VII. The Era of the Judges

(The Period of struggle between the Conquest & Monarchy, ca. 1397-1050 B.C.)

The Passing of Joshua's Generation (Judges 1:1 - 2:10)

    The Israelite conquest of Canaan was successful, as far as it went (1:1-26).  However, there were areas where pockets of Canaanites remained and some areas where they remained dominant (1:27-36).

    As God had warned (Deuteronomy 7:1-6), Canaanite enclaves caused later problems (1:27-2:5) and, like "a little leaven," they influenced the whole lump (1Corinthians 5:6,7; Galatians 5:9).  The Angel of the Lord rebuked them (2:1-5) and then Joshua's generation died off (2:6-9).

Apostasy and the Judges of Israel (Judges 2:10 - 16:31)

    2:10-19/ We wonder "why" the next generation arose with no knowledge of their spiritual heritage - were parents too busy with earthly things to teach?  were kids unwilling to listen?  Did the priesthood fail to teach the parents?  Whatever the cause, lack of teaching creates an ignorance, but not an end to spirituality - the next generation expressed their spirituality by copying the more sensual religious offerings of the Canaanites (who may have had more "conviction" about their beliefs than the Israelites.  Anyway, those who should have known the true God turned aside to false gods and systems of religion.  The warning of what comfort and complacency might bring (Deuteronomy 8) came to pass in Israel and the exact same pattern has played itself out in modern America following WWII.

    When the fear and knowledge of God is lost, the alternative for society will become "everybody doing their own thing" (see: Judges 21:25; Matthew 15:14; Romans 10:2,3).  The cycle of apostasy, supplication, and salvation continued for some 300 years.

    2:20-3:4/ The struggles of this era were to test the character of later generations and to train those "to fight the good fight" who had not shared in the initial conquest (3:1,2).  Continued adversaries and obstacles are always a means of testing and strengthening the saints (Romans 5:3-5; 2Corinthians 10:3-6; 2Peter 1:5-11; Ephesians 6:10-17; 2Timothy 2:1-4; 4:7).

        The Judges and Oppressors of Israel:

*these dates are tentative.  Acts 13:20 indicates that Samuel (ca. 1100-1020 B.C.?) was the last Judge.  Be sure to note, in connection with Gideon, that God's will is objectively revealed (Judges 6:14; cf. Deuteronomy 29:29) and "fleeces" may be just an expression of our hesitance to obey what we already know we are to do (Judges 6:36-40).  Gideon knew that Israel had a Divine king (Judges 8:22,23), but still initiated more idolatry (8:24-27) and one of his sons tried to establish a monarchy by assassination and treachery (ch. 9).  Jephthah shows that people with a bad home life and friends can still do good later on (ch. 11).  Samson's situation teaches us that God's spiritual presence in our lives is not always emotionally or physically "felt" as much as it is demonstrated in our service - doing His will (Judges 16:20 – Samson could not "sense" that God's presence had departed until it was too late).

Life During the Judges' Period (Judges 17-21 & Ruth)

    The beginning and end of Judges effectively describes the problems of the time: untaught people turn from God's way to pursue their own opinions and popular false religions (2:10-12) and those without a king (i.e. recognized authority) exalt their own self-centered opinions and desires (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

    Religion - it quickly became idolatrous, even though still done "in the name of YHWH" (17:1-4).  People were creating their own "home-made religions" (17:5,12,13) and hired career-minded "clergymen" to take care of their spiritual security.  Priests were out looking "for a church" that would provide financial security (17:7-11) and were eager for good "career moves" (18:19,20) into "bigger churches."

    Conquest - the Danites turn from the hard work of honest fighting to conquer their tribal allotment (Joshua 19:40-48; Judges 1:34) and choose to acquire what they want by stealing from peaceful and unsuspecting people (18).

    Immorality & Crime - Israel became so morally lax and apathetic that only a horrible crime and a strong jolting of their sensibilities could stir the tribes to deal with sin.  Benjamite sin led to civil war and the near extinction of Benjamin as a tribe!  To save Benjamin, the 600 survivors were provided wives by destroying an Israelite city and stealing 200 Levite girls. (19-21).  The principle to learn from this is that "tolerating/ignoring" sin doesn't make it go away, it just creates the necessity of using harsher methods of dealing with it later!

    The Righteous Remnant - the book of Ruth shows another side of the period (1:1).  In the midst of apostasy and evil, there is usually a remnant of gentle, virtuous people who continue to seek the Lord & live by His law.  In much the same way, Christians are to be "lights" in a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16; Philippians 2:12-16), encouraging other seekers and reminding those who ignore God.  The genealogy (Ruth 4:18-22) records the Messianic line from the patriarchal sons of Jacob (Genesis 38) down to the time of David.

Eli trained Samuel to be the last Judge (1 Samuel 1-7)

    Hannah prayed for a son and dedicated him to YHWH (1:1 - 2:11,18-21)

    Eli's wicked sons abused the priesthood (2:12-17) and Eli failed to really take them in hand (2:22-36)

    God called Samuel to service (3:1-18) and supported him in his prophetic role as the Law required (3:19,20; cf. Deuteronomy 18:21,22)

    Israel, superstitiously, sought military aid from what they thought was "god in a box" and lost the battle, the ark, and Eli & his sons (4).  God showed Himself holy above the Philistine god "Dagon" and pressured them to return the ark to Israel (5:1 - 6:12)

    Israel had forgotten how to handle the ark (6:13 - 7:2), but Samuel tried to turn Israel's heart back to YHWH and Israel was delivered from the Philistines (7:1-14).

    Samuel (right), also a prophet and the man who anointed Israel's first two kings, functioned as a "circuit judge" (7:15-17)

The Judges Era – Transition to Idolatry

    The period between the initial conquest of Canaan and the beginning of the monarchy is called the era of the "Judges."  Discussed in the books of Judges, Ruth, and First Samuel 1-7, it covers the time from 1397-1051 B.C. and was a crucial time of transition for Israelite culture.  It was during this time that idolatry gained a solid foothold in Israel and would continue to plague the Jewish nation for the next thousand years.  After the death of Joshua, a period of turmoil followed and the reasons for this and Israel's weakness can be traced to several key issues.

The Problem of National/Tribal Disunity

    The first problem that the book of Judges relates is the loss of national unity.  The earliest seeds of tribal disunity were sown in the fact that Jacob's twelve sons came through four different mothers (Genesis 29-35) and there were tensions between them from the beginning.  When the issue of separate tribal interests came up in Numbers 32, Moses dealt with it quickly by demanding a united effort until the conquest was finished.  Joshua, also, led Israel in a generally successful series of campaigns by which the major military opposition was defeated in central, southern, and northern Canaan.  However, in Joshua's later years, it became obvious that the tribal unity broke down - as soon as the tribal allotments were made and each tribe anxiously moved into its own possession, they tended to become fairly unconcerned about the larger, national body.

The Problem of the "Unfinished Conquest"

    Since the various Israelite tribes were anxious to go their separate ways, the national army disbanded (too early, I believe) and some areas of Canaanite control were left unconquered (Judges 1:27-36).  Not only were there "pockets" of Canaanite influence still in the land (Judges 1:27-30), but some of these seem to have been powerful enough to remain temporarily dominant in certain Israelite tribal areas (Judges 1:31-34).

    The conquest was incomplete and fighting remained.  However, the fighting in Judges was forced upon Israel - their fighting was defensive, rather than offensive.  Canaan was the scene of many battles during the period of the Judges and the three primary reasons for conflict during the Judges era are connected with Israel's three main foes.  The Canaanites, as a dispossessed people, tried on occasion to recover lost territory.  The Philistines were imperialists and wanted to expand their holdings and reduce their neighbors to vassals.  The Midianites were nomadic raiders who had no aims beyond emptying the barns of other people in order to feed themselves.

The Intellectual/Spiritual Problem

    To my mind, the major problem for Israel during this period was the fact that (for whatever reason) the generation of Israelites that partially conquered Canaan failed to pass on the intellectual and spiritual foundations of their society - the knowledge of God.  Maybe the parents didn't teach or the children wouldn't listen, or both.  However, we are told (Judges 2:10) that the generation after Joshua did not "know God" in the sense of covenant loyalty, nor did they even "know about" God in the sense of historical knowledge about their past.  It has long been known that nations need a continuity of tradition as much as individuals need memory, if they would maintain their sanity.^[1]   When one generation of Israelites failed to understand their origins, moral limits, and purpose, they became easy prey for those around them who did have an agenda to pursue.  The Israelites demonstrated a principle that is present in our time as well - those without intellectual foundations will quickly swallow whatever is presented to them.  Thus, Israel ignorantly adopted the worldview of the Canaanites (Judges 2:11ff) and experienced the turmoil that naturally resulted as God's blessings were withdrawn.

    The principle theme around which the book of Judges is built is that Israel's troubles were rooted in: (1) their loss of the knowledge of God (Judges 2:10ff) and (2) individualism resulting from the lack of a commonly recognized center of authority (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).  The result of radical individualism is social chaos.  After each rescue from an oppressor and the passing of the deliverer, lack of authority and individualism would soon reassert itself and they would be right back in the same condition again.  As long as the authority problem persisted and Canaanite influence provided a materialistic and sensualistic alternative, Israel held to the Canaanite worldview.  Our spiritual dangers since 1962 are remarkably similar, both on a national or personal level.

The Problem of the Canaanite Worldview

    A major factor in explaining Israel's adoption of Canaanite idolatry has to be their general contact with Canaanite culture.  Having come out of Egyptian bondage and then the wilderness wanderings, it is likely that Israel probably welcomed Canaanite help in learning farming practices and the building trades.  However, much of the danger to Israel was hidden in the fact that Canaanite agriculture and worldview were so closely intertwined.  First, the religion of Canaan was based on the assumption that the forces of nature were expressions of divine presence/activity and that survival/prosperity depended on identifying the god(s) responsible for each phenomenon and encouraging them (by proper ritual/imitative magic) to bring their power to bear.  Second, not only were ritual prostitution and the fertility cult tied in with agricultural concepts, but these things in themselves made Canaanite religion degrading and founded in sensuous love and warfare.  Finally, since hatred and lust were promoted (and man is only too prone to these things anyway), Israelites of weaker moral fiber would have found the Baal cult a much more pleasant and comfortable religion.

    Perhaps the most serious danger was the fact that Canaanite religion outwardly appeared very similar to that of Israel.^[2]   First, both worship systems centered around temples/sanctuaries.  Second, both systems employed animal sacrifice with similar ritual and terminology.  Third, Baalism and YHWH-ism celebrated annual festivals that were related to the agricultural calendar and occurred at similar times.  Fourth, both systems employed similar names for their deities.

    Canaanite Religion - Looking closer at this last similarity, we need to realize that the gods of Canaan came from the Phoenician pantheon, which was composed of four major deities.

    El was the senior god, Father, creator, depicted as a bull, and El was the common and generic Phoenician term for "god."  He was viewed as having little concern for human affairs.

    Asherah was the wife/consort of El.  She was the "mother earth" figure known around the Mediterranean by similar names (Astarte, Ishtar, etc.).  Her presence was associated with "groves" or clumps of evergreen trees, even a wooden pole was sufficient to serve as a shrine for her worship.  The pervasiveness of this notion may still be present in our common western notion of "mother earth/mother nature."

    Baal ("master" of the land) was El's son, god of thunder, fertility.  The "Hadad" of Mari (Amorite storm god, manifested in rain, thunder, and lightning) became Baal at Ugarit.  Fertility myths represented Baal (rain) impregnating Asherah (the earth) and this was encouraged through cultic prostitution (hence, "cult prostitutes") and worship at the "high places."  Rather than one central temple to "Baal," there were many localized "Baalim" worship sites.

    Anat was El's daughter and a goddess of war - depicted as both bloodthirsty and immoral.  She had helped Baal come back to life and vanquished "death" itself.

    Thus, the Israelites found the Canaanites to be using two of their own words for deity and, if the details and distinctions were not taught, it would have been easy to assume that the Canaanites were worshipping the same god as Israel.

    To the Hebrews, El was YHWH/God and Baal was a word meaning that YHWH was Israel's "lord/master," but to the Canaanites these were two separate deities of a very different character from Israel's God.  It may have been easy for some to adopt the popular notion that the gods were tied to specific geographic territories and that YHWH was the god of the desert and Baal was the god (or name for God) in Canaan (1Kgs. 20:23,28).  Many probably failed to understand that YHWH is a "jealous" God and combined gods/beliefs (syncretism) in hopes of living in harmony with the Canaanites (still a popular practice).  The common Israelite had no Bible or synagogue, so everything depended on the Levites doing their teaching job (Leviticus 10:8-11) and parents teaching their own children (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).  Unfortunately, it appears that the Levites came to be seen as a "separate" group which other Israelites barely understood or cared about (Judges 21:19-23) and the parental teaching function was either not performed or fell on deaf ears (Judges 2:10).  The central sanctuary was to be a unifying factor for Israel, but "local Baals" were very dangerous as they seemed more practical, convenient (cf. 1Kings 12:28), and contributed to further tribal isolation.

Conclusion

    Canaanite idolatry provided the Israelites with a mindset that would never fully repent of idolatry and made it all the easier for Solomon to introduce state-sponsored idolatry on a larger scale around the capital city itself (1Kings 11).  Aside from several attempts by righteous Judean Kings to "reform" Judaism and remove idolatry, the idolatry problem continued to plague Israelite culture until God used Assyria to dismantle the Northern Israelite kingdom (722 B.C.) and, a century later, Babylon would bring an end to the Judean kingdom and Temple (586 B.C.).

     ^[1] Will Durant, Caesar and Christ (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944), p. 478.

Unless otherwise noted, all material produced by Charles E. McCoy

All Scripture citations/quotations from the New American Standard Bible

To send a question to Chuck: chuck@severnchristian.org