Judges: The Deliverer
“The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, … And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, ... Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.”(2:11-16)
The Book of Judges describes the period of Israel's history between the death of Joshua and the rise of the monarchy. Joshua, who led Israel to the land of Canaan, died, but the Israelites had not fully conquered it. They were supposed to be a light to the nations through their holy lives, but they quickly assimilated to the ways of the surrounding people. When God punished them by giving them into the hands of their neighboring nations, they cried out to God, who faithfully kept raising up judges to deliver them from their enemies. The repeated pattern of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance characterizes the whole book.
The judges include figures such as Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and the famous Samson. Each of them has a unique story and plays a different role in the salvation of Israel. However, their successes are often short-lived, and the Israelites quickly fall back into sin again and again. Moreover, while some early judges were faithful and righteous leaders, the latter ones had moral failings no matter how might they were. The book ends with a series of horrific stories that depict the moral decline of Israel during this period. In a short, they did evil in the sight of the LORD.
Although the Book of Judges does not directly mention Jesus Christ, the judges themselves can be seen as types of Christ. They were all appointed by God to deliver His people just as Jesus was eternally appointed by God to save His people from sin and death. Some of the judges' actions and deeds can be seen as prefigurations of Christ's life and mission. For example, Samson's sacrifice of himself to defeat the Philistines can be seen as a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
The Bible comments, "in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes"(17:6). While Israel had mighty, glorious judges, they could not give the eternal victory and peace to the people. Some of them were not different from their people in terms of their moral purity. They needed a true judge or king, whose heart would not be lifted up above his brothers nor turn aside from the commandment of God but fear the LORD by keeping all the words of the law. On top of that, this perfect king shall be the one who would be able to deliver his people not only from their external enemies, but more from their internal problems, which are their sinful hearts. The victorious king is Jesus Christ, who gives His people His perfect salvation.
