Identity

The book of Judges contains the well-known stories we tell our children about Gideon and Samson and the other judges of Israel, but we don’t often mention to them the dreadful back drop in which the stories are written.

Judges covers a very dark and unsettled period in the history of Israel between the death of Joshua and the crowning of King Saul. In some ways, it was a period of lawlessness, everyone doing whatever they wanted, turning their backs on God and facing the consequences of war with nearby nations and upheaval within the tribes of Israel. When thing became really bad and the people cried out in prayer, God raised up a judge to save them from their enemies.

Our generation is going through its own dark and unsettled period with perplexing events on the world’s political stage, terrorists committing terrible crimes, waves of refugees flooding into western nations and the effects of climate change causing huge storms and great damage. What will happen in our age as people cry out to God?

This short sermon series looks at the lives of Deborah, Gideon and Samson.