The Judges
Introduction. The book of Judges records Israel’s rapid descent into idolatry after entering the promised land of Canaan. “The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua,” “But when all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord.” From that moment until the end of the book, the same cycle of events is repeated. First, “They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.” Second, “the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel.” Third “He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them.” Fourth, “the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.” Finally, “when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers.” (Judg. 2:7-19)
God ruled over Israel as their king throughout the days of the Judges. He had complete control over them. He chose when plunderers would come and how long they were needed. He saw when Israel’s repentance reached a level that merited His deliverance. He searched Israel and found the best person to become their judge. He gave His own assessment of how He used the judges: “the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people.” (1Chr. 17:6). The Judges were God’s ordained method to lead, care for, and shepherd His people.
He chose the system of the judges to keep His promise to Abraham. His descendants through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob/Israel must become a great nation and must endure until the promised seed came to bless all nations (Jesus). The plunderers He used brought Israel to repentance and then the judges brought deliverance. He gave Israel no role in this. He saw when they needed to be punished, He decided when and who would deliver them, and He gave power to each judge to bring about deliverance. He used His mighty power to work for them as He had done since the ten plagues in Egypt. Israel was greatly blessed with God’s wisdom and foresight to use judges. In the midst of continual apostasy, He never failed them and never forsook them. He used this method to rule His people for about 450 years. (Acts 13:20-21).
When Israel finally asked for a king, they were rejecting God and His wisdom. Their demand of “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” used their own human wisdom to replace God’s system of rule (1 Sam. 8:1-7). They saw other nations with a king and thought it was a better system. The result was disaster. First, “They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” Their folly is evident in their own words: “We will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” They didn’t want God to fight their battles nor did they want God to select their judges who would deliver and shepherd them.
Samuel came to reason with them about what they had done. He reminded them of their history, recorded in the book of Judges. Through God’s chosen judges, He “delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.” Instead of trusting in the Lord with all their heart, and being grateful for His salvation, “you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.” (1 Sam. 12:5-12)
Exchanging God’s power and wisdom for that of man was foolish in the extreme. But far worse, Samuel charged them with committing a great wickedness: “I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.” Exchanging God’s judges with a king like the rest of the nations was indeed a great sin. After enduring the thunder and rain, they understood: “we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.” The consequences of this sin were revealed in prophecy “if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” (1 Sam. 12:13-25) They did do wickedly and were swept away.
The history of the kings of Israel reveals the terrible consequences of this choice. While David showed what could be done if a king was truly faithful to God, only three other kings in Judah were like him. Only Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David.” (2Kings 15:11-12; 18:1-3; 22:1-2). Though a few others came close, they always feel short. Solomon began well, but in his old age, “his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” (1Kings 11:4). He did great harm to the nation, building idol temples in Jerusalem for his wives. Because of this unfaithful behavior, God took 10 tribes from David’s house and gave them to Jeroboam. God promised Jeroboam that if he would serve Him as David had done, then “I will be with you and build for you an enduring house.” (1Kings 11:1-13; 29-39).
Jeroboam fully revealed Israel’s folly in asking for a human king. He completely ignored God’s warnings. Instead of honoring God and leading Israel to keep His laws as the judges had done, he made two calves of gold to worship, ordained new feast days, and made priests from every class of people (1Kings 12:25-33). These terrible sins led to the complete apostasy of the ten tribes. Although God replaced these kings with others and sent prophets to warn them, none of their kings ever came back to God. They worshiped the golden calves in Bethel and Dan and never returned to God or His temple in Jerusalem until they were swept away.
One of Israel’s final prophets gave God’s assessment of their choice. First, it had led to their destruction. They had rejected God’s help and put themselves into opposition to His plan. He reminded them of their own words. They sought a human king to save them in all their cities. God asked them: “Where is this king now?” The judges who could have saved them had been removed at their own request. They had rejected them when they said, “give me a king.” God was very angry when He gave them the king they requested. He knew where it would lead, and now at the end of their existence He said: “I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath.”
Conclusion. Not long after these words, God fulfilled His warning: “you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” They were taken to Assyria and never returned. They endured their banishment for over 700 years until God put His own Son on the throne and called them back. All of those serving God under the King of kings and Lord of lords have a true shepherd far better than the judges God had given in the beginning. Those who have learned from this terrible history fear to meddle in God’s government in the church.
Addendum: Today, Jesus is God’s chief shepherd and judge. The elders in each church and in each city have the same role as the judges did. They “shepherd the flock of God among them” with each church working independently from all others. Jesus does the same thing for His church through these shepherds that God did with His judges. Many today who call themselves disciples of Jesus do not fear to do to Jesus what Israel did to God long ago. When a new way of governing a church replaces the one Jesus gave, it too is great wickedness.
God ruled over Israel as their king throughout the days of the Judges. He had complete control over them. He chose when plunderers would come and how long they were needed. He saw when Israel’s repentance reached a level that merited His deliverance. He searched Israel and found the best person to become their judge. He gave His own assessment of how He used the judges: “the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people.” (1Chr. 17:6). The Judges were God’s ordained method to lead, care for, and shepherd His people.
He chose the system of the judges to keep His promise to Abraham. His descendants through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob/Israel must become a great nation and must endure until the promised seed came to bless all nations (Jesus). The plunderers He used brought Israel to repentance and then the judges brought deliverance. He gave Israel no role in this. He saw when they needed to be punished, He decided when and who would deliver them, and He gave power to each judge to bring about deliverance. He used His mighty power to work for them as He had done since the ten plagues in Egypt. Israel was greatly blessed with God’s wisdom and foresight to use judges. In the midst of continual apostasy, He never failed them and never forsook them. He used this method to rule His people for about 450 years. (Acts 13:20-21).
When Israel finally asked for a king, they were rejecting God and His wisdom. Their demand of “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” used their own human wisdom to replace God’s system of rule (1 Sam. 8:1-7). They saw other nations with a king and thought it was a better system. The result was disaster. First, “They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” Their folly is evident in their own words: “We will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” They didn’t want God to fight their battles nor did they want God to select their judges who would deliver and shepherd them.
Samuel came to reason with them about what they had done. He reminded them of their history, recorded in the book of Judges. Through God’s chosen judges, He “delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.” Instead of trusting in the Lord with all their heart, and being grateful for His salvation, “you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.” (1 Sam. 12:5-12)
Exchanging God’s power and wisdom for that of man was foolish in the extreme. But far worse, Samuel charged them with committing a great wickedness: “I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.” Exchanging God’s judges with a king like the rest of the nations was indeed a great sin. After enduring the thunder and rain, they understood: “we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.” The consequences of this sin were revealed in prophecy “if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” (1 Sam. 12:13-25) They did do wickedly and were swept away.
The history of the kings of Israel reveals the terrible consequences of this choice. While David showed what could be done if a king was truly faithful to God, only three other kings in Judah were like him. Only Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David.” (2Kings 15:11-12; 18:1-3; 22:1-2). Though a few others came close, they always feel short. Solomon began well, but in his old age, “his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” (1Kings 11:4). He did great harm to the nation, building idol temples in Jerusalem for his wives. Because of this unfaithful behavior, God took 10 tribes from David’s house and gave them to Jeroboam. God promised Jeroboam that if he would serve Him as David had done, then “I will be with you and build for you an enduring house.” (1Kings 11:1-13; 29-39).
Jeroboam fully revealed Israel’s folly in asking for a human king. He completely ignored God’s warnings. Instead of honoring God and leading Israel to keep His laws as the judges had done, he made two calves of gold to worship, ordained new feast days, and made priests from every class of people (1Kings 12:25-33). These terrible sins led to the complete apostasy of the ten tribes. Although God replaced these kings with others and sent prophets to warn them, none of their kings ever came back to God. They worshiped the golden calves in Bethel and Dan and never returned to God or His temple in Jerusalem until they were swept away.
- Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, (2 Kings 17:21-23).
One of Israel’s final prophets gave God’s assessment of their choice. First, it had led to their destruction. They had rejected God’s help and put themselves into opposition to His plan. He reminded them of their own words. They sought a human king to save them in all their cities. God asked them: “Where is this king now?” The judges who could have saved them had been removed at their own request. They had rejected them when they said, “give me a king.” God was very angry when He gave them the king they requested. He knew where it would lead, and now at the end of their existence He said: “I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath.”
- It is your destruction, O Israel, That you are against Me, against your help. 10 Where now is your king That he may save you in all your cities, And your judges of whom you requested, “Give me a king and princes”? 11 I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath. (Hos. 13:9)
Conclusion. Not long after these words, God fulfilled His warning: “you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” They were taken to Assyria and never returned. They endured their banishment for over 700 years until God put His own Son on the throne and called them back. All of those serving God under the King of kings and Lord of lords have a true shepherd far better than the judges God had given in the beginning. Those who have learned from this terrible history fear to meddle in God’s government in the church.
Addendum: Today, Jesus is God’s chief shepherd and judge. The elders in each church and in each city have the same role as the judges did. They “shepherd the flock of God among them” with each church working independently from all others. Jesus does the same thing for His church through these shepherds that God did with His judges. Many today who call themselves disciples of Jesus do not fear to do to Jesus what Israel did to God long ago. When a new way of governing a church replaces the one Jesus gave, it too is great wickedness.