Round and round...

They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so. And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not." Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua. – Judges 2v13-23

When I taught Bible in a Christian high school this was one of my favourite sections to teach. I learned this pattern at a seminar by Terry Hall. I was impressed from the very start at the picture presented by this historical period of Jewish history.

Here it is. Israel had no king. I think we find a clear pattern that in the absence of a leader of some sort people quickly lapse into sin. That is why we have spiritual leaders even today. With no leader the people fell into sin. When they fell into sin they were weakened and some nation came to rule over them. After a time the people would call out for deliverance. God would send someone to deliver them from the enemy. Then there would be a period of silence before they fell into sin again. This cycle was repeated seven times in the book of judges. It was the same pattern over and over again.

These cycles of sin are something that we too have to deal with. Terry Hall used these words and drew them in a cycle pattern: Sin, slavery, supplication, saviour, silence repeated by sin, slavery, supplication…well you get the point.

The explanation is simple and I think it is something we can all identify with. We go along in relative quietness. We let our guard down and fall into a sin. Eventually that sin gets control of our lives. We realise it and call out to God. He gives us deliverance and we go into a period of relative peace and normality. Then, if we let our guard down, the same or another sin will creep into our lives. It gets a foothold and gains control, and the pattern repeats itself.

The problem is that we have an answer if we would just apply it. We, unlike Israel, are not ‘kingless.’ We have a king and we have the victory. We knowingly and volitionally allow sin to come in and reign. Sin has no power over us and still we get caught in this horrible vicious cycle.

There is no excuse for the cycle of sin to control us. We find our answer in Romans 6. Realise that we are dead to sin and reckon or account it to be true. Don’t let sin get a foothold it has no power to take.

Christ empowers us to break the cycle of sin. The only question is whether or not we really want the cycle broken.