People want and seek understanding. In a search for understanding, most people do not think in terms of statistics. For most people, numbers are not the language that communicates meaning. Scientists and politicians often forget that, and start talking about percentages and averages. They can go on for hours and not even realize their audience has quit listening. The book of Judges was not written by a scientist or sociologist. It was written by somebody who understood that theology is about relationships and theological truths are conveyed by stories about people. In the first part of the book the writer told stories about the oppression of the people of Israel that resulted from their disobedience. He told the stories of men and women, who under the influence of the Spirit of God did mighty deeds and rescued people from their oppression. Then he told the story of Samson and his failure to be the man that he could’ve been.

In the final portion of the book of Judges, the writer tells us two stories that illustrate why and how Israel kept coming up short of the mark that they should have been aiming for. These two stories are powerful, but they are only two stories among the tens of thousands that the author could have told. They are not intended to give us a statistical understanding of Israel sin. They are intended to give us a personal and emotional empathy for how Israel came to sin, and why they were constantly in need of salvation. These stories are intended to teach theological truth about how the lives of men and women unravel when those lives are not lived in right relationship with God. The people we see revealed in these two stories could have stepped right out of stories about the world we live in today. After thousands of years, science, technology and general knowledge has advanced tremendously, but the hearts and minds of men and women are the same. Without righteousness though Christ, humanity remains unchanged.