Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
The plundering and oppression that made deliverance necessary did not come by chance, but followed Israel's rebellion and idolatry, for which God left the people exposed and vulnerable to their enemies. When they were brought into affliction under that oppression, they cried to God, and He heard their cry. In answer He raised up judges as rulers to rescue and govern Israel, delivering the people out of the hand of those who spoiled, plundered, and oppressed them.
Those judges did not rule in their own right, but by authority derived from God, who Himself remained Israel's recognized King and made His will known through these appointed leaders. Yet Israel failed to discern that their own sin was the cause of their trouble, and instead wrongly concluded that what they lacked was a human king to command their armies.
The plundering and oppression that made deliverance necessary did not come by chance, but followed Israel's rebellion and idolatry, for which God left the people exposed and vulnerable to their enemies. When they were brought into affliction under that oppression, they cried to God, and He heard their cry. In answer He raised up judges as rulers to rescue and govern Israel, delivering the people out of the hand of those who spoiled, plundered, and oppressed them.
Those judges did not rule in their own right, but by authority derived from God, who Himself remained Israel's recognized King and made His will known through these appointed leaders. Yet Israel failed to discern that their own sin was the cause of their trouble, and instead wrongly concluded that what they lacked was a human king to command their armies.