In the book of Judges, Stephen highlights the spiritual decline of Israel after Joshua's death. The Israelites, who initially enjoyed God's blessings, failed to maintain their relationship with Him, leading to a cycle of disobedience, oppression, and repentance. Stephen emphasizes that the absence of a king resulted in each person doing what was right in their own eyes, leading to moral and religious degeneration. The Israelites intermarried with surrounding nations, adopted their customs, and worshiped idols, provoking God's anger. Despite their rebellion, when they repented, God raised judges to deliver them, but the cycle repeated after each judge's death. Stephen outlines three main sections of the book: the general description of Israel's decline, the seven cycles of oppression and repentance, and the inner history of the people. He draws parallels between the Israelites' condition and the modern church, warning against the dangers of tradition over a living faith, and the moral degradation present today. Ultimately, Stephen calls for humility, repentance, and a return to Christ as the head of the church to restore unity and spiritual purity.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
31 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.