What Is the Purpose of the Book of Judges?

The book of Judges continues the history of Israel, bridging the years between the conquest and the rise of the monarchy.

But, in addition, the author was building a case for the need for a great King. In doing so he demonstrated the downward trend of the spiritual condition of Israel over the centuries of the judges, arguing that temporary and local leaders could not provide a solution for the underlying problems the people of Israel faced. Genuinely impressive victories under Deborah and Barak and then Gideon were followed by the nation’s collapse again into sin and idolatry. The later judges Samson and Jephthah gave only limited respite from anarchy. Chapters 17–21 show a period of history in which the people of Israel increasingly slid into apostasy. The location of these chapters in the book may not be chronological, but the intention is clear: to give the reader a bad portrait of Israel without God as their King.