Judges: What a mess

I have to confess that reading this particular book of the Bible generally leaves me depressed. Some of the stories contained therein are just insane.

• Abimelech murdering seventy of his brothers
• Jephthah vowing to sacrifice "whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return"
• The Levite who surrenders his concubine to the rabble in Gibeah
• Samson's abject stupidity in dealing with Delilah

Quite frankly? This is NOT the book to use as "suggested reading" for friends and family who are young in their faith. These people are just mind bogglingly stupid!!!
I'm not sure I'd count many of these guys amongst the "heroes of the faith"...with the possible exception of Deborah.

So what is the point of Judges?

I think it is a book of proof.

The progression goes something like this:

• The end of Deuteronomy has Moses telling the Israelites what life will be like once they go into the promised land: blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.
• The book of Joshua is about being strong and courageous and, more importantly, remembering.
• The book of Judges follows as an illustration of exactly what the warning's of Moses are all about.

In Deuteronomy 28 we read:
20 "The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you put your hand to..."
28 "The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind."
34 "The sights you will see will drive you mad"

These curses aptly describe the goings on in Judges and they describe, equally as well, the sort of thing from which I want to sprint in the opposite direction.

I'll be glad when we get out of the craziness that happens during these years which come under the heading:
"In those days Israel had no king."