NO. NO. NO. PLEASE. DON’T. LEAVE!  THIS. IS. NOT. ABOUT. CYCLING. 

However, if you want me to talk about cycling I can surely do that.  I thought about calling this Circles, but then someone may start singing The Circle of Life or You Got Me Going in Circles or Spinning Wheel.

Seriously, I am going to talk about Cycles.

Have you ever studied or read the Book of Judges?  I have found where I pastor that short bursts of studies actually work better than long, drawn-out affairs.  What I mean is a study consisting of maybe 2-4 months works better than to say, “We are going to go through the book of Numbers until we are done.”  🙂  So, beginning February 1, I started a “Take a Trip on Route 66” class.  You probably have figured out that the class is a trip through the 66 books of the Bible.  Tonight, Wednesday, we are in Judges.  Can I say this bluntly?

THEY ARE ONE MESSED UP GROUP OF CHRIST-FOLLOWERS ISRAELITES!!

Yeah, that was a Freudian slip there.  🙂  If you have ever studied the book, you know that it is “built around” cycles.  There are six of them, and they go like this:  Sin, Slavery, Shout Out, Salvation, Sin.  Explanation:

Sin- “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

Slavery- God raises up a foreign nation to overtake and make the Israelites a captive audience.

Shout Out- They get tired of being slaves and living in rotten conditions so they whine cry out to God.

Salvation- God raises up a judge to lead the Israelites against the foreign enemy that is holding them captive. 

Sin- They enjoy the freedom and stick with God as long as the judge is alive. The judge dies and it repeats itself over again: “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” 

It hit me how much like the Israelites Christ-followers I tend to be.  I am fickle.  I am hot/cold more than I like to admit.  I waver.  I  compromise.  I sometimes find myself doing “what is right in my own eyes.”   So the message of Judges hits a bulls-eye located in the center of my chest.

Yep, nothing like God’s Word  taking a shot and hitting its mark.  Something else…maybe the Older Testament is not so dry and dusty after all.  What about you?  Do you find yourself in circles?  Is there a favorite part of the OT that speaks to your heart?  I’d love to hear from you.