March 17th, 2025 – The Book of Judges.

I’ve been reading the book of Judges in my daily Bible study. After each tribe was assigned its land in the book of Joshua, Israel began to settle in. But in their comfort, they became spiritually corrupt. Over and over, they fell into sin, suffered oppression, and cried out for a deliverer. And each time, God raised up a judge to rescue them—not just from their enemies, but from themselves. This cycle of sin is something we can all relate to.

Often, we don’t recognize the cycle until we’re free from it. Looking back, we see how far we’ve come. The pain was temporary, but the growth was necessary.

Back to Judges. Samson, the last judge recorded in this book (Judges 13-16), was not the final judge in the Bible—that role continued with Eli and Samuel in 1 Samuel. But if Judges has 21 chapters, what happens in those last five chapters after Samson's story?

The answer is summed up in one powerful verse:

"In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25)

Sound familiar? As humans, we crave autonomy and independence. Doing what is right in our own eyes seems logical, even enticing. But these last five chapters serve as a warning: when we rely on ourselves rather than on God, we plant seeds of spiritual corruption that grow into pride—and pride produces only one fruit: suffering.

Feeling trapped? Oppressed? The way out isn’t through more striving or self-reliance. The solution is surrender—taking a breath, stepping back, and handing control back to God.