Christ In Judges
Christ in Judges
Bro Yeow Chin Kiong | 14 June 2026 | Luke 24:27
"And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." — Luke 24:27
The First Bible Study Christ Ever Conducted
This lesson is built on Luke 24 — that quiet, world-changing seven-mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, on the very day Christ rose from the dead. Two disciples, heads down, hearts heavy, did not yet recognize the risen Lord walking beside them.
And what did Jesus do? He conducted the first Bible study of His resurrection life.
Through Moses, through the Prophets, and by implication through the Writings, He went through all the Scriptures pointing them to Himself. By the end, those disciples would say to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).
That same risen Christ invites us today to walk through an Old Testament book that, at first glance, looks like the very last place you would expect to find Him — the book of Judges. And yet He is there, all the way through it.
"Everyone Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes"
One single verse summarises the whole book of Judges: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25). That is the book in a single line.
This was the time when the people of Israel had settled, or were just about to settle, in the promised land — and yet they themselves were not committed to the promise God had made to them. God's promise to them was simple: remain faithful, and the God of heaven will bless you incredibly. But they would not.
There was no king in Israel at this time. The Law of Moses had already made provision for a king, and laid down how the king was to be guided by that very Law. But there was no king yet. And without a king — without a settled, recognised authority guided by God's word — everyone simply did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. We see today in our own state elections, in Negeri Sembilan, in Johor, that civil government with real duties to perform is needed. Without it, a people drifts.
We are reminded of a sober truth: even the kings themselves were a problem. The first three kings of the united kingdom of Israel did not completely fulfil God's plan. Saul lost his way altogether. David — the man after God's own heart — committed adultery on a grand scale and then schemed the murder of Bathsheba's husband, and in the end was not even permitted to build the temple he longed so deeply to build. Solomon — for all the dazzling wisdom that gave us Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon — brought the nation into idolatry, because he was a hard-core romantic who married hundreds of foreign wives and let their gods into the land.
So even with kings, Israel struggled. And before the kings, in the long stretch we are looking at today, there was a period of more than 200 years when leadership of the young nation of Israel lay in the hands of the judges. Twelve of them across twenty-one chapters — and one even declared himself king.
Twelve tribes. Twelve apostles. Twelve judges.
They had received the Law at Mount Sinai. They had a priesthood through the line of Aaron. That should have been enough. But to run a nation you also need administrators, and that is what the judges were — military leaders and civil authorities, holding sections of the country together, fending off enemies. It was not an easy job.
You would not expect to find the story of a coming Saviour in such a book.
And yet He is there.
Outline of Judges
The Judges
Othniel | Judges 3:7–11
Ehud | Judges 3:12–30
Shamgar | Judges 3:31
Deborah | Judges 4:1–5:31
Gideon | Judges 6:1–8:28
[Abimelech] | Judges 8:28–9:57
Tola | Judges 10:1–2
Jair | Judges 10:3–5
Jephthah | Judges 10:6–12:7
Ibzan | Judges 12:8–10
Elon | Judges 12:11–12
Abdon | Judges 12:13–15
Samson | Judges 13:1–16:31
The Angel of the Lord — Malak Yahweh
Where do we find Christ in the book of Judges? In a personality you may have read past many times without realising who He really is — the Angel of the LORD. In Hebrew, malak Yahweh. In Malay, you already know the word for angel — malaikat.
This Angel of the LORD appears across the Old Testament. He is not "an angel" the way Gabriel or Michael are angels. He has divinity. Those who meet Him recognise Him as God. He is visible to men. People could see Him, speak with Him, even wrestle with Him. He stands in a category of His own —we believe this Angel of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Christ. The Son of God, walking among His people, long before Bethlehem.
Paul tells us that Christ existed before His incarnation: "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." (Philippians 2:6). And John tells us how it is that the invisible God has ever been seen at all: "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (John 1:18). The Word who was "in the beginning… with God, and… was God" (John 1:1) — He is the one who declared the Father to men. And when men in the Old Testament met the Angel of the LORD, they were meeting Him.
The Tension: God is Invisible — And Yet Some People Saw God
Here is the tension, because without it we will miss who the Angel of the LORD really is.
On the one hand, God is spirit, without form, invisible to men. The Scriptures say so repeatedly:
"And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice." (Deuteronomy 4:12)
"You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form." (John 5:37)
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17)
"who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see." (1 Timothy 6:16)
"No one has seen God at any time." (1 John 4:12)
And God Himself said to Moses, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." (Exodus 33:20). If any human saw God, it would result in his death. That is the rule.
And yet — on the other hand — the Bible plainly tells us that some people saw God and lived. Jacob spoke to and wrestled with "God" at Peniel, and named the place for that very reason: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis 32:30). Moses "spoke to the LORD face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11). Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, "and they saw the God of Israel… So they saw God, and they ate and drank." (Exodus 24:9–11). The wandering Israelites were said to see God "eye to eye" and yet survived (Numbers 14:14).
How can both be true? God is invisible — but God has been seen.
The resolution to that tension is the Angel of the LORD. He is God, but He is the God who can be seen. He is the visible face of the invisible Father. He is the pre-incarnate Christ. The same Jesus who later walked the roads of Galilee had already been walking the Old Testament.
Christ Across the Old Testament — His Many Appearances
Once we recognise this, the Old Testament opens up. The Angel of the LORD shows up at decisive, tender, terrifying moments in the lives of God's people. Let us walk through them.
To the Patriarchs and Their Households
Hagar (Genesis 16:7–14; 21:17–18). The very first appearance of the Angel of the LORD in Scripture is not to a king or a prophet — it is to a runaway servant girl in the wilderness. He comforts Hagar and gives promises about her descendants. And what is remarkable is what Hagar does next: "Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen Him who sees me?'" (Genesis 16:13). Hagar identified Him as God.
Abraham (Genesis 22:11–18). On the mountain, with the knife raised over Isaac, it is the Angel of the LORD who stops the hand of the father: "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (Genesis 22:12). Notice — from Me. He does not say "from God" as if reporting another's request. He receives the offering as His own.
Jacob (Genesis 31:11–13). The Angel of God appears to Jacob in a dream and identifies Himself as God plainly: "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me." (Genesis 31:13).
To Moses and the Israelites of the Exodus
Moses (Exodus 3:1–4). At the burning bush — that bush that burned but was not consumed — "the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush." And then immediately the text shifts: "God called to him from the midst of the bush." He is called Yahweh — He is God Himself. "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5)
Balaam (Numbers 22:22–35). To a disobedient prophet riding his donkey, the Angel of the LORD stands in the road with a drawn sword: "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me." (Numbers 22:32)
To the Judges Themselves
This is the very heart of our book.
The Israelites at Bochim (Judges 2:1–4). The Angel of the LORD comes up from Gilgal to rebuke the nation: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land…' But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?" (Judges 2:1–2). The people wept aloud — they called the place Bochim, which means Weepers.
Gideon (Judges 6:11–24). The Angel sits under the terebinth tree in Ophrah while Gideon threshes wheat in fear, and says to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" (Judges 6:12). When Gideon perceives who He is, he is terrified: "Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face." And the LORD answered him, "Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die." (Judges 6:22–23). Gideon recognised Him as God.
Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:3–23). The Angel of the LORD prophesies the birth of Samson. Manoah asks the visitor His name. "And the Angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?'" (Judges 13:18). His name is Wonderful — incomprehensible, beyond their understanding. Does that word sound familiar? It should. Centuries later Isaiah would write of the coming Messiah: "His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
To the Kings and the Prophets
David (2 Samuel 24:16–17; 1 Chronicles 21:15–30). At the threshing floor of Araunah, the Angel of the LORD is seen standing over Jerusalem with sword drawn during the plague — and at that very threshing floor David would later build the altar that became the site of the temple itself.
Elijah (1 Kings 19:5–7). At the lowest moment of the prophet's life, alone in the wilderness wanting to die, "the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, 'Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.'" (1 Kings 19:7). The Angel of the LORD provided food and strength for the long journey to Horeb.
Zechariah (Zechariah 1:11–12; 3:1–6). The Angel of the LORD intercedes for Jerusalem and defends the High Priest Joshua against the accusations of Satan himself: "The LORD rebuke you, Satan!" (Zechariah 3:2). He is the great Intercessor.
The Cycle of Judges — and Our Own Hearts
Look at the rhythm of the book of Judges. The Israelites would forsake the LORD and go after other gods. God would allow their enemies to oppress them. They would cry out to the LORD when they were oppressed — and God, gracious and patient, would raise up a judge to deliver them. There would be a season of peace. And then, when everything was fine again, they would drift away from God once more. Over and over and over again, for two centuries.
We cry out to God in our hardest hours, but the moment things settle, we go back to doing what is right in our own eyes. This is exactly the warning Judges 21:25 leaves us with.
But here is the wonder: the Angel of the LORD never abandoned them. Even in those dark, drifting, cyclical centuries, He kept appearing. He kept rebuking. He kept calling. He kept providing food and strength to the broken. He kept interceding. Christ was there all along — even in the times when His people were at their worst.
Why This Matters for Us
The importance of all of this is not merely historical. It is deeply personal. Our God is a gracious God. He does not wait for His people to be perfect before He visits them. He came to Hagar in her despair. He came to Gideon in his fear. He came to Manoah and his wife to promise a child. He came to Elijah at his lowest. He came to a nation that kept forgetting Him. And He still comes today — only now He has a name we know, and a face that was once nailed for us.
Disclosure Day — that recent film by Steven Spielberg about extraterrestrial life, and the question of whether there is intelligent life beyond our world — a striking point: people will wonder about creatures on distant planets, and yet pass right by the One who has been visiting His own creation, in love, from the very beginning. We do not need to wait until the Gospels to meet Jesus. He has been in the Book the whole time.
Every appearance of the Angel of the LORD is a glimpse of the Son before His incarnation. Every rebuke, every comfort, every command, every promise He gave — it was Christ. The same Christ who later took on flesh, lived without sin, died at Calvary, rose on the third day, and walked seven miles to Emmaus to open the Scriptures to two heartbroken disciples — that is the same Christ who has been with His people.
When we open the book of Judges, we do not just see Israel's failures. We do not just see flawed deliverers. We see Jesus. Already at work. Already faithful. Already saving. Already coming.
And as those disciples on the Emmaus road would tell you — once your eyes are opened to see Him in every page of Scripture, your heart will burn within you, and you will not want to live for anything less than Him again.
