"After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
Acts 13:20

Observations from Paul’s sermon in Acts 13…

The book of judges covers a period of from 350 to 450 years (depending on when one counts the beginning and end of the period). During that time, Israel’s history was a history of disobedience, punctuated graciously by leaders who led the people into temporary periods of repentance, followed by recurring times of backsliding. This long period of national history is not unlike the history of both God’s people individually and the Church collectively.

But likewise, God has been gracious to raise up leaders, whose voices bring us back home. The history of the Church can be studied as a history of revivals as God shepherds His erring Bride (the Church) back to Him after her many wanderings. And likewise, haven’t many of us experienced the same in our individual lives?

Let us beware of our propensity to turn away. As Robert Robinson’s timeless 1758 hymn, “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing,” aptly state it:

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

And let us thank the Lord for those He sends as gifts to us who bid us to come home.