"Jewish tradition holds that Samuel wrote Judges, or Shophetim,...The book’s name comes from the title of those who ruled Israel after Joshua, though these men served more as deliverers than judges. Some became national heroes; ...As they learned agriculture from the Canaanites, the Israelites also gradually absorbed the local heathen religion. Meanwhile, foreign invaders persisted on all sides. The geographical separation, the repeated foreign invasions, and the nation’s apostasy diminished the unity Israel had experienced in worshiping the true God.
If Joshua depicts God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His covenant with Abraham’s descendants, in stark contrast Judges tells of the Israelites’ failure to uphold their side of the covenant by not eliminating the Canaanites.
Today, Judges reminds us that discipline always follows disobedience, especially for the unrepentant. God intends that discipline be educational; He disciplines those He loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. (Hebrews 12:6)." BU
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