18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel… (Judges 2:18-20)
Absolutely—here’s the fully polished version, with the teaching kept intact but the edges smoothed and the landing made a little more pastoral.
Day 089: Making Sense of the Cycles in Judges (Judges 1–2)
“Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel…”
Judges 2:18–20
Through the Bible: Judges 1–2
If you are new to the Bible, fasten your seat belts. The book of Judges is one of the most action-packed and exciting books in Scripture. But it is also one of the most tragic and depressing, because it records the downward spiral of God’s people after they entered the Promised Land.
Judges is what happens when people keep returning to the very sins God just rescued them from.
It is also the perfect book for people who like to spot patterns in history. One helpful tool for understanding the repeated cycle of Judges is the acronym SWORD:
Stability Wickedness Oppression Repentance Deliverance
There are six major SWORD cycles in Judges, with some minor variations. Pay attention to the phrase, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” That will usually be your sign that a period of stability is ending, and a new cycle of wickedness is beginning.
Here are some other patterns to watch for as you read:
- The periods of oppression get longer as the book goes on: eight years before the first judge, forty before the last.
- For the first five judges, the periods of stability last about forty years each. Then they begin to shrink. The four judges after Gideon combine for only thirty-one years of stability. The peace before Samson, the last judge, lasts only twenty years.
- Over the course of Judges, the deliverers become increasingly isolated. Early in the book, Deborah and Barak lead an army. Later, Gideon is reduced to 300 men. By the time you get to Samson, the “deliverer” is one deeply compromised man fighting alone. Some commentators have seen in that a faint foreshadowing of the Messiah, who would save His people not with a mighty army, but by giving Himself.
- Significantly, there is no repentance before Samson. In every earlier cycle, the people cry out and God raises up a deliverer. So Samson is literally the judge nobody asks for. And he is the worst.
All of this prepares us for a new chapter in Israel’s story in the books of Samuel. Judges shows us what happens when everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Samuel begins the long and complicated story of kings, prophets, and God’s determination to save His people anyway.
And if we are honest, Judges is not just ancient history. It is a mirror. Left to ourselves, we are all prone to drift, cry out when life falls apart, and forget God again as soon as the pressure lifts. The good news is that even in the cycle, God keeps showing mercy to people who do not deserve it.
Keep reading.
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