The Cycle Repeats: Echoes of Judges in Our Time

The weight of the world feels…familiar. It’s a feeling that settles deep in the bones, a resonance with patterns we’ve observed across centuries. Phil Robertson’s recent discussion on the podcast, framed as “endless wars,” isn’t merely a commentary on current events; it’s a recognition of a cyclical history, a history that finds a striking parallel in the Book of Judges. The constant churn of conflict, the abandonment of divine principles, the rise of oppression – it’s a lament sung throughout the scriptures, and one that seems to be escalating in our own day.

We, as Latter-day Saints, are tasked with understanding these patterns, with discerning the hand of the Lord even in the midst of chaos. The Lord has made covenants with us, not to shield us from hardship, but to equip us to navigate it with wisdom and faith. To ignore the echoes of Israel’s failings is to risk repeating them. To be oblivious to the cycles of history is to be adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

Consider Judges 2:11-13: “And also the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of the Philistines. But when the judge was dead, they turned back, and did evil, according to the images which every one did see, which their fathers had made. And the Lord raised up them judges; and the Lord was with the judges, to deliver them, but they did not hearken unto their judges: for they turned away.” This is the core of the repeating narrative. A period of relative peace and prosperity, followed by a deliberate rejection of God’s commandments, leading to subjugation, and finally, a cry for deliverance that prompts the Lord to send a deliverer. Rinse, and repeat.

The parallels are unsettling. We see the abandonment of foundational principles – the erosion of truth and righteousness – mirrored in the contemporary world. The pursuit of individual autonomy, the rejection of divine authority, the embrace of relativism… these are the seeds of oppression. And the oppression isn’t always physical; it’s the oppression of the spirit, the stifling of conscience, the erosion of hope.

President Ezra Taft Benson warned us repeatedly about the dangers of spiritual complacency and the consequences of rejecting the prophets’ warnings. His clarion call to repentance and a return to foundational gospel principles resonates with the cry for deliverance that marked the lives of Israel’s judges. The Lord has consistently sent messengers to warn us, to guide us back to the path. Are we hearkening unto their voices?

The Lord’s work and glory must be to prepare the earth and His people to receive the ordinances of salvation in the temples. And how can we prepare the earth, how can we prepare ourselves, if we are consumed by the endless wars of our own making? How can we build Zion when we are constantly tearing it down with our own hands?

The principle of agency is paramount. We are not puppets of fate. We can choose to repent, to turn back to the Lord, to embrace the covenants that bind us to Him. The promise of deliverance remains, but it is contingent upon our willingness to act. As Moroni taught, “Wherefore, I say unto you, that all these things shall come upon you, if ye do not watch and pray and keep your commandments, that I may not be required to make a lamentation over your heads.” (Moroni 7:22)

This isn't a call to despair, but a call to vigilance, a call to action. It is a call to deepen our study of the scriptures, to strengthen our covenants, to build up the kingdom of God on earth. It is a call to become more fully the people the Lord would have us be.

What covenants have you made, and how are you actively keeping them to prepare yourself and your family for the storms ahead?