Some important notes about the book of Judges
Chronology
The book of judges takes place over 400 years, from roughly 1450 BC – 1050 BC. In this book, we see the fledgling Israel seek to find leadership. The Lord told Israel that they could appoint a king in Deuteronomy 17:15, but Israel is not ready for a centralized government. Israel is too nomadic and not settled enough for there to be a solid governmental system. At this point, Israel’s nation is more like a loose group of coexisting, nomadic, farming, and shepherding tribes than it is a nation, as we think of nations.
Author
The author of the book is not known for sure. Samuel probably finalized the book, but others may have recorded the events that happened before Samuel’s life.
A Book About People
The prominent figures in this book, known as the judges, have the common theme of being raised up by the Lord to save Israel from its enemies. Israel over and over disobeys God’s law, and God lets their enemies defeat them. After Israel repents, God sends a judge to save them. The judges are not always pillars of good character and are not in the story to give examples of what good leadership is. Instead, they are there to show how merciful God is to his people even when they are rebellious.
This is not Fiction
There is sometimes a dismissal of the stories of miracles like Samson lifting the city’s gates and caring them away. (Judges 16:3)
The story of Samson and the Gates of Gaza is one of the Bible stories that often come under ridicule.
Most scholars calculate the gates of Gaza to be at least 8000 pounds. The distance between Gaza and Hebron is 37 miles. Gaza is at sea level, while Hebron is on-top of a mountain at 3000 feet elevation. Samson carried at least 8000 pounds 37 miles up a mountain.
It not humanly possible to carry 8000 pounds 37 miles. However, this is an actual event, just like the red sea, just like Jericho’s walls, and the resurrection of Christ.
An Important Text
The statement “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” (Judges 17:6,21:25) appears two times in the book of Judges. This passage is critical to correctly understanding this book. The author is clarifying that God does not condone or endorse many of the things happening in this book. However, the book is important both historically and for us to understand the even we are evil and unfaithful, God is always faithful.