The Book of Judges, the seventh book of the Old Testament, is a narrative that covers the time between the death of Joshua who lead the Hebrews to settle the Promised Land, and establishing the age of King as described in the Books of Samuel, the last of the Judges. In the in-between times God raised up Judges to serve as temporary leaders of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Can you name a judge? I am sure the name Gideon and Samson ring a bell, but what about Othniel? He was perhaps the greatest of the Judges. Did you know that one of the Judges was a woman, Deborah? But lest you think of this book as only a story of God stepping in to save His people (which it is…), it is really a story of God having very little to work with as the people slowly forgot the God who saved them from slavery in Egypt. And yet save them He will even as this tragic tale unfolds of how Israel slowly became like the Canaanites that surrounded them, taking on their ways, even child sacrifice. It is perhaps the single book of the Bible most deserving of warning signs: “Disturbing and Violent.”  And that is exactly the author’s point. This is what happens when we walk out on God.

Most people are not familiar with the Book of Judges, but the good folk at The Bible Project are ever here to provide an introduction and overview of the Book of Judges.

As always, I encourage you to support the not-for-profit work of The Bible Project.