One of the repeated terms in Judges is, ‘Then Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord’. You are going to see this (and highlight it!) over and over again as we journey through Judges. It is really very annoying, to be honest.

The Book of Judges reminds me a bit of A Series of Unfortunate Events, where each mini-narrative has a crisis that the hero overcomes, and yet there never seems to be a satisfying resolution. Something “unfortunate” always happens, namely, that the people fall back into sin again.

When I read the Bible, I like to look beyond the main story, the main characters and find the person that God has put in there to surprise us. At times, these people can be overlooked in the big scheme of things but God has called these faithful people and put their story into the Bible to show us, that every story matters if you take the time to hear it and learn from it.

One of the stories in the Book of Judges that has always intrigued (and disturbed) me is the encounter of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, and Sisera, commander of the army of Jabin king of Hazor. You’ll find this encounter in Judges 4:17-21, and then retold in a poem in chapter 5.

How many times have you heard it preached, ‘and then the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost’ and we see this incredible moment of the birthing of the church in Acts 2 (or re-birthing as I like to call it!), and we can give off the impression that the first time the Holy Spirit entered the stories of the Bible is in that Acts 2 moment.

The book of Judges is a unique book, in and of itself the book appears to merely be a partial historical recount of the nation of Israel. However, with further study, there is much more available to the reader. Much more depth and profound teaching that one can absorb and apply to their life today.