But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. – Judges 10:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 7, 2012): Judges 10

I recently rewatched the classic black and white movie “Judgment at Nuremburg.” The movie is a fictionalized account of the Judges Trial that took place after the Nuremberg Trial of key German defendants (the latter of which historically included Hermann Goring and Rudolph Hess) concerning the commitment of War Crimes during World War II. The Nuremburg Trials were highly publicized and also highly criticized. Historically it has been included in a list of trials condemned for its execution of “victor’s justice.” But the Judges Trial (which essentially put the German legal system on trial) suffered under the reverse criticism with many feeling that the sentences given were much too lenient.

As I watched the movie (and as one too young to actually remember the atrocities perpetrated during the war) the question that the movie deals with seems to be to examine the limits of what we would call “the freedom to choose.” Could those accused of atrocities truly have said no, or were they coerced into their actions? And an overview of both of the trials at Nuremburg includes both those that seem to be coerced and those who actually shaped the destiny of the country under the influence of the Nazi party. But no matter the level of coercion, it would seem that everyone could have said no – and suffered the penalty for making that decision.

I am convinced that there are limits to God’s power. Now, admittedly, they are possibly self imposed limits, but they are limits just the same. And the limits only seem to come into effect when the pinnacle of his creation is involved in the events of the earth. In other words, we serve a God of limited power, but the limit on his power is ... us. From the opening moments of creation God has seemed to be reluctant, if not outright unable, to overrule our own will. God gives us what we want, even when what we want is detrimental to our own future well being. A self imposed limitation? Probably, but one that God has been quite consistent in following.

The Book of Judges makes the comment that because Israel had run off to serve other gods, their own God – Yahweh – has decided that he will no longer run after them and save them. God’s decision is really that he will leave us to the decisions that we have made – that he will not interfere with our free will, even though those decisions will cause us pain. And that is a limiting of his power. But the judgment of God on our actions – and the subsequent limiting of his power – seems to emphasize that each one of us is responsible for the actions that we take. That means that every decision we make should be weighed carefully – because the hands of God are bound by the things that we decided to do.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 11