5 Smooth Stones

Chapter Twenty-Nine

SOUND JUDGMENT PRODUCES JUSTICE

The period of time after the children of Israel returned to the Promised Land from their time in Egypt is called the period of the Judges. The book of Exodus chronicles the time of Moses and the deliverance of the people from Egypt. The time and book of Joshua chronicles the records of the children of Israel reentering the land and conquering the nations which had occupied the land in their absence. The Book of Judges chronicles the time after this and before the time of the kings, when the tribes of Israel were judged as well as the enemies of the tribes were judged. It seemed like each time the children of Israel would “do what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6) and stray from the teachings given by Moses they would go into bondage and the Lord would raise up a deliverer, or more, who would not only judge the enemies but bring correction to the people of Israel. After the time of the Judges, came the time of the kings. While emphasis is often put on how righteous or how evil a king was, how regal his reign may have been, or how e ff ective or ine ff ective he was against the enemies of the people of God, the king’s ability to bring righteous judgment was actually paramount in the calling of an e ff ective king, just as it was on the judges of Israel that the kings came to replace. Deuteronomy 17:18 " Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.” Solomon was known as the greatest of the kings considering his wisdom when it came to judging Israel. The story of the two woman who claimed to be the mother of a single boy that came before the king for judgment made the king famous. 1 Kings 3:16 “Now two women who were

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