02/22/2026
The cycle begins: “I will never break my covenant with you”
SSCRC will be walking through the book of Judges during Lent this year. Judges recounts the time in-between the conquering of Canaan and the time of the Kings. The Israelites followed a predictable pattern in this period. During the time of a righteous ruler they followed the Lord, but after the ruler died, the next generation forgot the Lord. Their inability to remain faithful to God led God to punish them via the Canaanites who still remained in the land. In times of crisis, the people would call out to God and God would raise up a righteous ruler who would lead Israel. After his/her death, the cycle would begin again.
We recognize a similar cycle of sin in our own lives: times of closeness with God may be followed by a falling away season before crisis or conviction pushes us back to God for a season of repentance and renewal. In the church year, Lent is set aside as a built-in time of repentance and renewal, so it is fitting during this time to learn from the book of Judges about how people are messy, but God is ever merciful. And when we come to the end of our time in Judges, we may be more than ready to encounter the savior who broke the the cycle of sin and who gives us hope for a final and eternally experienced redemption.
Image Credit: Bethany Besteman
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