Book of Judges Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Why does Israel fall apart as soon as its leaders die? Does that ever happen today?
  2. Why does Israel make the same mistake over and over again? Does that ever happen today?
  3. What relationship is there, if any, between the pervasive violence in Judges and the anarchy in which Israel lived? Is this a governmental problem? A social problem? A religious problem?
  4. Is it okay that the good-guys in Judges use violence and deception just as much as the bad-guys?
  5. What makes the Israelites the good-guys at all when they behave as badly or worse than the Canaanites?
  6. Do the various instances of women destroying men in Judges make its depictions of sexual violence and kidnapping against women more unpleasant to read, less so, or neither?
  7. Why does Delilah so often overshadow the other Judges women like Deborah and Jael, who are equally intriguing?
  8. What are the pitfalls of using violence to quickly and decisively solve problems in Judges?
  9. How could Samson be dumb enough to let Delilah cut his hair? Does that sort of thing ever happen today?
  10. Is Samson a flawed but sympathetic hero or a sociopathic terrorist maniac?