The word judge back in the time of Israel held a different meaning than the
word means in our day. “The English word ‘judge’ doesn’t well describe these
leaders. Thought the root of the Hebrew word used means primarily ‘to judge,’
it is used secondarily also in the extended meaning ‘to govern.’ (Rasmussen, Introduction to the Old
Testament) Rasmussen goes on to explain that most of these judges were
military heroes that gave advice to the people and helped in “rendering
decisions.” They were there to help govern the people and show them how to
return back to righteousness and following the Lord.
At the very beginning of the Book of
Judges, we read about the different tribes of Israel and their conquests to
destroy the Canaanites and other civilizations that the Lord commanded them to
overtake. Some tribes completely destroyed those civilizations which is what
the Lord wanted them to do, but some of the tribes allowed the Canaanites to
continue to dwell with them. This angered the Lord, so he sent an angel to
rebuke them by saying “ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this
land; ye shall throw down their alters; but ye have not obeyed my voice: why
have ye done this?” (Judges 2:2) In the next verse the angel warns Israel that
because of their disobedience that the Canaanites will “be as thorns in your
sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.” Israel shows remorse for
their actions and that generation served the Lord all of the rest of their days.
“There arose another generation
after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for
Israel.” (Judges 2:10) This generation became very wicked. They bowed down to
false idols and gods and began worshiping those gods of the people that they
dwelt with. They also intermarried with the Canaanites and other civilizations.
This angered the Lord and He allowed Israel to fall into the hands of their
enemies. He also raised up judges to rescue Israel from their enemies and
hopefully bring them back to righteousness. The problem was that as soon as a
judge would die, the people would go right back to their wicked ways of
worshiping false idols and gods.
One of these judges that the Lord
raised up to help Israel was Deborah. Israel at the time had become wicked yet
again and the Lord caused them to fall into the hands of their enemies. Israel cries unto the Lord because of their
oppression and the Lord raises up Deborah, a prophetess, to help in conquering
Israel’s enemy and setting them free.
The Lord is with the army that Deborah puts together and they defeat the
enemy of Israel. Deborah praises the
Lord “for the avenging of Israel.” (Judges 5:2) After this, the Israelites did
good and remembered the Lord for forty years.
These examples and many more show us
the consequences that Israel paid because they failed to follow the Lord’s
command to rid themselves completely of the Canaanites. Because of this
disobedience, many generations fell to the traditions of the Canaanites and
became very wicked. This whole scenario speaks a very loud message about our
responsibility as parents or future parents. We see the importance of keeping
the commandments of the Lord and the effect that those actions can have on our
future generations. Even though the generation of Israel that disobeyed the
Lord’s command repented, their actions affected their future generations and
had very devastating results. We must make sure that we not only make wise
decisions in our own lives, but we must teach our children about God and his
commandments and share with them our spiritual experiences and conversions so
they will not grow up not knowing the Lord. We must also make sure that we protect
them while they are young and not expose them to situations that could harm
them or negatively influence them. We must also make sure that we rid ourselves
and our homes completely of sin or bad behaviors so they do not continue to
fester and overtake our families.
