The book of Judges is alarmingly relevant to today. It records the Israelites' descent into sin and its terrible consequences. The 12 heroes of the book, both male and female, seem larger than life at times, but they were imperfect, just like us. Judges is a stern reminder that God punishes sin but is always ready to take the repentant back into his heart.
Judges takes place in ancient Canaan, the Promised Land given by God to the Jews. Under Joshua, the Jews conquered the land with God's help, but after Joshua's death, the lack of a strong central government led to infighting among the tribes and periodic oppression by the wicked people who lived there.
Compromise, a serious problem with people today is one of the main themes of Judges. When the Israelites failed to completely drive out the wicked nations in Canaan, they left themselves open to their influences—chiefly, idolatry and immorality.
God used the oppressors to punish the Jews. The Jews' disloyalty to him had painful consequences, but they repeated the pattern of falling away many times.
Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Abimelech, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Delilah.
• Failure to conquer Canaan - Judges 1:1-3:6.
• Othniel - Judges 3:7-11.
• Ehud and Shamgar - Judges 3:12-31.
• Deborah and Barak - Judges 4:1-5:31.
• Gideon, Tola, and Jair - Judges 6:1-10:5.
• Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon - Judges 10:6-12:15.
• Samson - Judges 13:1-16:31.
• Abandoning the true God - Judges 17:1-18:31.
• Moral wickedness, civil war, and its consequences - Judges 19:1-21:25.