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Word in the Wild is a one year Bible adventure with friends. Join from anywhere and enjoy a fun, rewarding, and doable 12-month journey through the Bible where you read it from cover to cover and understand it. It’s not a devotional or recap. It’s a guide by your side through God’s Word. With support from a weekly podcast and an online community of fellow travelers, this is the year when you finally explore the Bible in its own words and on its own terms for yourself.
INTRO
This is Word and the Wild...a one year Bible adventure with friends. My name is Owen. I'm your host and your guide, and together we are on a 12 month journey as a podcast plus community...where we read the Bible for ourselves, but not by ourselves.
We are here in WEEK 14... We are out here in the wild west. It's a time when the Israelites live on the frontier... on the dangerous borderland between prosperity and disaster and God calls in a series of lone rangers to rescue his people... the Judges.
So... hello and welcome we're rolling though this journey together. It's not a recap where we feed you bite-sized bits of the Bible... No this is free-wheeling walk where we watch the story the Bible unfold like the epic movie it is... So, subscribe here on your favorite podcast plant form and share with a friend.
And, a special welcome to our Word and the Wild PLUS community members. Their support of this non-profit endeavor is making space for all of us on this Bible reading adventure. They enjoy access to our private, safe online space where no honest question is a dumb question... along with a weekly livestream Q&A, and bonus content like articles, interactions, meet-ups, and even some livestream teaching gatherings with yours truly.
If any of that sounds like your jam, then check the show notes for how to become a member yourself. Or get all the details over at wordandthewild.com.
So, saddle up, my friend. We're on the trail in the wild west of the Israelite frontier...
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There may be no other episode in this Bible adventure that resembles our own times more than the book of Judges.
It's a time when there are a handful of people who truly love and follow the Creator God... the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... but those people are few and far between. And, when you do find them, the are often on their own and fending for themselves. Hopes for a nation of people who together love God and each other... and establish a nation that represents God's heart to the world... those hopes are fading. God's people have forgotten their history, forsaken their purpose, and flounder in their poor choices.
It's a dark time.
Israel's relationship with God is a team sport. That's been clear since Sinai. But, that doesn't mean that individuals don't matter. Judges shows that, in dark times, a single person who chooses to love and obey God can be a powerful tool in God's hands.
In dark times, a movement of God can start with one. A single individual who listens God's voice and steps forward with courage.
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As a people, the Israelites faltered in their commitment to maintain their relationship with God. And so, they failed to clear out Canaan.
As a result, God made this damming statement after the death of Joshua:
““I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.””
(Judges 2:1–3)
And that's the plot of Judges. The people groups that remain in Canaan get the upper hand and become a festering wound to the fragile nation of Israel.
But, even though God's people were unfaithful to him, God did not abandon them. It says that "the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering" (Judges 2:18). When times got dark and the poor choices of God's people came home to roost, God would empower a leader to come to their rescue.
These powerful leaders are the men and women who give the book we're reading it's name. The Judges.
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As we make our way through this week's season of the story, we will move through about 300 years of colorful history. Sometimes, our eyes will be glued to incredible tales of victory.
Other times, we will be shocked by scenes we want to fast forward past as quickly as possible.
Many of the Bible's best-known stories come from Judges. We will meet people you might recognize -- Deborah, Gideon, Samson. But, you might be surprised by just how flawed these famous figures appear when we hold them up to the light.
When we hear "judges" we think of courtrooms, robes, bailiffs, and gavels. But these leaders that God raises up aren't those kind of judges.
Think less supreme court and more... wild west.
These "judges" are more your Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp types. Hard livin', quick shootin' freedom fighters who dish out their own violent brand of vigilante justice. Lone wolves who aren't afraid to bring law and order outside of law and order.
They let their fists do the talking. They're just as likely to shoot up the town as they are to save it. Rogue gunslingers who do a lot of good when they wear the badge, but who can throw their sheriff star on the table and bring down revenge and violence on innocent bystanders at a moments notice.
These desperados would say that desperate times call for desperate measures. And when the bad guys are putting their boots on the neck of God's people, these devil-may-care delivers are your huckleberry.
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Remember a while back when God promised success to his people if they would remember his direction and stay faithful to him?
In some ways, these pistol-packing deliverers embody a one-person fulfillment of this promise from God all the way back in Leviticus:
““I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword....
I will live among you, and I will not despise you. I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.”
(Leviticus 26:6–13)
Ehud, Othniel, Gideon, Sampson... and many of the other judges. God used them and an handful of followers to route entire armies. They are unlikely heroes who often fight with unlikely weapons against great odds. And they find success. Not because of strength or strategy, but because they listen to God's instructions and allow themselves to be empowered by his Spirit.
The result? They free God's people for a season. God's people crawl out of the caves they've been hiding in and once again "walk with their heads held high"... if only for a brief time.
Until, once again, the people scatter and everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
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To me, these "judges" reveal three essential things about how God works his plan inside our broken world.
Godly leaders are God's response to oppression and suffering. God does not forget his people. Even when his people wanter away, his shepherd's heart causes him to raise up leaders. And those leaders have a responsibility to heed the call.
Individuals matter. For a group of people to be healthy -- be it a family, a staff, a work crew, or a nation -- for a group of people to be truly healthy, every person in that group needs to be walking out their lives with love and loyalty to God and each other. As we are seeing with the Israelites, that's rare. But, when times are dark, a single person who listens to God and follows him can make a profound difference. Take what you see in Judges to heart. God may be asking you to be the person who makes courageous moves to bring life and health to a circle of people in your care. Take it from the judges, it can be a lonely path, but with God's help, you can do it.
But, be careful. That's the third lesson I see from judges: The difference between a good leader and a dangerous leader is empowerment by God's Spirit. Just because a person finds themself in the lead seat, doesn't mean they are a force for good.
In fact, if we aren't careful, we as leaders change over time. Many judges in our story drift. When they are empowered by God's spirit, they accomplish generational good. When they follow their own selfish desires, they bring great harm to themselves and their people.
We all know godly leaders who allow their pride and selfishness to erode their effectiveness. They still walk and talk like leaders, but because they aren't led by God's spirit themselves... they lead others down a dark path.
And that could become you or me at any time.
We admire these judges' courage. We applaud their commitment. We follow their stories with caution.
OUTRO
And we are ready to roll with the Judges this week.... Enjoy the journey. Adventure awaits!
Word and the Wild is a one year Bible adventure with friends. I'm loving it and I hope you are, too.
All you Word and the Wild PLUS community members, I'll be seeing you in THE WILD... our private online community space. Everyone else, don't be a stranger. Subscribe to this podcast and follow Word and the Wild on Facebook for some interaction there.
Word and the Wild is a LineHouse Community. It's part of the LineHouse Community Network, a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring neighbors together to promote awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the Bible.
Because friendship and God's Word change lives and change cities.
And... presented by the LumaVoz podcast network.
And with that, we're out. I'm Owen, I'm your host and your guide. Until next time, I'll see you out there on the trail in the Word and the Wild.