I think we can all agree that the title of “Judges” is easy to understand.
Think of this as the Judge Judy of the ancient world, or even the Simon Cowell. Maybe even the Gordon Ramsey. No matter who you picture, the “judge” says it like it is, and tells people to “bugger off” or gives them a thumbs up. There is no in between.
Let’s back up for a second. Remember from the last couple books what was going on in their world: God (via Moses) gave Israel all the laws and rules for living a good and holy life, then decided that Joshua (after Moses died, RIP) would be the one to lead the people from the wilderness to the Promised Land. In the book of Joshua, he does exactly as God asks…except that there happen to be people already living in the Promised Land. So, inevitably, the process gets a little tricky, which is why God is now, at this point in the Bible, needing people (“Judges”) to step up, call others out and fix some issues (i.e. the “Judges” need to “judge” the people) before Israel turns into an absolute dumpster fire (unfortunately, this happens anyways soooooooooooo….).
Now, if you are searching for ecstatic chaos when reading the Old Testament, I suggest reading the book of Judges backwards.
But, if you are searching for ease when reading the Bible, read the book in three separate sections.
(Are you used to this yet?)
What’s the issue?
Let’s fix the issue!
How the issue even became an issue, so let’s use this as a chance to avoid this issue ever becoming an issue in the future! Also, sadness!
PART ONE: Intro to the Issue (1-3:6)
There are four main reasons why God felt Israel needed judges, and all had to do with why it took them to so long to get to the Promised Land, and even longer to actually take the Promised Land.
First, the people who lived in the Promised Land already (the Canaanites) were locked and loaded. They were ready for war. They meant business. They had big walls (think Jericho) and plenty of soldiers, which is kind of a rough mix. It’s like that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where King Arthur and Patsy are trying to get the guy to let them into the castle, but he won’t (presumably because he is French and enjoys throwing insults like “your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of elderberries”) so they threw things at King Arthur and Patsy until they left. It was like that…but obviously a lot more intense. Canaanites and Israelites loathed each other. It was going to be a nasty battle regardless.
Second, God needed the Israelites to be friendly to other people (a.k.a. make alliances).
Third, Israel kept sinning pretty intensely and God wanted to punish them, but more importantly, He was testing them to see if they would remain faithful to Him.
And fourth, Israel needed to learn how to “war.” Think of the “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” sequence from Mulan.
As you probably noticed from these reasons, the “issue” was kind of convuluted. If you are confused what the “issue” really was, I urge you to look at the root of the problem. The “issue” wasn’t that they sucked at Kung-Fu or that they were rude to strangers. The “issue” was their lack of faith in God and His plan. At the core, God was trying to get them to learn obedience.
PART TWO: Trying to Fix the Issue (3:7 through chapter 16)
The only way to appropriately describe this part is an absolute dumpster fire. An absolute downward spiral. Israel was REALLY sucking at this point.
So, God sent judges (12 to be exact) to try and get Israel to get their crap together. Each judge was sent primarily for military training purposes, but the key was to point everything back to God. However, the last few failed pretty bad.
With each judge, it got worse.
Othniel, described as someone who God loved and loved God in return. 10/10 judging ability.
Ehud, described as a strong guy (of both faith and heart). 9/10 judging ability with extra points given for his horrific death.
Shamgar, described as someone who wasn’t Israelite, which makes it interesting to consider how desperate God was for His people to stop being dumb. 8/10 judging ability.
Deborah, described as the most godly. God definitely called her Deb for short. They were close. 10/10.
Gideon, described as someone who really tried his hardest. He kind of failed. 7/10.
Tola, described as minor. Poor Tola. 5/10.
Jair, described as minor but wealthy. At least he had something going for him. 5/10.
Jephthah, described as someone who made a bad business deal and got the short end of the stick. 4/10.
Ibzan, described as someone who wanted his kids to get married and live happy lives. This may have been the only thing he really cared about. Oops. 3/10.
Elon, described as doing nothing of significance. Poor Elon. 2/10
Abdon, described as having lots of kids and money. Not a great thing to be noted for in the Bible. 1/10.
and finally, the most famous, Samson. Described as being obsessed with his hair, a specific woman and working out. The epitome of every guy in their 20’s. We know the story. He gets 0/10 on judging ability, but 10/10 for reading.
PART THREE: How the Issue Became an Issue in the First Place, formally known as How to Avoid the Issue in the Future, also SADNESS! (17-21)
The major thing to get out of Judges is that by the end there was “no king in Israel” and that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
You get the picture?
The judges tried, and the judges failed.
For a few chapters, you get you read about things that could have been better, things that should have been different, and how if there was a Godly king, none of it would have happened.
The last four chapters are essentially a letter of sadness and regret.
And that is Judges.
Not so bad is it?
Go read with confidence. Thanks for being here.
