COMPROMISE
The time of the Judges started well with (v1) the Israelites asking direction of the Lord. The tribe of Judah, and Caleb in particular, went on to claim their promised inheritance but, from verse 27, we begin to see the tribes compromising with the inhabitants of the land. God felt drastic action was required and he sent the angel of the Lord to appear to them (2v1). The people had disobeyed God, they had made various agreements with the inhabitants and had not torn down their pagan altars (v2). This was the dawn of a new period in their history. The time of Joshua had been one of obedience and expectation of success but now (v3) the nations would be “thorns in their sides and their gods would be a snare to them.”

PATTERN OF NATIONAL LIFE
Once Joshua and his fellow leaders had died, another generation grew up (v10) who, we read, knew neither the Lord nor the work that he had done. They did evil in the sight of the Lord and worshipped the Baals (v11) and, not only them, but also various other gods around them. We then see a pattern of national life that was to continue for over 400 years:
1. The people started doing evil, worshipping other gods (v13) and intermarrying (3v6).
2. God, consequently, gave them over to the plundering and oppression of their enemies (v14). Failure and distress then replace success (v15).
3. God was moved to pity when he saw their groaning and affliction (v18) and then he raised up a warrior judge to save them (v16).
4. After the death of the judge we are told that the people would then turn back to ways “even more corrupt” (v19). Most of this book of Judges is a history book covering the life and times of each judge. The steady deterioration in national life continued until we read, in the very last verse of the book (21v25), that “everyone did as he saw fit”. Whereas Joshua was a period of success and inheritance, Judges was a time of failure when people despised their inheritance.

THE FIRST JUDGES AND THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
Notice with the first judge Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother, that (3v10) the “spirit of the Lord came upon him” and he won a great victory and the land had peace (or rest) for 40 years (v11). And so it is true today that we need to be empowered by the spirit of God to walk in his victory. A number of different tribes intimidated Israel when they did evil. Next it was King Eglon of Moab and the deliverer judge was a man called Ehud. Every judge was special in their own way and we are told that Ehud (v15) was a left-handed man. We have the fascinating account of how he somehow tricked his way to a private audience with Eglon and then sank a dagger into his body until the fat closed over the blade (v22). Under Ehud there was rest for 80 years-the longest peace in this troubled period. There is one verse, only, about a man called Shamgar (v31) who, on one extraordinary occasion, struck down 600 Philistines with an ox-goad.

THE WOMEN DO GOD’S WORK
The country then suffered 20 years of cruel oppression (4v2) from King Jabin, who in his armoury had an impressive 900 chariots. With the guidance of a wise woman judge, Deborah, Barak and his warriors inflicted a great defeat on Sisera, the army commander, who abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. We read that it was the Lord who had thrown the chariots and all his army into a panic (v15). A lady called Jael, a Kenite’s wife, welcomed Sisera for food and sleep and then hammered a tent peg through his temple. Deborah and Barak then sang one of the few duets of the Bible in celebration (ch 5).

GIDEON-THE LORD IS WITH YOU MIGHTY WARRIOR
In the time of Gideon (ch 6) the Midianites oppressed so severely that the Israelites would hide in the caves and mountains (v2). The eastern invaders brought all their livestock who would eat all the crops and impoverish Israel (v5). There was still hope for them as they cried out to the Lord for help. When Gideon felt insignificant and weak the angel of the Lord came to strengthen him (v12) with those famous words, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.” The angel showed his authority by bringing fire from a rock. Gideon was told by the Lord (v25) to tear down his father’s altar and the asherah pole next to it. Soon after (v34) “the spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon” and he summoned soldiers to come and join him. Even then Gideon needed to confirm his calling by putting out a fleece before the Lord (v36-40). Perhaps, like Gideon, we need to make sure that we are ready for the Lord’s work before we start. Gideon counted the cost and was, finally, ready for his great act of faith as God reduced his army numbers from 32,000 to 300 (7v2-8). God, still very understanding of his natural hesitance and fear, encouraged him with a clandestine trip into the Midianite camp with his faithful servant, Purah (10-15). So the 300 (v19, 20) blew their trumpets, broke the jars around their torches and shouted “a sword for the Lord and for Gideon” (v20). At the blast of their trumpets the Lord set the Midianites fighting against each other and (8v10) 120,000 fell that day.

LIFE GETTING WORSE AND GOD’S SOFT HEART
We can see that community life in Israel was deteriorating along with the spiritual life. In chapter 9 Gideon’s rebel son, Abimelech, killed his 70 brothers to win power but soon died when a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head (v53). Not much is told us about judge Tola (ch10v1) or Jair (v3) except the interesting fact that he had 30 sons, 30 donkeys and 30 towns in Gilead. In chapter 10v6 we see that the Israelites were not only worshipping the Baals and Ashtoreths but also the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. In verse 6 is the telling fact that they had “abandoned the Lord and did not worship Him”. Israel was oppressed for 18 years by both the Philistines and Ammonites and, finally, they cried out to the Lord, the true God, who they had rejected completely. The Lord’s response, for the first time, was to leave them in their mess- he had helped them before but now was the time for them to go to their own gods to see what they could do to help them (v14). So had God, in turn, abandoned his people?-it would have been fair and just but when Israel repented and started to worship him again (v16)- guess what- his heart was softened once again- “he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer”. God’s heart always seems to be softened by his people’s obedience and cries when they turn to him in desperation. This time, God raised up two unforgettable judges Jepthah and Samson.

JEPTHAH
Jepthah (11v1) was a mighty warrior; a tough man who had been rejected by his own family and driven away to the land of Tob where he gathered a band of outlaws around him (v3). The elders of Gilead, when attacked, looked to him to be their commander judge which he agreed on the one condition that God gave him the victory in the first battle (v9). Jepthah had a surprising knowledge of God (11v 14-27) and the spirit of the Lord came upon him (v29). Jepthah is well known for a hasty vow he made to God (11v31) to make a sacrifice if God gave him victory. Just whether he actually killed his daughter is open to doubt but most think he did wrong if he did. Jepthah is still listed in Hebrews 11 as a man of faith, along with Gideon, Barak and Samson. Israel, suffered a further setback in chapter 12 as we see different regions of Israel fighting each other.

SAMSON
Before Samson there were two lesser known judges, Ibsan and Elon (12v11). And also Abdon who we are told had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys (v14). As life in Israel became more godless the oppression got worse as well, this time for forty years under the hand of the Philistines (13v1). The angel of the Lord this time visited the wife of Manoah to tell her that, although she had been barren, she was going to give birth to a son who would be a Nazirite, a man set apart for God, from his birth (v3-5). The angel made an impressive return to heaven in the flame of a sacrificial offering (v20) and we are told in v24 that Samson the son “grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him”.
Samson had a dangerous weakness for women and disappointed his parents by taking interest in a Philistine woman (14v3) but even this was part of God’s plan (v4). When the spirit of the Lord came upon him in power (v6) he was capable of phenomenal feats of strength; for example in verse 6, tearing a lion apart and (15v15) killing 1000 men with a donkey jawbone. Finally, Delilah lured him to give away the secret of his strength and he ended up, his eyes gauged out, (16v21) grinding in a prison mill.

GOD REMEMBERS HIM ONE MORE TIME
The Philistines were celebrating because they interpreted his capture as a victory for their god Dagon. As Samson “performed” for them he prayed that wonderful prayer (v28) “O Sovereign Lord, remember me O God, please strengthen me once more”. Once again God answered the prayer of the broken and desperate and we can only imagine in amazement how God gave him the strength to push over two central pillars and Samson killed more in his death than in all his lifetime (v30). Likewise, if we, in turn, find ourselves in a place we would rather not be-we must cry out to God to remember us one more time.

INSTITUTIONALISED IDOL WORSHIP
From now to the end of the book we see the final extent and consequences of Israel’s decline. The Levites were not being properly supported, it appears, and we have the account of a Levite, looking for work, who started to support a man called Micah in idol worship (ch17). This was a period without a judge to save them and the tribe of Dan ended up adopting Micah’s priest and idols for their own worship (18v20).

LIFE SO BAD IT WAS DISGUSTING
There follows the story of another Levite (ch 19) who took a concubine and on his travels came to  Gibeah, a Benjaminite city. People were not very friendly or hospitable until an old man finally offered them a place for the night. What followed is reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah when wicked men pounded on their door, demanding homosexual sex. Eventually they satisfied their lust with a multiple rape of his concubine until she finally dropped down dead on his doorstep. The Levite then put the dead woman on his donkey, took her home to Ephraim and on arrival, chopped her up into 12 pieces and sent one piece to each tribe of Israel. This affair outraged all Israel and resulted in a civil war against the Benjamin tribe who had backed the people from Gibeah. The Benjaminites fought bravely and well but so many of their women were eventually killed that the tribe was in danger of dying out. This problem was only remedied by stealing wives from other nations.
The last verse ends “In those days Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit”. Nobody listened to the Lord and Israel had reached their lowest point since leaving Egypt. Idol worship had become institutionalised and nobody loved the presence of the Lord. Where were the likes of Joshua and Caleb who served the Lord wholeheartedly? Despite the intervention of God, working through remarkable leaders, the community had slipped into civil war. Through Judges we learn the importance of crying out to God and the importance of good leaders empowered by the spirit of God. Also if we turn our backs on him then he will be forced to do the same to us.

BUT THERE IS HOPE
Is there hope for our country which seems to be sliding further down the same slippery slope away from God. I do not know. All I know is that there was hope for Israel, God still had a plan that he was working out. A plan that would start in the hill country of Ephraim with a man called Elkanah. A plan to send the last and greatest judge, Samuel.