JUDGES

The Recurring Nightmare

The book quickly establishes a predictable and tragic pattern that will repeat itself throughout the story. It is a vicious cycle in five stages: 1) Peace: The people enjoy peace in the land under God's blessing. 2) Sin: They forget God and begin worshipping the Canaanite idols (like Baal and Asherah). 3) Oppression: God, in His justice, allows a neighboring enemy to oppress and dominate them. 4) Repentance: In their suffering, the people cry out to the LORD for help. 5) Deliverance: God, in His mercy, raises up a judge to deliver them from their enemies. After the judge dies, the cycle begins all over again, often in a more depraved form than before. This cycle is the narrative engine of the entire book.

Deborah and Barak: A Woman of Faith

One of the earliest and most remarkable judges is Deborah, a prophetess who leads Israel from under her palm tree. When Israel is oppressed by the Canaanite king Jabin and his fearsome commander Sisera with his 900 iron chariots, Deborah summons a reluctant general named Barak. She gives him God's clear command to attack, but Barak refuses to go unless she accompanies him. Deborah agrees, but prophesies that the honor for the victory will go to a woman. In the ensuing battle, God throws Sisera's army into confusion, and they are routed. Sisera flees on foot and takes refuge in the tent of a woman named Jael, who famously kills the enemy commander by driving a tent peg through his temple while he sleeps. It is a story of God using the faith of two courageous women to deliver His people.

Gideon: The Fearful Farmer

The next major story is that of Gideon. Israel is so severely oppressed by the Midianites that they are hiding in caves. The Angel of the LORD appears to Gideon, a man from the weakest clan, while he is secretly threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the enemy. The Angel greets him with the title, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." Gideon, full of doubt, famously puts God to the test with a fleece, asking for signs to confirm God's call. God patiently accommodates his fear, but then radically shrinks Gideon's army from 32,000 men down to a mere 300. God wants to make it absolutely clear that the victory will be His alone. Armed with trumpets, torches, and clay jars, Gideon's tiny band surrounds the massive Midianite camp at night. At his signal, they break the jars, blow the trumpets, and shout, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" In the ensuing panic and confusion, the Midianites turn on each other and are utterly defeated. It is a stunning victory of faith over fear, and a demonstration of God's power working through human weakness.

Samson: The Brawling Nazirite

The final and most famous judge is Samson. His story marks the lowest point of the downward spiral. Consecrated from birth as a Nazirite, set apart for God, Samson is a man of incredible physical strength but monumental spiritual weakness. He breaks nearly every vow he is meant to keep. He is driven not by faith in God, but by his lusts and a desire for personal vengeance against the oppressive Philistines. His life is a series of brawls, riddles, and disastrous relationships, culminating in his betrayal by Delilah, who discovers the secret of his strength—his uncut hair, the sign of his Nazirite vow.

The Philistines capture him, gouge out his eyes, and force him to grind grain in a prison. In his final moments, humbled and blinded, Samson prays his only recorded prayer. He asks God for strength one last time. As the Philistines are celebrating in their temple to their god Dagon, they bring Samson out to mock him. He places his hands on the two central pillars of the temple and, with a final surge of God-given strength, pushes them over, bringing the entire temple down and killing more of the enemy in his death than he did in his life. Samson's story is a tragic portrait of a man who squandered his divine gifts, yet it also shows a sovereign God who can use even the most flawed and sinful individuals to accomplish His purposes.

Anarchy and Civil War

The book concludes with two horrifying appendices that illustrate the utter moral and spiritual chaos that has engulfed the nation. These stories are not about foreign oppression, but about the rot within Israel itself. The first story involves a man named Micah who creates his own personal idol and hires a rogue Levite to be his personal priest, demonstrating a complete corruption of worship. The second, and most disturbing, story is a gruesome tale of idolatry, rape, murder, and a brutal civil war that nearly wipes out the entire tribe of Benjamin. These chapters are some of the most difficult to read in all of Scripture. They are included to show the terrifying end result of a society that has abandoned God's law. The book ends with the same bleak summary with which it began: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit" (Judges 21:25).

The Longing for a True King

The book of Judges, with all its darkness, serves a crucial theological purpose. It is a powerful argument for the necessity of a king. The flawed, temporary judges were not enough to save Israel from themselves. The people needed a righteous king to lead them in obedience to God. This longing for a king ultimately points forward to the one true King, Jesus Christ. He is the perfect Judge and Deliverer who breaks the cycle of sin not just temporarily, but permanently. He is the King who does not just rule from an earthly throne, but who rules in the hearts of His people, writing His law there and empowering them to live in righteousness. The darkness of Judges makes the light of the Gospel and the goodness of King Jesus shine all the brighter.