This week's text from the Old Testament presents events that occurred during the remarkable period of Israel's life known as the time of the Judges. After entering Canaan and spreading out all over their Promised Land, the Israelites managed to maintain only a loose national identity. There was no one ruler. Each of the tribal families governed itself.

Indeed, during this period "Israel" did not truly exist as a physical entity. Instead, "Israel" was a theocratic society, recognizing only direct divine guidance as its unifying, governing principle. Without a strong national identity, it is not surprising that tribal independence gradually led to episodes of disobedience. So it was that for about 200 years the period of the Judges Israel fell into a predictable, yet tragic, cycle of behavi…