Scripture: One Book at a Time
The whole of Sacred Scripture is a single narrative that promises and points to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the World. It is an epic story, the greatest ever told, and told "one book at a time." Each book makes it contribution to the narrative as God reveals God's self to us and his desire that all be saved.
Lesson 11: The Book of Judges
Not a children’s book
The Book of Judges is one of the most violent and bloody books in the Bible. This may excite certain teenaged, male readers, but it’s off-putting for most people. Aren’t these the kinds of stories that motivate religious violence, showing ancient religious heroes slaying their enemies in the name of their god? Shouldn’t we move past this kind of thing? Why do we need to hear stories of violent people from the past? Any answer to those questions forces a person to ask even deeper questions about what the Bible is in the first place and what these stories are designed to accomplish.
For example, if you think the Bible is a divine behavior manual dropped out of heaven, then you will read most of its stories looking for moral examples. It may even be unconscious, but people with that concept of the Bible usually end up justifying the behavior of biblical characters, even when they act in ambiguous ways (remember Jacob stealing from his brother in Genesis 27?) or even when they’re downright horrible. Samson is a great example of this. Go survey the available children’s books about the story of Samson, and you’ll discover that they all portray him as an ancient “Captain America” who was given divine power to conquer Israel’s enemies in the name of their God. To read the stories of the Bible this way, and especially the Book of Judges is to completely miss what the author is trying to communicate through these narratives.
Judges tells the tragic tale of Israel’s moral corruption, bad leadership, and how they became no different than the Canaanites themselves. Take a moment to read Judges and Messianic Hope – it will provide a framework for reading and understanding the Book of Judges.
For those who would like to explore details of this book, please consider videos from Fr. Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” program. You can find the entire playlist here.