Judges: The Cycle of Wickedness and Righteousness

During the reign of Judges, the people would cycle between turning away from keeping the commandments, being vexed by wars, repenting, and turning back to the Lord. The judges were not rulers or law enforcers. They were men and women of wisdom that had the gift of prophecy. They became the military leaders that would help win the wars. This is a list of the 12 Judges focused on in the book of Judges:

Othniel of Judah (3:9): victory against Chushan-rishathaim.

Ehud of Benjamin (3:15): victory against Eglon of Moab. 

Shamgar (3:31): victory against the Philistines (location unknown).

Deborah (Ephraim) and Barak (Naphtali) (4:4–6): victory over Jabin and Sisera. 

Gideon of Manasseh (6:11): victory over the Midianites and Amalekites. 

Tola of Issachar (10:1).

Jair of Gilead (10:3). 

Jephthah of Gilead (11:11): victory over the Ammonites.

Ibzan of Bethlehem (12:8). 

Elon of Zebulun (12:11). 

Abdon of Ephraim (12:13). 

Samson of Dan (15:20): victory against the Philistines.

“Israel’s political covenant showed the mercy and long-suffering of the Lord and would have been the best possible government in Israel. As can be seen in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, however, under the rule of the judges the people must demonstrate loyalty to the Lord and His commandments for this ideal form of government to function properly. Since Israel usually broke their covenant during the reign of the judges, the governmental system did not function properly, and Israel fell out of favor with the Lord.” (OT Manual)

When they were righteous their enemies left them alone. Their biggest enemy was the one from within: vacillation, apathy, disobedience, and rebellion.

Our biggest enemy today is also one from within. As we choose righteousness and obedience, the Lord guides us and we find peace and happiness even in a chaotic world around us. When we don’t live true to ourselves and our understanding of right, we do not feel the peace. Even in a seemingly good life, we feel an emptiness and lack in our life and never feel like what we have is enough.

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Blessings of Obedience: Deuteronomy

  Deuteronomy 10:1-5

 1 At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two ^atables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ^bark of wood.
 2 And I will ^awrite on the tables the words that were in the first tables ^bwhich thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
 3 And I made an ark of ^ashittim wood, and hewed two ^btables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
 4 And he ^awrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me.
 5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.

·         Where did the Lord direct Moses to keep the tablets containing the Ten Commandments?

The tablets were put into an ark. They had a special protected spot.

·         What do you think this instruction teaches us about the value the Lord places on the commandments?

The commandments were so important that they needed to be protected so they could be remembered and used. They were also important enough that the Lord replaced them when they were broken the first time. It was critical that the children of Israel and all the rest of us have these commandments.

·         Notice the Joseph Smith Translation correction in the footnotes for verse 2.

JST Deut. 10:2 … which thou brakest, save the words of the everlasting covenant of the holy priesthood, and thou shalt … 

After the commandments were broken, they lost the blessings they could have had. The Lord wanted to sanctify them so they could be in his presence and learn even more, but they rejected this opportunity and so the blessing was withdrawn. In Doctrine and Covenants 84:14-27 we read about that lost blessing.

 14 Which ^aAbraham received the priesthood from ^bMelchizedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till ^cNoah;
 15 And from Noah till ^aEnoch, through the lineage of their fathers;
 16 And from Enoch to ^aAbel, who was slain by the ^bconspiracy of his brother, who ^creceived the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father ^dAdam, who was the first man—
 17 Which ^apriesthood ^bcontinueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without ^cbeginning of days or end of years.
 18 And the Lord confirmed a ^apriesthood also upon ^bAaron and his ^cseed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and ^dabideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.
 19 And this greater ^apriesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the ^bkey of the ^cmysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the ^dknowledge of God.
 20 Therefore, in the ^aordinances thereof, the power of ^bgodliness is manifest.
 21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the ^aauthority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is ^bnot manifest unto men in the flesh;
 22 For without this no ^aman can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
 23 Now this ^aMoses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to ^bsanctify his people that they might ^cbehold the face of God;
 24 But they ^ahardened their hearts and could not endure his ^bpresence; therefore, the Lord in his ^cwrath, for his ^danger was kindled against them, swore that they should not ^eenter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
 25 Therefore, he took ^aMoses out of their midst, and the Holy ^bPriesthood also;
 26 And the lesser ^apriesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the ^bkey of the ^cministering of angels and the ^dpreparatory gospel;
 27 Which ^agospel is the gospel of ^brepentance and of ^cbaptism, and the ^dremission of sins, and the ^elaw of ^fcarnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until ^gJohn, whom God raised up, being ^hfilled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb.

• Compare Deuteronomy 11:1, 13-14, 22; 30:6, 16, 19-20 with Matthew 22:36-40. Why do you think this is the most important commandment? Love is an emotion; can emotions be commanded? How can a person love someone they don’t even see? How can we learn to love God?

The Lord has told us the most important commandment is to love him. The Lord loves us and everything he does is for us. We cannot understand the depth of his love for us until we put our hearts and our souls into following those commandments he has given for our benefit. All of the commandments are based on love. Until we learn to love by serving God we do not understand the real power of that love. Love is much more than an emotion that we feel. Love is an action. It is a choice. When we choose to take the actions of love, the emotion of love soon follows. By making the choice to take the action we are blessed with the feeling. The feeling of love is one of the most powerful feelings there is. How do we love God whom we can’t see? We love him by doing the things he has asked us to do through the words of his mouthpieces, the prophets. As we show our willingness to follow his commandments, he will also speak to us and give us individual commandments, all of which will bring greater blessings to our lives. 

Matthew 22:36-40

 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt ^alove the Lord thy God with all thy ^bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy ^cmind.
 38 This is the first and great ^acommandment.
 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt ^alove thy neighbour as thyself.
 40 On these two commandments hang all the ^alaw and the prophets.

• Deuteronomy 10:12-13; 11:1, 8-9; 13:4; and 26:17-19 Why do you think the Lord places such a strong emphasis on obedience to the commandments? Note how Mosiah 2:41 and Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21 applies to this question. 

When we are obedient to the commandments our life is full of blessings. In these verses, it tells us; if we love and serve the Lord with all our heart and soul it is for our good. We will be blessed with strength, the temporal things we need, longer life, and an abundant life. We will also become a holy people. Ultimately we will receive all that God has. God does not lie and he has made a commitment with us. In Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21 we read:

20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—
 21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by ^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

 If we truly want happiness in our lives we will be obedient to the commandments as expressed in Mosiah 2:41

 41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and  ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. 

• Deuteronomy 28 gives us a list of the blessings that come from obeying the commandments in verses 1-14. In verses 15-65 we are told the consequences of not obeying the commandments.

Blessings of Obedience

Consequences of Disobedience

·         Blessed in the city & in the field ·         Blessed in the fruit of thy body, ground, livestock ·         Blessed in thy basket & thy store ·         Blessed when thou comest in & goest out ·         Thy enemies will be smitten ·         Blessed in thy storehouse and all thou settest thy hand unto ·         Given land ·         Will be a holy people, called by the name of the Lord, and respected. ·         Will have abundance ·         The heavens will rain on thee ·         All the work of thy hands will be blessed ·         Will lend to others and never borrow ·         Nations will look up to

·         Cursed in the city & in the field ·         Cursed in the fruit of thy body, ground, livestock ·         Cursed when thou comest in & goest out ·         Thy enemies will smite thee ·         Cursed in thy storehouse and all thou settest thy hand unto ·         Pestilence ·         Plague ·         Disease ·         No land to call thy own ·         Destroyed ·         Feel no love for family ·         Eat thy children ·         Scattered from one end of the earth to the other

 Helaman 12:3

3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. 

When life gets good we tend to forget the Lord and start to think that we accomplished all this abundance by ourselves and our hard work. Every day we are dependent on the Lord. All can be taken away in an instant. When we are being blessed by the good, it is because the Lord is protecting us from all those things that would harm us. If we start to forget the Lord and pull away from Him, then we also lose the power of that blessing. The Lord will withdraw his protection so that we may remember to call upon him for that protection. Many of the blessings are predicated on us asking for them. If we are no longer asking for them or being grateful for them, we lose those blessings.

The moment we turn back to the Lord, he will start blessing us again. In Mosiah 26:30 it says, “Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.” He loves us. He wants the best for us. His greatest desires are for us to be happy and to let us experience all that he has to give us. The only way that we can have those things is to follow the path that gets us to them. The Lord has pointed the way and does everything he can to help us. He can’t do it for us. It has to be a choice we willingly make.

I have felt the Lords tender mercies in my life. The more I put my effort into doing his will and trusting in Him, I experience the power of His love and gain even more trust that all will be well. There is no need to fear! He blesses me abundantly.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

29 But if from thence thou shalt ^aseek the Lord thy God, thou shalt ^bfind him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
 30 When thou art in ^atribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the ^blatter days, if thou ^cturn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
 31 (For the Lord thy God is a ^amerciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the ^bcovenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Look to Christ and Live

Numbers 21:4-9. The Brazen Serpent

 4 And they journeyed from mount ^aHor by the way of the ^bRed sea, to ^ccompass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

 5 And the people ^aspake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

 6 And the Lord sent ^afiery ^bserpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have ^asinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses ^bprayed for the people.

 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^aMake thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall ^blive.

 9 And Moses made a ^aserpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

•        What did the children of Israel do that resulted in the curse of the “fiery serpents”?

In verse 5 we see that the people were speaking against God and against Moses who was the prophet and their leader.

•        In what ways are people today sometimes like unto the children of Israel anciently? (See also 1 Nephi 17:45.)

 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

Just like the children of Israel and those in The Book of Mormon, members of the church today have seen many miracles. In spite of these miracles, we often forget to turn to the Lord and we forget all the blessings and miracles we have seen in our life. Instead we start to mummer and complain that it isn’t enough and we want more, or we want less of the challenges that are there for our growth. Elder Boyd K. Packer puts it this way:

“’How silly,’ some must have said. ‘How can such a thing cure me? I’ll not show my stupidity by paying any attention,’ and some would not look. …“And today many say, ‘How silly! How could accepting Christ save me?’ They will not turn their heads to look nor incline their ears to hear. They ignore the great witness that comes from these conferences. We ought to, indeed we must, heed the counsel of these men, for the Lord said, ‘What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.’” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1968, pp. 75–76.)It is not because they are learned, or have achieved professional success, or have traveled widely, that one should listen, but because they are “called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof” that one should listen (Articles of Faith 1:5). Those who fail to heed their warning voice lose the promised blessings. Truly, as the scriptures record, there are no successful sinners.

•        According to Alma 33:18-22, what did the brazen serpent symbolize?

 18 But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

 19 Behold, he was spoken of by ^aMoses; yea, and behold a ^btype was ^craised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

 20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would ^aheal them.

 21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in ^aunbelief, and be ^bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

 22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and ^abegin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to ^batone for their sins; and that he shall ^crise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the ^dresurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be ^ejudged at the last and judgment day, according to their ^fworks.

In verse 19 we see the brass serpent is a type or symbolic representation. In verse 22 we find out more specifics as the symbolism is explained. The symbolism represents the Son of God or Jesus Christ. We need to believe that he will redeem us as we repent (turn back to him), that he was resurrected and made it possible for all of us to be resurrected, and that in the judgment day we will stand before him to give an accounting for our actions.

•        How does one “look to” Jesus Christ for healing? Aside from physical healings, how can “looking to” the Savior heal a person in other ways?

There are many ways we can turn to Christ to be healed both physically and spiritually. I have seen many miracles of physical healing happen as priesthood blessings are sought, given, and faith is applied. Life threatening injury and illness has been healed sometimes almost instantly, sometimes over time. Spiritual healing can come when we have caused the harm (sinning) or when we are the one who has been harmed. Spiritual healing comes as we learn how to incorporate the power of Christ’s atonement in to our daily lives. Faith in Christ, repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost are the key principles. As we are baptized, all our past sins are turned over to Christ and our slate is wiped clean. We can then go forward and sin no more by following Christ’s example and allowing ourselves to be taught how to avoid sin and what is sin. Forgiveness is a powerful tool for healing when we have been hurt by others. Turning over our need for justice to Christ can free us to go forward. Allowing the Holy Ghost to bring comfort and understanding completes the process.

•        Where else do people sometimes turn for healing other than the Savior?

There are many legitimate sources where we can receive partial healing or help in healing both physically and spiritually, but only Christ can make us whole. Medical doctors, therapists, psychologists, naturopaths and medicine in all its forms can bring us relief from many ailments. Sometimes we also turn to numerous things to escape from emotional pain in our lives and find ourselves in the bondage of addiction because of it. Christ can also help us break those chains.

•        What are simple things in the gospel of Jesus Christ that can heal us?

Daily scripture reading keeps us in remembrance of Christ, teaches us what causes harm to ourselves or others, and invites the Spirit to stay with us as our constant companion, guide, warning voice, comforter, and teacher. We must not forget the words of our current prophet is also scripture.

Prayer personalizes the message that God has for us and gives us an opportunity to ask and receive all the Lord wants to bless us with.

Weekly attendance at church gives us an opportunity to partake of the sacrament and renew all that took place at baptism. It also unifies us with others of similar values and gives us opportunities to serve, uplift, encourage, strengthen, and learn from each other.

•        How have you experienced the healing power of the Atonement in your life?

In my life I have experienced many painful challenges. Addiction, abuse, infidelity, death, suicide, mental illness, and chronic physical ailments have all impacted my life in a very personal way. Any one of those things could have been devastating and I do still have my scars, but I feel peace, comfort, forgiveness, and most of all love. I feel loved by the Lord, by many people, and I feel love for many people even those who have caused me harm. I attribute that peace and those feelings to the healing power of the Atonement. It is by going through many of those things that I have come to really understand the healing power of the atonement and how it can be a valuable part of my everyday life. I have also been blessed with many good things and I am happy.