66 Love Letters - Chapter 7 - Judges

Sin is in you lodged deep.

So, I'm left with the question: will You really change me? If I face what is so awful about me, will You fix it? And if so, how?


"I can and I will, in My way and in My time. I AM able." 66 Love Letters -Dr. Larry Crabb


When I began the Book of Judges, I thought I was in for some deep reading about some pretty righteous characters. I wanted to be like those appointed by God to keep order in His Holy Name. I hadn’t read too many chapters before I remembered that God uses people just like us to do His will. As is so often in our humanness we fail, of course, and I was in for one disappointment after another.

What spoke to me, however, was that God is eternal love and God answers the cries of His people. How many times? In Matthew 18, God’s wish is that we forgive one another seventy times seven. God, however, forgives us eternally. Thank goodness!

In Judges Chapter Seven, God used a timid and uncertain man named Gideon to defeat the Midianites. Gideon had quite an army following him; over 32,000 men. God told Gideon that there were too many men to go into battle so He began paring them down. Finally, 300 remained and God sent them out. While 32,000 soldiers might have certainly defeated the army of the Midianites, God wanted His people to understand that He is in control, not Gideon, not the army. By paring Gideon’s army down to 300, impossible odds, the Lord was glorified in the seemingly impossible victory. And how amazing that none of Gideon’s men, not even the 300, had to lift a sword to help. But, by chapter eight, the people were at it again, falling by the wayside only to realize they needed another judge.

So often, throughout the Book of Judges, the author states “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord……” Don’t you want to look into the invisible camera and say “Really…?” or “Are you kidding me? Again?” Yet, God understands. God forgives. And, God loves His people.

He offers hope in a world where there is little to be found. So many of God’s appointed judges were sent at the pleas of His people. Breaking God's laws and showing little reverence to the Lord seemed to be a generational trait. Is it only hopeless situations when God hears our pleas and answers us? Or is it because our most desperate times are when we finally call on God? Either way, God is faithful and loving and holds on to us even when we don’t hold on to Him.

A Few Questions to Ponder

• Do you cry out to God only at times of desperation? Or, do you speak to Him daily and feel comfortable to share with Him every grievance?

• Are you hanging on to God or is God the one that has you in His grip?

• Do you understand the importance of passing along your knowledge of God’s love and reverence to your own family?

• Do you feel like you’ve been tumbling in an eternal “fluff cycle” of your own life?

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