The Encourager
“Conclusion to the Book of Judges - Jeff Curtis”
Conclusion to the Book of Judges
By Jeff Curtis
The book of Judges has a double conclusion as well as a double introduction. The last five chapters can be divided into two parts: the story of Micah’s idol worship and then the moral depravity of the Benjamite men in Gibeah. Together, the two parts show the shameless religious and moral status of Israel at the end of the downward spiral described for us in the text.
The twofold conclusion shows the result of Israel’s gradual departure from the ways of the Lord. While chapters 17 & 18 detail the religious decline of Israel, 19-21 reflect on the moral degeneration of the nation.
Parallel elements are emphasized in repeated theme statements in the last five chapters. The narrator said that “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6). The second statement, often combined with the other, includes the line “In those days there was no king in Israel” (17:6; 18:1; 21:25). These two statements appear in part of the conclusion.
The concern of the first theme statement that “every man did what was right in his own eyes” reflects in previous material in the Pentateuch. Moses called on Israel to do what was “right in the sight of the Lord.” God told Moses that the Israelites would fall away from Him and do what was right in their own eyes (Deut. 31:14-21). His prediction finally came to pass at the end of the book of Judges.
“Every man did what was right in his own eyes” also recalls earlier material in Judges. Seven times, the book includes some variation of the line “did evil inf the sight of the Lord.” At the end of the nation’s downward spiral, Israel was no longer able to see what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Out of repeated occasions of doing what was evil in “the sight of the Lord,” each Israelite finally did what was right in his own eyes and ignored the Lord’s will.
“No king in Israel,” the second theme statement, considers earlier material in two ways: in the lack of a human king and in ignoring the Lord as King. While nations around them had kings, Israel was to be led by God, not a human monarch. Moses laid out qualifications for a future Israelite king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Neither Moses nor Joshua assumed that role. Among the twelve judges in this book, none became a king, although the issue arose late in the life of Gideon, and in the life of his son Abimelech (Judges 8&9). Even as Judges concludes, “there was no king in Israel” (21:25).
At the end of the period of the judges, as Israel called for a human king, the Lord said in 1Samuel 8:7: “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” This line echoes the second theme statement in Judges 17-21. Not only was there no human king in Israel, but the people did not serve the Lord as King either. Both themes reflect Israel’s disregard for the Lord and His teaching.
Together, the two conclusions of the book of Judges show the end result of the religious and moral decay of the nation. Each person did what he or she wanted to do, and no human or divine leader had any influence over Israel.
