Preparing to Read Mark · Unit 08 of 16
No king, and everyone does as they please
Bible reading: Judges 2–3, 4, 6–8, 13–16, 21 (selected passages)
In the previous stage, we saw Israel enter Canaan under Joshua’s leadership and begin living in the land God promised Abraham’s descendants. Yet entering the promised land does not automatically remove humanity’s problems. After Joshua, Israel enters a period with no king ruling over the whole people. This is the setting of Judges.
1. A Biblical “Judge” Is Not a Modern Courtroom Judge
The title “judge” may suggest a courtroom official, but the judges in this book are more like leaders and deliverers whom God raises up in times of crisis. Sometimes they lead armies into battle; sometimes they govern the people, rescuing Israel from enemy oppression.
“The LORD raised up judges, and they rescued the people from those who plundered them.”
— Judges 2:16
When reading Judges, then, we can begin by understanding a “judge” as someone God raises up in a particular crisis to lead and rescue the people.
2. Israel Begins Repeatedly Turning Away from God
After entering Canaan, Israel is surrounded by many other peoples, with different religions and forms of idol worship. The Israelites gradually come under their influence and begin worshiping other gods.
“The Israelites did what the LORD regarded as evil and served the Baals. They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors who had brought them out of Egypt, and bowed down to other gods.”
— Judges 2:11–12
This matters because God had already made a covenant with Israel at Sinai, and Israel had agreed to be his people. Now they turn to other gods again and again.
The problem is not simply that Israel cannot defeat its enemies. Its relationship with God keeps breaking down.
3. Judges Contains a Repeating Cycle
Although Judges features many people, its stories share a very similar basic pattern:
- The Israelites abandon God and worship other gods.
- Neighboring peoples oppress them.
- In their suffering, the people cry out to God.
- God raises up a judge to rescue them.
- There is peace for a time.
- After the judge dies, the people turn away from God again.
“But after a judge died, they turned back to evil, acting worse than their ancestors. They served and bowed down to other gods, never giving up their stubborn, evil ways.”
— Judges 2:19
Judges, then, is not a collection of unrelated heroic stories. It shows readers a cycle that grows increasingly serious.
4. Deborah: God Also Rescues Israel through a Woman Judge
Deborah is one of the important judges in the book. While Israel is oppressed by a Canaanite king, she is both a prophet and a leader who decides cases for the people. She also encourages Barak to go into battle.
“A woman prophet named Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was serving as Israel’s judge at that time.”
— Judges 4:4
This reminds readers that the position of judge is not an office always inherited within one particular family. God raises up different people at different times.
5. Gideon: Faith alongside Weakness
At first, Gideon is deeply afraid and doubts his ability to complete the task God has given him. Yet God uses him to defeat the Midianites.
“The LORD said to him, ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down the Midianites as though they were a single man.’”
— Judges 6:16
Gideon’s later story also shows that he is far from a flawless hero. Judges often deliberately draws attention to the considerable limitations of the people God uses.
6. Samson: Great Strength, but a Troubled Life
Samson may be the best-known judge. He has extraordinary strength and attacks the Philistines, but his temperament, romantic relationships, and choices are often highly impulsive.
This illustrates a distinctive feature of Judges: as the story proceeds, the judges’ own problems seem to become increasingly obvious. Israel needs more than “another, stronger warrior.”
The real problem lies not only with enemies outside, but also within human hearts.
7. The Time of the Judges Is Not a Story of Steady Progress
If we read only the exciting episodes involving Deborah, Gideon, and Samson, it is easy to treat Judges as a book of heroic adventures. Yet the book as a whole moves in the opposite direction: Israel’s situation gradually deteriorates.
The later stories are filled with violence, disorder, and conflict between tribes. The author repeatedly impresses on readers that although this people has entered the promised land, it has still not truly learned to be faithful to God.
8. “There Was No King in Israel in Those Days”
“There was no king in Israel in those days; everyone acted as they pleased.”
— Judges 21:25
This is the final sentence of Judges, and a crucial one for understanding the whole book.
“Everyone acted as they pleased” is not praise for people’s freedom. It describes disorder: each person lives according to what they think is right, and the whole people becomes increasingly chaotic.
The story naturally raises a question: Does Israel need a king who can provide lasting leadership?
9. But Can Having a King Really Solve the Problem?
Judges does indeed lead readers toward the kingdom period. Yet the later Bible will show that having a king does not make every problem disappear. A good king can lead the people well, but a bad king can lead an entire nation away from God.
From here onward, therefore, the Bible gradually raises a deeper question: What kind of king does Israel truly need?
10. Key Points from This Stage
- The judges are not modern courtroom judges, but leaders and deliverers raised up by God in times of crisis.
- After entering Canaan, Israel repeatedly comes under the influence of surrounding idol worship.
- Judges repeatedly presents a cycle: turning away from God → oppression → crying out → rescue → turning away again.
- Judges such as Deborah, Gideon, and Samson are not flawless heroes.
- Israel’s greatest problem comes not only from outside enemies, but also from its own repeated covenant-breaking.
- Judges ends by directing the story toward a question: What kind of king does Israel need?
11. Where Does the Biblical Story Go Next?
During the time of the judges, there is no king over all Israel, and the tribes often live separately. Next, Samuel becomes an important figure, and the Israelites formally ask for a king.
The first king is Saul. Yet the person who will profoundly shape the rest of the Bible is the second king: David.
From the disorder of having “no king,” the story is about to enter the age of the kingdom.