Judges is a book of apostasy that provoked God's punishment. Yet it also is a book of God's grace. When God's people cried out to him as they were being punished, God raised up leaders, the judges, to throw off foreign oppressors and restore the land to peace.
Judges opens with Israel's failure to obey God who had commanded them to purge the newly conquered land of all its evil occupants. As a result, the Israelites soon fell under the influence of these very people, adopting their false gods and their evil ways. This began lengthy periods of trouble for Israel, punctuated by God's gracious deliverance through the judges.
Judges depicts frustrating cycles of sin, repentance, and deliverance, followed by another cycle of sin, repentance and deliverance. The book closes with two vile stories which illustrate how low the people had fallen both in their religion and in their morals.
What does it say?
Judges is a book about Israel's fickleness, God's faithfulness, and several courageous leaders. It is also a book of history, continuing the story begun in Genesis. During the period following Joshua's death, known as the period of the judges, God's people began to go downhill as far as obedience was concerned. But with disobedience came distress, particularly from foreign invaders. God had said his people would have peace in obedience. But they were not obedient, so they did not have peace. But when their distress got intolerable, they would cry to the Lord. And each time they cried out, God sent a deliverer, like Deborah, Gideon, or Samson, to lead them out of oppression. But, after a short period of peace, the people would return to their evil ways and begin the cycle again, and again, and again.
There are three common phrases in this book:
1) "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord."
2) "But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up a deliverer."
3) "Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord."
Faces & Places
The central characters in this book are the Judges.. These men and women adminstered justice and settled disputes, but they also ruled the people for God and were mighty deliverers. Judges 2:16 reads: "Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of . . . raiders."
Among the most noteworthy judges were Deborah, who leads the defeat of Canaan; Gideon, who delivered the people from the Midianites; and Samson, who is famous for his hair, but saved the people from the oppressive Philistines.
The storyline of Judges takes place mainly within the boundaries of Israel. Among the major oppressor nations encountered in Judges are Moab, southeast of Israel, across the Dead Sea; Midian, due south of Israel and east of the Red Sea; and Philistia, a very close neighbor of Israel to the west.
Key Verses & Themes
Apostasy:
Judges 3:7 "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs."
The Consequences of Sin:
Judges 2:20 "Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, 'Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.'"
Appeals to God:
Judges 4:3 "They cried out to the Lord for help."
The Lordship of God:
Judges 8:23 "But Gideon told them, 'I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.'"
So what?
It is not uncommon for Christians to see themselves in the book of Judges. Not as one of the great and mighty judges, saving the people from their oppressors and pointing them back to God. Sadly, we sometimes can relate more with the people, who genuinely called on God only when they had to, when there was no other way out.
God may well bring you under severe trial to provoke that genuine cry of need. But as soon as the relief has arrived, what will you do? Will you continue in genuine devotion to God, or simply wait for the next disaster?
