Kids Letters From God
Letter From God 9
The Israelites Reject Their Lord King
Faithful God Sends Judges to Deliver
WRITING "LETTER FROM GOD" 9
Judges covers about three hundred years of Jewish history after Joshua's death. Joshua did not appoint someone to follow him. God wanted His people to look to their Lord King. When the Israelites rejected their Lord King,
God sent judges to deliver them. Although these days were dark and sometimes ugly, it was fascinating to see God's plan unfolding in history.
In studying the Judges, we were thrilled to see the winner believer Judge Othniel fight and win the battle over the king of Mesopotamia (Iran today). We stood in awe as the left-handed Judge Ehud plotted and killed the oppressor King Eglon of Moab. We watched as Judge Deborah and her General Barak fought and defeated Commander Sisera with his huge army and nine hundred chariots. We were amazed to see how a woman named Jael was able to kill Commander Sisera with a tent peg!
With weapons of trumpets and clay pot with torches, Judge Gideon and his band of three hundred prepared warriors defeated one hundred thirty-five thousand Arab soldiers. Gideon's band had followed God's instructions exactly.
We discovered how the self-made king of Israel, Abimeleck, was killed when a woman dropped a millstone on his head. We then studied the sad story of Jephhah and his desperate vow. Who could believe the super strength of Judge Samson in his conflicts with the Philistines?
It was interesting to note the different type of judges God chose to deliver the Jews. Each judge seemed right for their mission. Most of the judges were the Jew's military leaders.
The author of Judges wrote these lessons when Israel was in their dark days to show us the problems the Jews had when they rejected their Lord God and His Law. Hopefully, we will not repeat their wrong thinking. We need to store God's letter in our souls to protect us from sinning against Him, Psalm 119:11.