Fishermen are not the only ones who like to brag. Hunters, politicians, grandparents and military leaders can brag with the best of them. Chapter 1 of the book of Judges is written in a form common for that time period. It is known as annalistic military reporting. It closely resembles the form found in Assyrian summaries of military campaigns.

These accounts begin with a chronological reference point, but then the events are arranged most often according to geography. The descriptions tend to be short, and long periods of time are collapsed into relatively short descriptions. The primary purpose of this type of writing is to present an overview of a military campaign with the emphasis being on conquests. Hyperbole (bragging) is often used to celebrate decisive victories and emphasize the monumental nature of the achievements. Emphasis is often placed on the aid of the deity that the victors worshiped. It can be summed up as, “We came, we saw and we conquered.”

The account in Judges starts out to celebrate the achievements of the Israelites following the death of Joshua. However, rather than being a form of bragging, it takes the form of brutal honesty. Instead of telling the story of conquest, it takes the form of telling the story of halfhearted failure.

God had commanded the Israelites to take the land of Canaan to be their homeland. They were to drive out all others and establish themselves as a nation. They failed miserably, not because God let them down, but because they let themselves and God down. They did not clear the land as they had been instructed. The influence of pagan religions within their midst would plague their national identity for centuries into the future. It can be summed up as, “We came, we saw, and we compromised.”

The Israelites came to believe God had chosen them because they were special. They were wrong; without God there wouldn’t have been an Israel. God does not choose the worthy; He chooses the ordinary and makes us special.