Reading: Judges 1-3, Psalm 70

Judges is the first book we have come across so far in our story that sets itself up as a real retrospective. The books of Moses and Joshua were written with a kind of immediacy. They read like the authors are recounting events they saw themselves, or perhaps heard the story told by someone who did. Judges is different. It looks back on the activities of the people of Israel from a future vantage point, and the author of the book will make an argument based on what they have just told you. An argument for a king.

The story of Judges opens with a short recounting of where we are in the story. We get a recap of some of the story we just read in Joshua- the southern conquest, the defeat of the king of Jerusalem, Caleb’s victory over the Anakim, and the death of Joshua. This serves to set the scene. Remember, these scrolls weren’t necessarily all available or easy to cross reference in the ancient world, so by telling a bit of the story before digging in, the author can make sure we all know the context.

Once we have the context right, the author hits us with some bad news: the people of Israel did not complete the conquest of Canaan. Not only did they not drive out the nations they were supposed to, as we learned in Joshua, they simply let a large chunk of the country they were supposed to occupy sit there. After Joshua dies, the situation gets even worse. They begin to worship the gods of these nations and to intermarry with them, things God expressly warned them not to do in the books of Moses. So God carries out a selection of his covenant curses on the people: Israel begins to lose in warfare against these very nations and also those they surround the promised land.

Now the author reveals the structure of the upcoming book. He tells us that when suffering of the people of Israel got bad enough, God responded by raising up a judge to rescue them. The judge smites the enemy that was oppressing them at the time, and the people return to the worship of the God of Israel. But when the judge dies, they go right back to it, and then do even worse things than the previous generation. Right at the beginning of the book, the author of Judges gives us the picture of the judge cycle. First, Israel is disobedient. Second, God sends judgment in line with the covenant curses. Third, God is merciful and raises up a judge to save them. Sometimes this causes repentance. Fourth, they fall back into disobedience. It is not expressly stated here, but as we continue through the book you will notice that this cycle gets faster and the high points of obedience get lower, while the low points of disobedience get deeper and deeper. The judge cycle is not stable. It is degenerate.

The author does some additional editorializing here, letting us know that the reason the nations were left in the land was so the next generations of Israel would “know war.” If we stopped there, it would seem God is only interested in training his people for battle. But the author goes on. It was for the testing of the people of Israel, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the God of Israel. The stories of the judges we are about to hear will answer that question for us.

First up is Othniel, who we already met in the story of Caleb. Othniel conquered a particular city for Caleb and was given his daughter to marry. Now we learn that Othniel was also God’s instrument to deliver the nation from a foreign power. But then he died, and the people go back to disobedience.

Second is Ehud, who has the distinct advantage of being left handed, and who has a rather colorful story of delivering Israel by assassinating Eglon, king of Moab, who had been oppressing Israel. But Ehud gets no farther than Othniel when it comes to changing the behaviors of the people of Israel. However, it appears there was a series of judges this time, because we get the judge Shamgar, master of the ox goad, tagged onto the end of the story of Ehud. Like Othniel, these two were apparently able to keep Israel on track for their lifetimes, but that was all. After Ehud and Shamgar die, the people go right back to worshiping foreign gods in disobedience to the God of Israel.

If this up and down cycle seems less than ideal, just wait. It gets much, much worse. The disobedience gets worse. The judgment gets worse. The judges get worse. The story of the books of Judges is a downward spiral, a long spinning narrative of the human problem which constantly declares independence from God. The author of Judges is not wholly without hope, however. He is going to use this degenerate cycle to make an argument for a new way of managing the obedience of Israel. More than a judge, he looks for a king.