Or, to look at it in another way: “The Angel the Lord” shows up in one of the darkest/most evil times of Israel history
While this contrast between the Divine and sinful man is striking, it calls to my mind a verse in the New Testament that, likewise, brings together these two contrasting themes, and that is Romans 3:23 (for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God)
And sin is engraved in Israel’s history as the history of Judges records the cycles of Israel’s fall into sin, her crying out the Lord, her deliverance, her obedience, then REPEAT. The closing verse of this book is horrific:
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
As I consider the utter recorded depravity, my mind reflects upon a hymn that points to One whom loved us enough to pull us from this dark domain. The hymn SUCH LOVE is our clarion call to grasp the reality that we can break the cycle of sin. Here is the first verse:
That God should love a sinner such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest till He had planned to bring me nigh,
How wonderful is love like this!
So what can we learn from all this?
First, though, we are far removed in time from the book of Judges, the condition of our lives without God mirror the deplorable times of Israel during this early history.
Second, the good news that the same Divine Presence that showed up in the worst of times, continues to show up today for you and for me.
Yes, we can stop the insanity of sin, this cycle of on-again, off-again fervency in our worship as we recognize that the Lord Jesus has not only broken this cycle, but empowers us through His Holy Spirit to continue to walk in His steps
With the reality of SUCH LOVE going to the cross for us, let’s do all we can to see the last chapter of our lives read something like:
In those days there was no king, but only Jesus; and everyone did what was right in His eyes.
Blessings on your journey,
-Michael