Covenant History - The Origins Of God's PeopleSample

The Book Of Judges

What is the Book of Judges About?

The chronicle of this book is based on the list of twelve judges of Israel. Because Israel had limited success in driving out the remaining Canaanites, they tried to live with them instead, with disastrous results. The judges were the leaders God raised up to deliver them from conquering nations whenever they cried out for help, but soon they would lapse into unfaithfulness again. The phrase “again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord” introduces each successive judge in the lineup, but the repeated deterioration takes its toll, leaving Israel primed for a king.

Here's What to Look for When Reading Judges: 

Identify the cycle that repeats itself several times in Judges: Israel turns away from God; they are oppressed by their enemies; they cry out to God for help; they are delivered by their leaders.

A Recommended Key Reading: Judges 2:10-23

After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.

Journal Prompt:   What is something you noticed for the first time?

Excerpted from The Books of the Bible: Covenant History.