The Book of Judges: When Everyone Did What Seemed Right

Every quarter has a mood. This one smells of battle smoke, makeshift altars, and a people trying to find their way in the dark. We are entering the book of Judges — and lesson 1 is the map of the territory we are going to cover.

This quarter's commentator, Pastor Valmir Nascimento, sums up the setting well: with the death of Joshua, Israel was left without central leadership, surrounded by pagan peoples, with a mission half-done (conquering the land) and a huge temptation (imitating the surrounding culture). The verse that gives the lesson its title — "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) — is not a compliment to freedom; it is the death certificate of a nation without direction.

But hold that impression, because the book has two layers. On the surface, it is the story of human failure. At its core, it is the story of the faithfulness of God who does not give up — and of a question that keeps echoing page after page: what if there were a true King? Keep that question; it has only one answer, and its name is Jesus.

I — Joshua and the Conquest: the void that opens the book

Before Judges, there was Joshua. Under his leadership — as Moses' successor — Israel crossed the Jordan and began to conquer Canaan (Joshua 1:1-9; 3). And Joshua made sure to make the "secret" of the victories clear: it was not Israel's strength, it was God. "And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you." (Joshua 23:3) At the end of his life, he issues the challenge that runs through the whole Bible: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)

Then Joshua dies (Joshua 24:29; Judges 1:1) — and here is the detail that opens the whole book: unlike Moses, Joshua left no successor. There was a void of spiritual, social, and political leadership. The tribes were supposed to finish the conquest (Joshua 13:1) and live according to the covenant, but they were left like a generation without a reference point, disoriented.

And it is right here that Judges teaches us its first major lesson: the Kingdom of God does not die when a leader dies. Joshua was gone; God remained alive. He had already brought the people into the Promised Land, and He would raise up new people to fulfill His plans. The work belongs to the Lord — the servants pass away, the Owner of the work remains.

🏛 Archaeology — the Canaan of Judges. Canaan lay at a strategic crossroads, between the Mediterranean and the desert, along the routes linking Egypt to the northern empires. It was a mosaic of peoples and cults — and therein lies the danger of the book: surrounded by Canaanite religions (the worship of Baal and Asherah, with their fertility rites), Israel lived under the constant temptation to "mix" faith in Yahweh with the idolatry of the neighborhood. The battle of Judges is, above all, a battle of identity.

II — The Book of Judges: a directionless generation and the unlikely heroes

A disoriented generation. The book covers the period from the death of Joshua to the eve of the monarchy — more than three centuries of a spiral: unfaithfulness, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. And again. And again. The summary is: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25) Disunity, relativism, absence of shared values.

The judges. Be careful with the word: "judge" here is not a courtroom magistrate. In Hebrew, shophetim designates leaders raised up by God to govern, wage war, judge, and deliver the people. There were twelve, usually divided into "major" (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson) and "minor" (Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon). They did not come from a specific tribe, nor did they inherit the office — God sovereignly chose and empowered them. Their diversity preaches a sermon by itself: God uses whomever He wants, and no one is insignificant to Him. If you think you are irrelevant, this is your lesson.

אב In the original — Hebrew.

• שֹׁפְטִים (shophetim, "judges") — not "one who judges lawsuits," but "one who governs and delivers." The true Judge behind all of them is God Himself (Judges 2:16).
• The Spirit of the LORD coming mightily upon someone — the key expression of the book (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6). The verb is strong, almost physical: the Spirit takes possession of the leader. Courage and strength were not natural talent; they were anointing.

Heroes, yet flawed. Here is what most shocks the first-time reader: the judges are not flawless superheroes. Hebrews 11:32 places some of them in the gallery of faith — but the book itself exposes their weaknesses, rash decisions, and character flaws. Why? Because Judges is not the book of heroes who save by their own strength. It is the book of a merciful God who works despite the crooked tools He has in His hands. As commentator Daniel Block sums up, if anything good was accomplished in those dark days, it was the work of God: the human instruments were rough; it was the Craftsman who was perfect.

❤ For your life. You do not need to be perfect to be used — but you do need to be available. Gideon was fearful, Samson was impulsive, Ehud was "the left-handed man" (the unlikely one). God did not look for those who were ready; He looked for those who were willing and filled them with His Spirit. The question was never "are you capable?", but "are you surrendered?". The talent is yours; the anointing is His.

III — The Message of Judges for the Present Time

Judges is not a museum piece. It speaks directly to your feed, your classroom, your group of friends.

1. Doing what seemed right — today's relativism. Without a moral reference point, each person becomes the judge of their own right and wrong. Sound familiar? It is the definition of postmodern culture: "my truth," "nobody tells me what to do," ethics turning into a matter of convenience. Judges shows the end of that movie — not freedom, but chaos. Add to that the trend of deconstructing all authority (of parents, teachers, pastors, rulers) and you have the Israel of Judges reenacted in the twenty-first century. The Bible, going the other way, teaches the value of legitimate authorities established by God, in the family (Ephesians 6:1-4), in government (Romans 13:1-2), and in the church (Hebrews 13:17).

2. The cycle of deliverance. This is the heart of the book. The pattern repeats itself: the people sin (abandon God for idolatry, Judges 2:11-13) → suffer oppression (God hands them over to enemies as discipline, 2:14-15) → cry out for help (3:9) → receive deliverance (God raises up a judge, 2:16). And it starts over. But pay attention to a frightening detail: the cycle is not a circle, it is a downward spiral. With each turn, the people grow worse, repentance grows shallower, the deliverers more flawed. It is the portrait of untreated sin: it never stands still — it always sinks deeper.

The cycle of Judges	What it reveals
The people sin and serve idols (2:11-13)	The moral frailty of human beings
God allows oppression (2:14-15)	The discipline of a Father who does not connive
The people cry out for help (3:9)	That at rock bottom there is still Someone to cry out to
God raises up a deliverer (2:16)	The gracious faithfulness that does not give up on the people

3. In the power of the Spirit. Amid the chaos, grace shines: the judges were supernaturally empowered by the Spirit. In the Old Testament, this action of the Spirit wasoccasional and restricted to a chosen few — judges, prophets, kings. Some theologians call these episodes "proto-Pentecostal": rehearsals of what was to come. Because that partial promise would be fulfilled completely in Acts 2, when the Spirit would be poured out upon all the people of God. What was a drop in the judges became a river at Pentecost — and it is the same Spirit who empowers you today.

🔬 Our reading — Pentecostal keys.

1. The same Spirit, now for everyone. What came mightily upon a judge from time to time permanently indwells the Spirit-filled believer (Acts 2:17-18). The anointing ceased to be the privilege of a few.
2. God uses the unlikely. The choice of the judges preaches grace: God does not recruit by résumé, but empowers whoever surrenders.
3. Holiness matters. The spiral of Judges is a warning: tolerated sin always goes down another step. Life in the Spirit is the opposite — an ascent, not a spiral.

Christ in the Book of Judges — the King who was missing

Here is the key that ties everything together. Four times the book repeats, almost like a lament, that in those days there was no king in Israel (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The whole book is a void shaped like a question: where is the King who will govern with justice, truly deliver, and never fail?

Each judge is a partial and frustrating answer. Othniel delivers — and dies. Gideon wins — and stumbles. Samson is strong — and falls. All of them are shadows of a Deliverer who had not yet arrived. The book of Judges, in the end, is a giant arrow pointing forward, to the day when the Judge who makes no mistakes and the King who does not fall would come: Jesus Christ. He is the true Shophet — the One who judges with justice and delivers for good, not from a Canaanite army, but from sin and death. Where the judges gave temporary relief, Christ gives eternal salvation.

That is why we read Judges not with contempt ("what a flawed people!"), but with hope: if God was so faithful to such an unfaithful people, sustaining them until He sent the King, how much more faithful will He be to you, who already live on this side of the cross?

Practical Application

In the world of "everyone does what seems right," have a King. Your generation was raised not to accept any authority. Judges shows the price of that. Choose, against the current, to submit your life to the rule of Christ — He is the only King who sets free without enslaving.

Do not outsource your faith to a "leader." The people sank whenever they were left without a reference point — yet the leaders themselves were flawed. The lesson of balance: honor the authorities God places in your life (parents, pastors, teachers), without placing in them the trust that belongs to God alone. Leaders pass away; the Lord remains.

Beware of the spiral. No sin stands still. What today is "just once" becomes a habit, and the habit becomes character. Cut the cycle early — in crying out to God, in sincere repentance — before it goes down another step.

Closing Prayer

Lord, righteous Judge and faithful King, thank You because, even when Your people did what seemed right in their own eyes, You did not give up on them. Deliver us from the illusion of being masters of the truth and of our own way. Break in us every spiral of sin before it sinks us, and fill us with Your Spirit — the same Spirit who empowered the judges and was poured out at Pentecost. And, above all things, reign in us: be the King who was missing, the Deliverer who never fails. In the name of Jesus, the perfect Judge and our Savior. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria — Scripture governs; everything else, on its knees.

Teacher's Guide

Five questions this lesson asks the class:

1. In what areas of your life have you been doing what seems right in your own eyes instead of what God says?
2. Do you recognize the difference between honoring an authority and idolizing it — or between questioning and simply rejecting all authority?
3. Where is the "spiral" in your life: some sin that, with each turn, has been going down another step?
4. Do you believe that God can use you even with your flaws — or do you use your weaknesses as an excuse not to surrender?
5. If the book cries out that there was no king, does your life actually have a King? Who truly governs your decisions?