“The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.” (Judges 6:1)
The Bible book of Judges does not exactly cheer me up. Over and over again I read how the people of Israel turned their backs on the Lord God and got into deep trouble as a result. A hopeless situation, it seems. Yet also in this book the faithfulness of the Lord shines through. He gives salvation when the people beg Him for it.
In Judges 6, it is the same story again. Previous chapters have told how God miraculously gave deliverance from King Jabin, who ruled the people of Israel with a harsh hand. The people were grateful and acknowledged God’s intervention. For forty years after that, the land remained peaceful. But then trouble began again: “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” They served the idols of neighboring people. God had explicitly warned them about this, but He concluded, “You have not obeyed My voice.”
As a consequence of their unfaithfulness, the Lord allowed the Midianites, another neighboring people, to plunder Israel again and again. They destroyed the crops and livestock so as to impoverish the people.
What do you think, were the Israelites in trouble because of their own behavior or is this a broader pattern? What aspects could be in play here? Could this be relevant today as well?