Judge This

Appreciating the book and period of Judges

08/20/2019

Judges 2:11-19 The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals. Abandoning the LORD, the God of their fathers, who led them out of the land of Egypt, they followed the other gods of the various nations around them, and by their worship of these gods provoked the LORD. Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the LORD. Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

There are parts of the bible that people pass over too quickly to their own detriment. They falsely feel a certain book is not important so they blithely ignore it. Sadly that happens frequently to the Old Testament book of Judges, and to the historical period of Judges in Israel’s history. But I would argue that period and that book is critical not only in Israel’s history but in the whole history of salvation, that is, in our own history.

Ignoring the period of the Judges would be like ignoring the period of the thirteen Colonies in the history of the United States. Think about it: from about 1620 to 1789 the thirteen colonies were beginning to discover their unique identity as a nation that declared its independence in 1776, created its own Constitution in 1789, and in the same year elected its first president, General George Washington. The best word to describe the period of Judges is “amphictyony,” (you can impress your friends at cocktail parties with that word), which is a group of neighboring states banding together to protect their common interests. It’s not a stretch to say the period of the thirteen colonies was analogous to an “amphictyony,” without a central government. Some people today would like to see the U.S. return to that period of her history, and get rid of the central government. But that was the political landscape in Israel during the period of Judges, from about 1200 BC to 1020 BC (about 180 years), when Saul is anointed the first King of Israel. During those 180 years, God raised up 13 judges to guide Israel. Let me say a word about two judges – Deborah and Samson – and a word about Ruth, so we do not fall prey to the temptation to ignore this rich period of Israel’s history.

It’s a little surprising to see a woman named Deborah rising to prominence as a judge in Israel. Israelite culture clearly designated a subsidiary role to women in both politics and religion. But Deborah broke through that glass ceiling. We might compare her to St. Joan of Arc, a charismatic women warrior who wielded tremendous influence, as well as a sword, over men. The scriptures, especially Judges, seems to suggest that God can work through women to lead his holy people as well as through men. Pope St. John Paul II often spoke of the “feminine genius” that needs to be tapped for the good of the Church and the world. We find clear evidence of this feminine genius in the great Judge Deborah.

Secondly, Samson. You may recall how Samson defeated the Philistines because of his strength, his bulging muscles and skills as a warrior. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger. But not everyone knows that his real strength came from a sacred vow he took called the “Nazorite Vow.” Being a Nazorite was essentially like being an Old Testament “monk” and their vows prescribed chastity, not cutting their hair, and no drinking alcohol. When Delilah cuts off the seven locks of Samson’s hair, that is only a third of the vows. But he has already broken the other two vows: wine, women and hair. Samson ultimately repents and glorified God by his death, destroying the temple of the Philistine god, Dagon. Like Schwarzenegger, Samson could say, “I’ll be back.” Hebrews 11:32 mentions Samson as a great example of faith in the Old Testament. In other words, Hebrews hints that we should not pass too quickly over the book of Judges.

And thirdly, Ruth. Now, Ruth was not one of the thirteen judges, but her story (and her book) takes place during the period of the Judges. She is a Moabite woman, which means she was not part of the Chosen People of Israel. However, due to her love and devotion to Naomi (her mother-in-law), and her subsequent marriage to Boaz, she is accepted into the Chosen People. To be sure, some would see Ruth as a sort of “shady lady” because the Moabite people were descended from incestuous relations between Lot and one of his daughters in Genesis 19. Yet God in his infinite mercy embraces Ruth into his holy people. Later St. Matthew would embrace Ruth in his genealogy of Jesus to show how God writes straight with the crooked lines of our lives. In other words, Matthew suggests we should not pass too quickly over Ruth and the period of the Judges.

We will be reading from the book of Judges for the next three days, and hearing about the great exploits of these charismatic leaders of Israel, kind of like hearing the stories of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. Then, on Friday, we will read about the Book of Ruth, the Moabite woman who won the mercy of God. In other words, the Church’s liturgy also urges us not to pass quickly over the period of Judges, but rather to pray and ponder on this hidden period and about these holy people.

Praised be Jesus Christ!