Concluding Thoughts on Judges

Anarchy.  It's the prevalent theme of the Book of Judges if I were to have to choose one.  Of course it's not all anarchy all the time, but it seems more times than not the people of Israel are spiritually wayward.  It's a stark contrast coming after the Book of Josue in which we see the valiant and saintly Joshua wielding great power over and respect from all the Israelites.  But Joshua does not name an heir, so after his death each tribe must figure things out for itself.  We see in Judges how much things fall apart subsequently -- from within and from without.  Prevalent throughout Judges is the theme of outside encroachment.  Whether it's with the Amorites or the Philistines or any other hostile neighbor, it seems the Israelites are constantly in skirmishes.  Joshua was able to orchestrate monumental victories against all the peoples of Canaan, and to establish the boundaries that delineate the twelve tribes.  But what Judges makes clear to us is that there is no such thing as peace on earth.  We may have periods of peace -- some eras are clearly more peaceful than others -- but the corruption inherent in the human character always finds a way to creep in.  It takes figures such as Joshua, practically heaven-sent and able to do miraculous things, to straighten out the sinfulness of the people.  In Judges we read about a series of such people.  But even such remarkable figures as Deborah, Gideon, and Samson can't keep the Israelites on the Lord's path forever.  As soon as each Judge's reign ends, the people go right back to their disordered ways.  And by the end of the book it seems things are worse than they were at the beginning.  Thus we can't exactly say the era of the judges was a success.  But maybe it wasn't ever meant to be.  On the one hand, Judges serves as a reminder that humanity is and always has been prone to sin and error, and always will be.  On the other hand all those exemplary judges we read about weren't failures at all.  Back then as well as now, they serve as examples of piety and loyalty to God and His commandments and laws.  Even though as humans we know we'll fall over and over, we have the judges to look up to as examples of human heroism so that we may get back up each time we fall.  The stories in Judges are all quite powerful and memorable, but probably chief among these is Samson's.  And Samson is actually one of the more flawed judges, but his heroic acts of strength, most especially his toppling of the pillars that leads to his own death and that of all his enemies, are supreme examples of what we, even as flawed creatures, can accomplish with God's help.  The spiritual strength of grace and faith enable even death to be used against evil, as Christ of course illustrated on the highest level.  Samson's act of self-sacrifice is like the centerpiece of the Book of Judges.  It's the image that sticks most in my mind from this book.  No matter how bad things get on earth, no matter how much we as a people fall away from God, no matter how much power evil wields, in the end good will prevail, for even death is powerless against it.  The Philistines are laughing and partying and reveling and thinking they've got these God-fearing people beat when the walls literally fall down upon them.  The Book of Judges, even if on the surface it seems like a depressing account of man's waywardness, is actually a book full of uplifting examples and images of hope and faith.  Next up is Ruth, and then the era of the kings.  Again, though I know I'm about to encounter more examples of the failures of man, I hope to find also acts of mercy and heroism and faith that will help me and inspire me on my own journey through this life.