In this six-session Bible study, pastor and teacher Joel Muddamalle reveals that the solution to breaking free from destructive and unhealthy patterns is to return to practicing humility.
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit" (Judges 17:6).
The people of Israel in the time of the judges were stuck in a draining cycle of their own making. The cycle went like this. First, the people would turn away from God and do evil. Second, the Lord would see their evil acts and respond in justice by executing his judgment. Third, the people would realize their error and, usually in remorse, cry out to the Lord for deliverance. Fourth, God would hear their cries and raise up various "judges" to deliver them from their plight. But then, with the crisis removed, the people would once again become complacent and turn away from God, and they would be stuck in the cycle all over again.
Why were the people unable to break free? The author of Judges gives us a clue when he states, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit" (Judges 17:6; see also 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). In truth, the people had a King, the Lord, but were quick to reject him and his authority over their lives. Each time they looked to themselves or other foreign gods as their "king," they fell back into the cycle.
In this six-session Bible study, pastor and teacher Joel Muddamalle reveals that the solution to the Israelites' problem, which is the same problem we have today, is to return to practicing humility. This often-neglected spiritual discipline is what allows us to recognize God is in control and we are not. It gives us the perspective to trust in him when we go through hardships and heartaches. It is the secret that enables us to face our fears and see the unlikely and unexpected places in which God is working in our lives. Humility is what we need to retrieve in order to live out the good life that God desires for his people, and as Joel reveals in this study, the story of Judges can serve as our guide.
