What can we learn from Judges?

I'm currently ploughing through the Old Testament 2 module of the Moore course, and I've been reading the book of Judges. It's a very gruesome book and sometimes it's hard to know what we're meant to make of all the goings-on: concubines being cut up into twelve pieces and sent to all the tribes of Israel and heroes like Samson who don't seem to care much what God thinks and do whatever they like.

In many ways the book of Judges says more by negative example than positive. I don't think we're meant to read it and follow Gideon's example of laying fleeces before God: time and again he lacked faith and faffed around instead of getting on with what God had clearly told him to do. And yet this is true of many biblical 'heroes' like Abraham and Jacob- the Bible doesn't shrink from telling us all their mistakes and howlers such as Abraham's failure to tell people that Sarah was his wife repeatedly. But God chose to work through flawed people- and God still does that today. Hooray for that! Otherwise none of us would have any hope.

Judges really emphasises that God chooses the nobodies of this world and gives them grace to do what He has called them to do. Many of the book's judges were called to be brave and courageous (just as Joshua was in a previous generation) in a hostile political environment where Israel was attacked on every side and struggling to establish itself. God did marvellous things, by His mercy. It definitely was not a reward for good behaviour, because Israel broke every rule in the book.

It can make for depressing reading when you see how Israel were stuck in a cycle of turning away from God and doing their own thing. No matter how many times God intervened to rescue them, they still worshipped Baal (the pagan god) and showed little faithfulness to the One who had saved them. Samson epitomises this: he was a Nazarite, set apart to live for God, and throughout his life he struggled with his calling. He spent most of his life making rash decisions, chasing after various Philistine women, and reacting in angry violence whenever he was offended. In the same way, Israel as a whole chased after foreign gods and then blamed God for all the rubbish stuff that happened as a result. God had told them that unfaithfulness would bring destruction and eventually exile. Time and again they refused to listen.

As Christians there is perhaps a strong message here to keep ourselves separate from the corrupting influences of the world around us. As Israel's history proves, tolerating ungodly ideas and practises soon leads to participating in them. We need to take a bold stance and place a filter over our TVs and be careful what influences us.

Ultimately we should rejoice in the fact that God has saved us. In sending Jesus, He sent the perfect One who could deliver us for ever from death, sin and the devil. All these human leaders in Judges point towards the much greater Saviour who would come many years later. If there's one thing that Judges teaches us, it's that we can't save ourselves.