and the idols that draw people away from God. He is the head of the church today and he lives on forever. We can distinguish those things that distract, oppress and abuse us and stand up without fear holding us back because of his living reality.