Fracture: moral leadership, where are you?

I too have struggled when reading Judges. The idea came to list all the characters so I could decide which "side" they were on. (I remember doing a similar thing when I read Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. I listed the characters so I would recognise them when they reappeared in the story!) So, I bought myself a new notebook here in Turkey--not so easy to find--and started again. 

The events of Judges take place around 400 years before David becomes king (about 1000BC).  Moses had led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and delivered them safely into the promised land of Canaan under the stewardship of Joshua. Both men have now passed on. But in this new land there is strife; the newcomers are not welcomed with open arms. 

Canaan is the enemy, which Crista Kreutz, in her excellent article Judges: An Overlooked Book of the Bible (The Christian Science Journal, August 2010), describes as typical of pagan or idolatrous nations. Idolatry is explained as the practice of "creating gods in man's image" or "suited to man's needs", in contrast to loving and serving the one God alone.

Ms. Kreutz suggests that the editors of the book of Judges offer both history and teaching as they trace the internal conflicts that finally bring the Israelite nation to a state of "fracture".

In the first four chapters, on the Israelite side we read about some of Jacob's sons and grandsons and others:

• Jacob's sons: Judah, Simeon, Caleb, Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, Dan
• Jacob's grandsons: Manasseh, Ephraim
• others: Joshua (who remained a strong example of leadership among the Israelites) and Caleb (who served alongside Joshua under Moses' leadership and must have been like an elder statesman by this time)

Here's a cute cartoon of Jacob's sons from BibleCartoons.co.uk: 

On the other side are characters like Adonibezek (whose gruesome punishment is recorded in Judges 1: 6), and Sisera.

At one point, an angel reminds the Israelites of God's instruction and promise: "make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? ...they shall be as thorns in your sides" - see Judges 2: 1-3.

Interestingly, the Israelites apparently had only foot-soldiers while the Canaanites had iron chariots, the latest technology (Judges 1: 19). (The Iron Age succeeded the Bronze Age and is said to have lasted from around 1200BC to 500BC.) Nevertheless, the Israelites had some notable successes, some of which involved women.

At least six women are mentioned in the book of Judges: 

• Achsah (Caleb's daughter), 
• Deborah (unique as both prophet and judge), 
• Sisera's mother (Judges 5: 28), 
• Jael (the wife of Heber the Kenite, the one who kills Sisera and is called "blessed above women" Judges 5: 24), 
• Jephthah's daughter (a tragic story) and 
• Samson's mother. 

There are other references to women with intermarriage quite common between the Israelites and the nations they either went to war against or simply integrated with, e.g. Judges 3: 6 "And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods."

In the meantime, while it appears that this next generation lacked leadership qualities, cohesion and moral accountability, God was right there for them: "Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them" (Judges 2: 16). 

Twelve judges appear in the narration: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon*, Tola, Jair, Jephthah*, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson*.  *mentioned in Hebrews 11:32

This period (around 400 years!) reads like a cycle of missteps and repentance. The moral code of Moses was no longer their guiding star.

Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, had this to say about where God should be in our hearts: 

"I say, Be allied to the deific power, and all that is good will aid your journey, as the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. (Judges v. 20.)

(Unity of Good, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 17:4-7 I)

This reminds me of Irving Tomlinson's words in hymn 236 which begins "O peace of the world". Stanza three has: "As stars in their courses never contend / As blossoms their hues in harmony blend / As bird voices mingle in joyful refrain / So God's loving children in concord remain.

The Bible is truly our story.

Julie Swannell