Judges and Ruth: Even in Darkness (Welwyn Commentary Series | WCS)
Overview
The period of the judges was an evil one, requiring hard words for hard times. The people of Israel had rejected their God for the desire of an earthly ruler, and had rebelled against his laws. Yet even in this time of unbelief and hypocrisy, God raised up men and women to call his people back to a personal faith in the living God.
The author, in taking us through the books of Judges and Ruth, challenges Christians to live consistently with their professions of faith, and shows that even in darkness, God offers a message of hope and victory to those who will faithfully follow him.
Top Highlights
“First and foremost is commitment to the living God, who reveals himself in the Bible.” (Page 114)
“I mean also all those bodies of Christians who have adhered to a sound biblical creed and have preached the true gospel of Christ. Surely our prayer must be that every pulpit might herald the unvarnished truth of God’s Word and that the people might believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and live sacrificially, fearlessly and righteously in him! On a personal level, let it be asked, ‘Do you pray for the revival of your church? Do you pray for the faithfulness of your minister? Do you pray for gifted men to be raised up for the ministry? Are you pleading with God that his messengers will be kept uncompromised and fearless in their ministries?” (Pages 29–30)
“These chapters, however, record a very small proportion of his life—namely the summer before he became judge and the last year of his life. That Samson served God faithfully is a perspective that must not be obscured even by his manifest sins, for without this perspective—as will be shown later—the meaning of Samson’s life will be seriously misunderstood (cf. Hebrews 11:32). In this study we shall focus upon the rise of this man of God to the judgeship, leaving his decline and fall for a separate chapter.” (Page 92)
“These were not judges in the modern sense, but were civil governors and often military leaders upon whom the seal of God was placed.” (Pages 7–8)
“They intimate the deliberate choice of a heart which belongs in the first place to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and which has learned to count all things but loss for the excellency of this knowledge.’” (Page 112)
Gordon Keddie has the ability to write in a clear, lucid manner. One is never left in doubt as to what he is trying to say.
—The Monthly Record
- Title: Even in Darkness: Judges and Ruth Simply Explained
- Author: Gordon Keddie
- Publisher: Evangelical Press
- Series: Welwyn Commentary Series
- Publication Date: 1985
- Pages: 126
