Lesson #6: God Remains Faithful

Dear Parents:

Below is the Teacher Devotion for Lesson #6, which will be taught to your kids this coming Sunday. It provides a nice recap of the Book of Judges.  The Teacher's Devotion includes a summary of the 13 Judges, the biblical reference where each Judge is mentioned and the number of years that they served as Judge for the nation of Israel.  Also this link (Timeline of the History of Israel) is a nice timeline summary of where the Judges fit with respect to Biblical History.  I thought this was a useful chronology that puts the history of Israel in context with the various books and prophets of the Old Testament.  Bottom line...God is and remains faithful to His people despite our unfaithfulness.

Homework and Lesson Themes for this past weekend (Lesson #5) can be found here.

Enjoy and have a blessed week!

Teacher Devotion

Scriptural Background

Before you begin to prepare for this lesson, please prepare your heart and mind by reading Judges 10–16; Hebrews 11:30–34; and 1 Corinthians 10:1–11. It is a substantial amount of reading, but you will find it helpful to see the continued pattern through Israel’s history in the period of the judges. This period of the 13 judges extended over about 300 years. It began around 1350 BC with the first judge, Othniel, and ended with the prophet and judge Samuel. It occurred during a very dark time of backsliding in Israel’s history. Within the book we see the repeated themes of the Israelites’ disobedience to God and God’s faithfulness to forgive, reward, and protect the people when they turned in humble contrition. We also see the recurring theme that God uses people—even the wicked, idolatrous enemy nations of Israel, and the imperfect judges — to bring judgment, to promote reconciliation with His people, and to fulfill His perfect will however He deems necessary.

The recurring cycle of the book of Judges is recapped clearly in Judges 2:16–19: 

"Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of 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 oppressed them and harassed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods,  to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way."

The moral climate during this time was pitiful.  There was no king, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). Yet as we read the book of Judges, it is hard to miss God’s faithfulness and compassion toward His people. Over and over the Lord heard their cry and sent someone who would deliver them from the consequences of their own sin (Judges 3:9). This book provides an amazing picture of just how faithful God is to His people in spite of their lack of faith in Him (see 2 Timothy 2:13). He is always eager to forgive a truly repentant heart (1 John 1:9). He demands obedience and is gracious to discipline us in our disobedience—as a father chastens a son (Hebrews 12:6).  It is good to remember that God’s faithfulness to us is based on His character, and will never waver.

Judge	Reference	Years Judged
Othniel	Judges 3:9–11	40 years
Ehud	Judges 3:15–30	80 years
Shamgar	Judges 3:31	10 years
Deborah	Judges 4:4–5:31	40 years
Gideon	Judges 6:7–8:35	40 years
Tola	Judges 10:1–2	23 years
Jair	Judges 10:3–5	22 years
Jephthah	Judges 11:1–12:7	6 years
lbzan	Judges 12:8–10	7 years
Elon	Judges 12:11–12	10 years
Abdon	Judges 12:13–15	8 years
Samson	Judges 13:2–16:31	20 years

Historical/Apologetics Background

In order to make sense of the period of the judges, including the account of Samson, consider what God had been doing ever since Moses pleaded for Him not to forsake Israel (Numbers 14:11–19). Moses asked God to spare Israel, despite their faithlessness in siding with the ten spies who discouraged them from entering the Promised Land. The basis for Moses’s intercession was that God should show Himself faithful to Israel, not for their sake, but for His own glory’s sake. Otherwise, if Israel were forsaken, the nations would think God was unable to carry out His promises. In response to Moses’s plea, God relented. And in Judges, God’s glory was once again shown to Israel in His undeserved faithfulness, which was displayed in the constant cycle of Israel’s sin, God’s judgment, Israel’s cries, God’s deliverance, and the Israelites’ abuse of that deliverance by lapsing again into sin. God showed both justice in punishing Israel’s sin and faithful covenant mercy in repeatedly delivering the people from the oppression of idolatrous nations. By doing so, the Lord continually acted as a just judge and showed Himself as the God who is greater than the idols of the nations who oppressed Israel.

These accounts in Judges are written as an example to us (1 Corinthians 10:11). In our lives, God’s honor is at stake, and His faithfulness to us—His flawed, sinful, yet redeemed people—displays His greatness. This is a precious truth that we must handle carefully. Romans 6 warns that we must not abuse the grace of God. If we do, it may show that we are not truly His (1 John 3:4–9). Nonethe-less, God’s faithfulness and forgiveness toward His own are indeed unconditional. Praise Him!

Before the Throne

Merciful Savior, I humbly enter your throne room today. I praise you because you are faithful to sinners like me. You are just as faithful today as you were to the Israelites. Help me to teach my students to see your faithfulness. Bless them, Lord. Help them apply this lesson to their own lives.