The book of Judges emphasizes divine rescue through heroes but also shows the problems of their current situation. During this time, personal commitment to God decreased while social problems increased. This is especially true in chapter 5 (for example, 5:6–8).
Three main issues stand out:
The tribes struggled to work together, even against a common enemy (see, for example, the stories of Gideon and Jephthah; chapters 8, 12). The conflicts within each tribe and between different tribes show disobedience to the covenant.
The book shows the collapse of civil society. Abimelech kills Gideon's sons, Jephthah seems to sacrifice his daughter, and Samson seeks revenge against the Philistines. These acts emphasize the moral corruption and lack of social politeness during this time.
Abandoning the Jewish faith was common in those days. The Israelites often did "evil in the sight of the LORD," which linked to idol worship (Judges 2:11–13; 3:7; 10:6). The altar to Baal and the Asherah pole in Gideon's town of Ophrah show an obvious abandoning of the Lord (6:25–30). This is similar to the worship of the golden ephod made by Gideon and the return to worshiping Baal after Gideon's death (8:27, 33–35). Samson's marriage to a Philistine woman also went against the covenant commands (see Deuteronomy 7:1–4).
Social chaos peaks in the final chapters (Judges 17–21). The story of Micah, the Levite, and the Danites mixes religious problems with lawless raids, theft, and violence (chapters 17–18). The intense final section tells of a tragic civil war and the complete loss of social politeness (chapters 19–21).
Marital problems, lack of hospitality, rape, and murder almost wiped out the Benjamites (chapters Judges 19 and 20). They survived only because the Israelites destroyed a historic city, Jabesh-gilead. Then a fake ceremony allowed the Benjamites to take young virgins as wives (21:6–23). It is no surprise that the book ends with, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25).
Passages for Further Study
Judges 5:6–8; 6:25–27; 8:1–35; 12:1–15; 17:1–21:25; Psalms 11:2–7; Proverbs 28:2–3; Jeremiah 5:7–9; 12:1–17; Micah 3:9–12; 7:2–7; Romans 1:21–32; Galatians 5:19–23