Introduction to the Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is the book we shall next embark on in our quest to know and connect more dearly with God in our spiritual journey. This book covers the period of Israel’s journey from the death of Joshua to the time of the kings. It was a period where there was no fit national leader like Moses or Joshua. While people such as Gideon, Samson, Deborah and etc., each differently would come to the scene as a judge, they did not play a judiciary but a delivering role. They would be better seen as deliverers and not judges. They did not come to lead the whole nation but only appeared to help one or several tribes of Israel which were undergoing oppression that came from the hostile Canaanites. When the oppression became unbearable, they would cry to God for help and He would intervene by raising a deliverer to help them out.

We must read this book bearing in mind that Israel did not exist together as a whole nation in Canaan. The twelve tribes were scattered all over Canaan to live in different parts of the promised land among different hostile Canaanite tribes that existed long before they stepped into the land. The word “Israelites” that occurs in this book does not represent the whole nation of Israel. It often refers to one or several tribes of Israel which were encountering the challenge or oppression that came from different hostile Canaanites.

This book of Judges speaks of the repeated failure of God’s people. Having taken possession of the promised land, they did not obey the Lord’s instruction to drive out the hostile Canaanites. They allowed those hostile enemies to exist among them. As a result, they were influenced and enticed into worshipping Baal, the god of the Canaanites, and were led into oppression. When they could not stand the oppression and realized their sin, they would then cry out to God for deliverance. God would then raise up a judge or a deliverer among them to help them out of their oppression. When their situation returned to normal, they would stay good for a while only. Then they would again gravitate into sin and disobedience. The cycle of oppression would start all over. This book tells us how the people of God had failed Him repeatedly. But in their dire strait, they would cry out for mercy. God would intervene and sent them a deliverer each time. The Book of Judges clearly shows us the propensity and tendency of us, fallen men. Thankfully, it also reveals the mercy of the compassionate God who is ever ready to come to the rescue when His people call out to Him. Having such a compassionate and merciful God should inspire us to desire to please Him more than failing Him. Let us learn from this book on how to avoid the pitfalls that we will surely encounter in our spiritual journey.