Judges, Ruth: Revised Edition (The NIV Application Commentary)

by K. Lawson Younger

Another important theological theme is woven into the fabric of this book: the attempt to manipulate God. God saves, not because he has been manipulated but because he has compassionate loyalty (hesed) to his treaty. Attempts to manipulate God can be as simple as Barak’s words, “If you [i.e., Deborah] will go with me, I will go” (4:8), trying to guarantee God’s presence. Or it can be as rash as Jephthah’s vow. Israel’s attempts to manipulate God through their crying out to him fail (the second element of the cycle). This crying out to God in the midst of the oppression is not due to repentance. Obviously, true repentance is accepted by God. But in the book of Judges, increasingly Israel’s cries are met with prophetic indictments and sarcastic ridicule of their worship of other gods (6:7–10; 10:11–14). In every case, God demonstrates that he will not be manipulated by humans. The true and living God cannot be manipulated by finite creatures.