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Post by Josh on May 22, 2010 13:27:06 GMT -8
Post your comments/ questions/ discussion starters on Judges chapters 1-2 as replies to this post.
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Post by Josh on May 22, 2010 13:34:44 GMT -8
So, the big idea of Judges is that after the death of Joshua, the next generation of Israelites turned away from God, compromised with the cultures around them, and experienced wave after wave of hardship punctuated by God stepping in over and over again to save them (temporarily) through the Judges, human leaders whom God inspired for a season to liberate the Jews and turn them back to Him.
Sound familiar?
It's similiar to the story of the Israelites in Exodus and Numbers, it's simliar to the story of mankind in general, and it's something we as individuals can certainly relate to.
So, some questions:
1) What does this passage teach us about the results of disobedience to God?
2) What is the danger of compromising our faith with the larger culture around us? What does that look like for us? How does this fit in with the New Testament idea of "being in the world but not of it"?
3) What does this passage teach us about God's use of adversity and suffering?
4) Why did God send "Judges" to save Israel over and over again? Was this a failed strategy on God's part?
I'd love to hear your answers to any of these questions!
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Post by Josh on May 22, 2010 20:20:59 GMT -8
A note on chronology in these two chapters: there is sort of a "flashback" theme in chapter 2. A strictly chronological reading would be Judges 2:6-23 and then Judges 1:1-2:5.
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Post by Josh on May 22, 2010 20:30:09 GMT -8
In Judges 2:1-5 we have yet another example in the OT of the Angel of the Lord, who speaks as if he is the Lord.
Along with some, I personally believe this to be a reference to the pre-incarnate Jesus.
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Post by Josh on May 23, 2010 16:51:50 GMT -8
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