The book of Judges in the Old Testament is aptly named. It is about judges. Not judges as we know them-sitting behind some desk with a lawyer or two debating the merits of a case or of a person the case involves. This was a different kind of judge.
The people of Israel had promised Joshua that they would do as he had committed to: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” That lasted…until Joshua died. In fact, immediately after Joshua’s death (recorded in Judges 2:6-9), verse 10 is pretty poignant: “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things He had done for Israel.” Well…so much for the “As for me and my house” promise. What is even more telling is what it says in the following verses: “The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord…They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them…They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashteroth.” {Editorial interject here: this is exactly what God has warned them against! This is why God wanted them to wipe out of people as they took over the Promised Land.}
God was not going to stand by and watch that happen, so He allowed foreign nations to take His people captive. But in His mercy He heard the cries of His people and raised up leaders (judges) to lead the people out of captivity. The pattern is simple to see. Taken captive by a foreign king. Live in slavery and captivity. Cry out to God for forgiveness and relief from captivity. God raises up a judge. The judge brings freedom. As long as the judge is alive, the people know freedom. The judge dies and they return to their sin and idol worship. The Israelites taken captive again. Rinse and repeat the cycle.
The judges are not household names: Othniel. Ehud (the left-handed warrior who plunged a knife into a very fat King Eglon). Shamgar who killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad (a traditional farming tool, a long stick with a pointed end-and sometimes a scraper or chisel at the other end-used to spur or guide oxen while they are pulling a plow or cart). Deborah (and her sidekick Barak). Other more well-known judges are Gideon and Samson.
The sad part is the Israelites kept repeating the pattern-the cycle- time after time. And each time a merciful and forgiving God would come to their rescue and free them. Sound familiar? It does to me. I am them. I go from “As for me and my house” to “I am going to do this on my own.” Fortunately, God is a merciful and forgiving God who lovingly envelopes me in His arms and says, “I forgive you my son.” How about you? Do you have that kind of God?
