Eat This Book

Episode #12: "On Jordan's Stormy Banks"

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HOST: Michael Whitworth

Compared with the optimistic tone of Joshua, and the romantic story of Ruth that follows it, Judges is a very dark book. Arguably no other book in the OT is filled with as much warfare, bloodshed, infighting, idolatry, wickedness, and overall moral and spiritual failure. The book represents over four hundred years of Israel’s history, one in which she struggled to become a substantive nation in Canaan. Facing internal spiritual threats and external political threats, Israel teetered on the brink of destruction until the story of Samuel (cf. Acts 13:20).The book of Judges reminds us of how important it is for God to be our sole ruler. It reminds us of the importance of following his commands. It also reminds us how gracious he is, refusing to give up on us.Authorship. We do not know who wrote Judges, but it could easily have been Samuel or another prophet. Whoever it was hoped that Israel would not repeat the failures of this period.

The book of Judges reminds us of how important it is for God to be our sole ruler. It reminds us of the importance of following his commands. It also reminds us how gracious he is, refusing to give up on us.Authorship. We do not know who wrote Judges, but it could easily have been Samuel or another prophet. Whoever it was hoped that Israel would not repeat the failures of this period.

Authorship

We do not know who wrote Judges, but it could easily have been Samuel or another prophet. Whoever it was hoped that Israel would not repeat the failures of this period.

Date & Audience

It is difficult to date the book without knowing the author. However, the book was almost certainly written sometime after Israel established a king since the view of the narrator seems to lament that there was not one during the Judges period. It is absolutely true that significant time had passed between the events of Judges and their being recorded; the phrase “to this day” is prominent (cf. 1:21, 26; 6:24; 10:4; 15:19; 18:12; 19:30). The book was written to the nation of Israel to warn them of past mistakes and urge them to trust God in the future.

Judges & the NT

References to the book of Judges in the OT are pretty much limited to Hebrews 11 (which is not a slight in the least). In that chapter, several judges are echoed by name, and others are remembered for their deeds (Heb. 11:33-38). But while there are not many references, the theme of the Judges saturates the NT. To say that the heroes of Judges were flawed human beings would be a gross understatement. But it cannot be ignored that, by virtue of his extraordinary grace and power, God did extraordinary things through them. In the same way, Paul reminds the Corinthians, “Such were some of you” (1 Cor. 6:11), but God transforms us by his power.

Keys to Reading
  • Israel’s cycle of falling into sin/being delivered by a judge is first given in 2:6-3:6. This becomes the recipe for the disaster for the rest of the book.
  • Two very important recurring phrases in Judges are worthy of special note. The first, and most oft-recurring phrase, is that Israel “did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1; cf. Deut. 4:25; 31:29). The second phrase is one indicating a lack of a king in Israel, and that everyone would do what seemed right to them. In some ways, the book of Judges prepares us for the inevitable monarchy that will rise in Israel; it shows us how out-of-sorts Israel was without a king (they had One, they just wouldn’t follow him).

    • Some minor points to keep in mind as you read Judges are:

    1. These men (and Deborah!) were not all judges in the conventional sense of the word, though some certainly functioned in this way (again, Deborah!). The Hebrew verb (sapat) translated as “judge” in this book actually carries a dual-meaning, to “judge” in the sense of seeing to internal affairs, and to “deliver,” in the sense of redeeming or saving Israel in external affairs.
    2. Not all of the Judges of Israel held authority over the entire nation. During this period, the tribes were politically at odds with one another, and always seemingly on the brink of civil war. Ironically, the only time that the tribes were anywhere close to united was at the end of the book when they engaged in disciplinary civil war against Benjamin.
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      Eat This BookBy Michael Whitworth