Walk with Him: A New View
Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16, Come Follow Me: Old Testament 2026
(May 25–31)
Three Thoughts from Terri
As you enter the gallery in Florence, Italy, there’s a gradual buildup. You move through rooms filled with paintings and sculptures, but there’s a quiet sense of anticipation drawing you forward. Then, at the end of a long corridor, you catch your first glimpse—far away, glowing under a skylight, David stands alone. The statue is far larger than most people expect—over 17 feet tall—and yet it feels incredibly human. You can circle the entire statue and with each view it reveals different emotions, different strengths, while deepening your awe for someone who took a flawed block of marble and saw within it the majesty of this young boy in an Old Testament story.
Becoming a disciple of Christ is like the statue of David. The truth that we are children of God and can become like Him is majestic and wondrous. Each time we study the scriptures and look more closely at the lives of early disciples, we see how timeless the stories of heroes and heroines are in overcoming the natural man as they follow Him.
The Judges cycle is familiar. Be very righteous but then gradually move towards other gods that “shall be as thorns in your sides, and…shall be a snare unto you” (Judges 2:3). Realize you’re in quite a mess and look for a deliverer. Regain the Spirit of the Lord (Judges 3:10) and start over, a little wiser but nevertheless, still vulnerable to failing again. But tucked into the description of this cycle I found a crucial promise, “I will never break my covenant with you” (Judges 2:1). A 3000-year-old promise that is still good today. God really is in relentless pursuit of us and no matter how many mistakes we make He is there to welcome us back with open arms.
Two Thoughts from Others
“My friends, my fellow disciples on the road of mortal life, our Father’s beautiful plan, even His “fabulous” plan, is designed to bring you home, not to keep you out. No one has built a roadblock and stationed someone there to turn you around and send you away. In fact, it is the exact opposite. God is in relentless pursuit of you. He “wants all of His children to choose to return to Him,” and He employs every possible measure to bring you back” (Elder Kearon).
“I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable, but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines” (Elder Holland).
One Question for You
What new learning did you discover as you read Judges this time?