More Judges/More Idolatry

Aim: To be sure we are found in Jesus—by grace through faith.

Doctrine: Different leaders do not result in new hearts. Sometimes personalities can retard overt sin (for a while), but unregeneracy always eventually shows itself.

Exegesis: The slippery slope of idolatry: pressure builds, as human strength fades (vv. 1-5); hearts explode in love for false gods (v. 6); judgment descends from the true God (vv. 7-9).

Further application: Why texts like these are always relevant for the church: because unbelief is a ticking time bomb that can only be defused by the new birth.

Key verse: v. 6 ''Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.''