The Book Of Judges
Judges 1-7, 9, 11 – The book of Judges appears to pick up after the death of Joshua, but it does recount a few events that occurred in Joshua’s time. However, these events are portrayed in a much different way. Instead of the Promised Land being totally under the control of the Israelites, there are people groups and areas of the land that have yet to be conquered. The writer justifies this difference by explaining that YHWH let those people live so as to be a test for the Israelites – will they obey YHWH or not? As it turns out, the people of Israel are incapable of keeping their covenant to follow YHWH and His anger boils against them. Repeatedly, they disobey and as a result, they fall to their enemies and are only saved when they repent
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and cry out to YHWH and He raises up a judge for Israel who will deliver them. The quality of judges, however, seems to spiral, leading one to assume that the system of the judges will not be able to continue successfully in the future and that a new solution may be needed. Anderson (167-188) – He focuses on the internal and external factors that most likely influenced the Israelites when they were struggling to keep their grasp on Canaan. The weak tribal confederation adopted unhealthy practices such as syncretism with Canaanite religious customs and it depended on the judges (or rulers), who did not possess the support of all the tribes. Miller (98-118) – Miller is of the opinion that perhaps the nation of Israel was not originally a formal nation at all and that maybe it was a rabble of a select number of tribes rather than an organized confederacy. Even the worship of YHWH may not have been an original concept, but rather a borrowed name of a Canaanite deity (“El”). My exposure to the book of Judges has been very minimal up to this point, but I know enough about this book to expect failure of the Israelites on the whole.
I struggle with this text on numerous accounts. Firstly, I do not know how I would utilize this book in a pastoral setting other than presenting it as a message that states, “do what God says, or else!” The fear of the Lord is a good thing, but this book seems to inspire or draw out nothing but fear from people. It is all senseless violence and needless anguish because the people of Israel continue time and again to stray from God. I do not believe that most congregations would like to hear a sermon series based on this book, but I also know that it is not good to completely exclude it because it, too, is the inspired Word of God and that it was included in the canon for a reason. There is also a nagging thought in my brain that tries to connect the dots between the time of the judges and today’s era. Surely, we as a people, or even just we as Christians, are royally screwing up just as much as the Israelites were in that time. This makes me wonder how much God may be weeping because of the evil that his children do. We are covered by His grace – I have not forgotten this. I just cannot help but think that we can and should be doing better. I am not talking about works righteousness, but I am merely saying that we, myself included, can find ways to appropriately respond to His love and grace with gratitude and further advance His
kingdom.
and cry out to YHWH and He raises up a judge for Israel who will deliver them. The quality of judges, however, seems to spiral, leading one to assume that the system of the judges will not be able to continue successfully in the future and that a new solution may be needed. Anderson (167-188) – He focuses on the internal and external factors that most likely influenced the Israelites when they were struggling to keep their grasp on Canaan. The weak tribal confederation adopted unhealthy practices such as syncretism with Canaanite religious customs and it depended on the judges (or rulers), who did not possess the support of all the tribes. Miller (98-118) – Miller is of the opinion that perhaps the nation of Israel was not originally a formal nation at all and that maybe it was a rabble of a select number of tribes rather than an organized confederacy. Even the worship of YHWH may not have been an original concept, but rather a borrowed name of a Canaanite deity (“El”). My exposure to the book of Judges has been very minimal up to this point, but I know enough about this book to expect failure of the Israelites on the whole.
I struggle with this text on numerous accounts. Firstly, I do not know how I would utilize this book in a pastoral setting other than presenting it as a message that states, “do what God says, or else!” The fear of the Lord is a good thing, but this book seems to inspire or draw out nothing but fear from people. It is all senseless violence and needless anguish because the people of Israel continue time and again to stray from God. I do not believe that most congregations would like to hear a sermon series based on this book, but I also know that it is not good to completely exclude it because it, too, is the inspired Word of God and that it was included in the canon for a reason. There is also a nagging thought in my brain that tries to connect the dots between the time of the judges and today’s era. Surely, we as a people, or even just we as Christians, are royally screwing up just as much as the Israelites were in that time. This makes me wonder how much God may be weeping because of the evil that his children do. We are covered by His grace – I have not forgotten this. I just cannot help but think that we can and should be doing better. I am not talking about works righteousness, but I am merely saying that we, myself included, can find ways to appropriately respond to His love and grace with gratitude and further advance His
kingdom.