Power Projections and Providence

In this episode on Judges and Ruth, Justin and Jewelle explore how the Biblical writers are gradually becoming aware that God works in the world in many varied and complicated ways. In Judges, we see God rewarding holiness and punishing wrongdoing, but we also see God partnering with flawed people, striving to rack up little wins even in the midst of big failures, and conspiring to help good people to whom bad things happen. At one point, God clearly has nothing to do with something the characters in the story think God has everything to do with. By the end, Israel has failed in its attempt to govern itself through judges, setting up the story of monarchy. But there's no easy triumphalism: Israel needs a king to keep going, but only because they've shown they don't want God himself to be their king.