The Period Of The Judges

The Period Of The Judges
After the death of Joshua, the nation of Israel was ruled by judges, or heroic military deliverers, for about 300 years until the united monarchy was established under King Saul. The era of the judges was a time of instability and moral depravity, a dark period when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6). The judges tried to rally the people against their enemies, but many of the judges were morally weak and the people often turned to idolatry. Along with the well-known judges, there were several minor judges whose battles are not recorded in the Bible: Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon.
What began with conquest (vv. 1.1–1.26) soon became compromise (vv. 1.27–1.36) as the defeated tribes gave in to the enemy. IF WE DO NOT DEFEAT THE ENEMY COMPLETELY, THE ENEMY WILL EVENTUALLY DEFEAT US. Israel learned their ways and worshiped their gods, and the Lord had to chasten His people to bring them back. They forgot the warnings of Moses (Deut. 7) and Joshua (Josh. 23).
It has well been said, “The one thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history.” Read 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 and take it to heart.