The Judges & Ruth

Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.

Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done.

Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.

But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice,

I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.

In this way I will test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD by walking in it as their fathers did.”

That is why the LORD had left those nations in place and had not driven them out immediately by delivering them into the hand of Joshua.

These are the nations that the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan,

if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly:

the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given their fathers through Moses.

Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.

But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.

The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak