The book of judges is a teaching book. It shows us the danger of falling away from the Lord. It shows a recurring pattern of Israel’s disobedience, rebellion, and then eventual repentance. It’s easy to look at Judges and think “how terrible it is for them to fall away after all God did for them!” However, we need to shift our thinking to ourselves. We need to learn from the book of Judges so that we do not fall away!
The first clue for us is in chapter 2:10, “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” At the end of Joshua’s life he had challenged them to make a choice and stick with it and that he and his family chose the Lord. The people said they would also choose to be faithful to the Lord. Joshua tells them what will be needed in order to live up to that commitment. So what happened? In simple terms, they forgot. Judges 2:10 says the next generation didn’t know the Lord or His works, so one generation didn’t pass it on to the next. This is why we read and re-read passages, talk about subjects again and again, and even have weekly reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper. We want to remember and we want the next generation to know. This also means that it falls on parents and grandparents to make sure that next generation knows, too.
The pattern in Judges is sin, oppression, and then crying out in distress for deliverance. Somewhere there is a remembrance or someone teaching. Even in the midst of a sinful generation and oppression because of it, someone is teaching. Details aren’t revealed, but it seems clear. This reveals to us that we must continue to teach, even when it seems like everyone is going their own way and wouldn’t want to know about God. Those who are faithful are to continue to be an example, to speak of righteousness in the Lord, and teach others when they can. We see this well in Paul’s evangelism. He had different levels of success at different times. Sometimes it seems like he easily finds willing hearers, and other times, it seems that opposition and deep-seated idolatry is a huge barrier to finding hearers. He kept going and kept searching, just as we should.
Another big lesson I see in Judges is that success is not determined by talent or strength, but by relying on the Lord. From Gideon to Samson, deliverance came by the Lord’s will, not by man’s intentions. It came because God was behind it. It reminds me of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. David states confidently in verse 47, “For the battle is the Lord’s…” It was true for David, for conquering Jericho (and the rest of the land), and it was true during the time of the Judges. It is no different for us today. The battle still belongs to the Lord, and we need to be on HIS side, not forgetful and not rebellious, but people of faith who remember and serve.