Reading through the book of Judges (believed to have been penned by Samuel, though there is no absolute proof of it), is difficult to do and remain buoyed up. Yes, there are parts that are very uplifting, but we often see Israel in the throes of abject apostasy. They had sunk so low they had adopted the sexual and religious perversions of the Canaanites during Lot’s day who wanted to “know” the angels who had come to Sodom to destroy it. We also see evidence of this in the book of Ruth and Samuel, especially with respect to Eli’s two sons who served as priests (and we’ll talk about them in another article.) This is exactly the type of downward spiral that the apostle Paul spoke of in his opening chapter of the book of Romans.
The book of Judges represents about 450 years in the life of Israel, however much of the book focuses on roughly 150 years when things were at their lowest point throughout Israel. We repeatedly read, “there was no king in Israel.”
Judges opens with the death of Joshua and the war between Israel and the Canaanites after his death. But as the latter portion of chapter 1 notes, Israel wasn’t even able to fully accomplish that; eliminating the Canaanites from the Land. This was due to Israel’s lack of trust in the Lord brought about by their own idolatry and careless setting aside of the Mosaic Law. This should be a lesson for all of us as we sojourn through life; how easy it is to fall if we are not careful.
Chapter 2 starts out by specifically noting Israel’s disobedience to the Lord. Because they had failed to drive out the lawless, godless people of the Land and destroy altars to false gods, as God had commanded, God announced that He was going to allow those same godless people to become thorns in the flesh for Israel. The people then cried and sacrificed to God as if that alone was going to make any difference. It didn’t because no change in attitude or lifestyle occurred.
God’s commands are clear in His word, but of course, it is our responsibility to actually know His Word. Yet we often ignore His Word preferring to revel in our own sinfulness and continue to believe that God will “bless” us because we are His children and because God is full of “grace” toward us. It’s all about grace for too many Christians, when in point of fact, God actually does expect us to live holy (separated) lives. Imagine that. Unlike Israel during Judges, God through His Spirit truthfully lives within us and will empower us to do what He expects if we lean on Him and His strength to do that. It is better to acknowledge the times we sin rather than attempt to make excuses for ourselves as too many are prone to do today.
Because of Israel’s continued unfaithfulness, the Lord chose to raise up “judges.” These were individuals who offered some form of leadership for a specific purpose and span of time. For instance, Samson’s appointed job was to destroy the Philistines (Judges 13-15). Unfortunately, he failed to do all that God wanted him to do, though he clearly repented at the end of his life.
Many of the 14 judges are simply named and only noting how long they judged. Not much more is provided. There are a few judges with whom the Scriptures elaborates and provides a great many details, like Deborah and Barak, Samson, Gideon and a few others. In almost all cases, the Lord reminds us that “the people did evil in the sight of the Lord” and it was usually the time between each judge. As soon as a judge dies...
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