Day 3

ANARCHY

"In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Judges 20:25

I t was well over two hundred years since God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. He had led them to the promised land and given them victory in battle against the Canaanites. But Israel did not follow God's will and drive out the inhabitants of the land. They faltered in the face of superior military technology - chariots of iron (Judges 1:19, Joshua 17:16) and succumbed to the lure of wealth and ease (Judges 1:21,28,33). So by the time of Samuel the children of Israel were no better off than they had been when the first generation to enter Canaan died.

At the time of Samuel Israel was largely confined to the mountainous regions of Palestine. They did not control the coastal plain or the fertile valleys. They were widely scattered, with no national leadership. They had fought only defensive wars and sometimes each other (Judges 12 :1-6; 19; 20).

The history of Israel under the Judges is one of repeated idolatry and disobedience, followed invariably by oppression at the hand of one of the surrounding nations. Then they would call on God for help and he would call a judge to lead them in regaining their freedom. But as soon as this leader died they fell back into their old ways again.