Judges
by Gary Inrig
The book of Judges is a long, sad story of defeat. It tells the story of unbelief and disobedience, of a people increasingly divided; sliding into anarchy as every person ″did as they saw fit″ (Judges 21:25). The theme of Judges is the assimilation of God's people, Israel, by the pagan cultures that surrounded them. Because these pagan people were broadly referred to as the Canaanites, we can speak of the ″Canaanisation″ of Israel, which eventually resulted in the Israelites losing all of their uniqueness as God's nation, making them virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding peoples.
We are not told who wrote this book. Jewish tradition suggests that it was Samuel, but his authorship cannot be proven.
Judges is a book that speaks to our time because it presents us with living examples of people who were called to serve God in the midst of great challenges, many of which were similar to those we face today. Sadly, only a few of them provide us with positive examples. But there is a great deal to be learned, not only from those who endured but also from those who capitulated to the pressures and spirit of their age. Judges vividly demonstrates to us the consequences of the spiritual compromise and disobedience that arises when the world succeeds in squeezing believers into its mould.
The Structure of Judges
Key Verse
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.-Judges 21:25
