Introduction to Judges – Beliefs Shape Attitudes

Judges is not a book that is often preached on or read given its violent story line and dubious heroes. Yet, it presents a stark warning for the church about the dangers of losing our moral and religious moorings. Modern Western societies, once anchored by Christian principles, are increasingly detaching themselves from these and, like Israel at the time of the judges, are drifting at sea. As I write, parliament in New Zealand voted for the ‘End of Life’ Bill and the arguments for it centre on rights and human choice. There is no acknowledgement in such language that life is not ours to dispose of but belongs to God. Nor are there sufficient safeguards to protect elderly folk (who may already feel a burden to carers) from being pressured into making such a ‘choice’. The church is likewise not exempt from drifting into moral disorientation, particularly in the area of sexual practices.

Judges traces some of the root causes of such disorientation. The book opens with the death of Joshua (1:1) after Israel has come out of Egypt and settled in the Promised Land. From a modern perspective, the problem starts innocently enough: with a ‘tolerant’ attitude towards other cultures and the acceptance and worship of their gods. In the ancient world exclusive devotion to one god was unheard of, so worshipping local deities would not have felt wrong for the average Israelite in the same way that the idea of couples living together without marriage, given how common it is, may not feel sinful for some Christians.

The Lord, however, tells Israel that they will be ensnared by their false worship (2:1-3) and by the time the first generation of settlers die, their children no longer know the Lord or what He had done for them (v.10) – evidently no one taught them! This lack of teaching and understanding is all too familiar to us in our churches. What follows in Judges are repeated cycles of sin, oppression and deliverance. The Lord raises judges (military leaders) to save Israel, but as the story progresses, these cycles take on an ever-darker tone until they culminate in gang rape, civil war and mass murder (chs.19-20). We may feel that this is a far cry from where we are today, but Judges portrays the principle that beliefs shape attitudes and the more we drift from God, the more our thinking and lifestyle will be twisted and corrupted.