In our preschool and children’s curriculum, we are now coming to the end of the Cycle of Judges. If you look through the book of Judges, you see six different time periods all characterized by the cycle of sin and idolatry in the lives of the Israelites.
Judges 3:7 – And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord….
Judges 3: 12 – And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…
Judges 4: 1 – And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died…
Judges 6:1 – The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…
Judges 10: 6 – The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…
Judges 13:1 – And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…
Over and over again we read about their sin, rebellion and failures. We are introduced to the false idols they worship and the life of selfishness and idolatry that they partake in time and time again. When you look at each story individually, it can be very discouraging.
These are God’s people. The ones he chose to be set apart. Studying each of these stories and teaching them to a group of children, can be very heartbreaking.
Yet God has given us the big picture. We know the full story. One of my favorite things in the Gospel Project curriculum is how each story has a “Christ Connection”. The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but that did not stop God from fulfilling his plan and completing his story of redemption for his chosen people.
“Christ Connection: After God’s people sinned, the judges helped God’s people obey God again. But the judges could not change the people’s hearts and make them love God. God had a plan. He sent His Son, Jesus, to change His people’s hearts and save them from sin forever.”
“Christ Connection: The people of Israel needed help. They asked God to help them. God used Gideon to help the people, and God fought for them. We need help too. We need God to save us from sin. We cannot save ourselves. God sent His Son, Jesus, to save us.”
Thankfully for us, God’s story of redemption is not thwarted by our failures. We often feel as though we are too far gone to be loved, forgiven and saved, but God does not see us that way at all. He has chosen each of us (John 15:16) and called us to be his children (I John 3:1). He loves us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:1) which means that there is nothing we can do to lessen or change that (Rom. 8:38). Colossians 3 tells us that we are “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved”. The fact that we are chosen by God, as the Israelites were, gives us not only an amazing purpose in life, but also a grave responsibility. We are called to be set apart (I Peter 2:9, Jer. 1:5, Rom. 8:30) and to live a life honoring God–bringing glory to him in all we do. 1 Corinthians reminds us we were bought with a price and we are no longer our own. How do you choose to live the life you have been entrusted with? My prayer is that we will each learn from the cycle of rebellion of the Israelites and live according to 2 Corinthians 5:15 which says, “And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised again.”