God has brought his people into the promised land and He prospers them. They forget about who the source of their blessing is and they get enticed by foreign gods whom they go and worship. God brings or allows another nation to oppress them and take away their blessings and then it suddenly occurs to them that they need to repent of their idolatry and they cry out to YHVH who takes pity on them and raises up a charismatic leader whom He puts his Spirit upon to deliver them. Everything is fine until the leader dies and then the people fall back into idolatry again.
It's a picture of the eternal and long suffering God of Heaven trying to raise up a people whom He loves but who end up setting an example for the rest of the world about what happens when you try to live your lives without the power of God and according to your own wisdom instead of the divine wisdom that He provides. Fortunately for us He is the God of another chance.
2006-09-12 18:13:52
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answer #1
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answered by Martin S 7
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JUDGES
See Ruth
The book of Ruth is set in the time period of the Book of Judges. Although Ruth follows the book in the Bible, the meaning of Judges is explained in Ruth 1:1 "There was a famine in the land."
Judges unfolds at a time when there was no history. There was no history because there were no people. They were enslaved. They had no land. “There was a famine in the land.”
People had forgotten the marvelous saving acts of God Who:
ï¼ had led them out of slavery in Egypt;
ï¼ had led them through the Exodus;
ï¼ had led them into the Promised Land.
Even though people no longer remembered God (history), God continually remembers people (His Story). God sent leaders called judges, to rescue them from their enemies. The judges were a combination of military commander, social organizer, community activist, and legal archivist. They varied greatly in their kind of service. Some were very, very local and others were international. Some are quoted and others are not. "There was a famine in the land."
In such a setting, vastly different ideas on how to worship God (even on who God is) arose. Lawlessness, even civil war between the family tribes of Israel, was everywhere. “There was a famine in the land"
When they forgot their true King,
People just did their own thing.
"There was a famine in the land."
2006-09-12 17:51:33
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answer #2
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answered by Joe Cool 6
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The recurrent theme is the constantly wavering relationship of the people to their God. They would disobey and be repressed by pagan nations, then they would repent and God would raise up a judge to deliver them.
2006-09-12 17:53:21
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answer #3
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answered by Robert L 4
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