This is the first of a three part symposium commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Dr. James B. Jordan’s publication of Judges: a Practical and Theological Commentary. Judges was the first book length exposition of Theopolitan Reading, a practice of reading Scripture in its fullness that Theopolis continues to refine and grow through its online journal, dozens of publications on the subject, and our app, available free for a limited time.
Judges: A Practical and Theological Commentary
by James Jordan
Wipf and Stock, 334 pages
The Judges as Interpreters
The book of Judges is a gold mine for preachers today—if they can rightly preach it. Though many Christians are familiar with the various characters from Gideon to Samson through the storybook Bible or Sunday School flannelgraph, it presciently describes our current cultural calamities. In the hands of a seasoned preacher, Judges can edify churches and equip congregations to assess their lives in the world with new eyes.
Judges recounts the history of the people of God after the time of Joshua and before the time of Samuel (around 1050 B.C.) during which the Lord raised up a series of judges in order to deliver his people from their oppressors. The book goes through cycles of judgment which the people of God fall into because of their sin, after which they cry out to the Lord for deliverance, and he raises up judges like Samson.
As one author has suggested, the church in America is not so much faced with a Babylonian captivity as much as it is experiencing life in the time of Judges. In particular, Judges offers examples of how to respond to God and trust in his deliverance during times of national crisis, in situations where our sins have brought upon the judgment of God. Many American Christians feel uneasy about making such comparisons for fear of being labeled an enthusiast like Pat Robertson, but God’s covenant relationship with nations today means that there is a way in which God is currently judging the nations to the degree that they fail to follow his ways and call evil good.
Abortion is one of our national sins, and this sin is not unnoticed by God. Even while we celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade, judgment is imminent. While it is ill advised to presume to know the mind of God regarding various types of judgment, whether it be disease, famine, or natural disaster or war or internal strife, it is not beyond the biblical narrative for Christians to perceive various trials and tribulations as a type of judgment from the Lord. We need not make the pietistic mistake of endless soul-searching, looking under every nook and cranny–and even at times inventing sins–but simply look to God’s word, take responsibility for the ways we have deviated from God’s ways, and turn to the Lord in repentance. This is basic pastoral ministry in the lives of everyday Christians. When people suffer, we sympathize with them by bringing the word of God to bear on their lives and encouraging them to walk in faithful obedience to the Lord.
The Judges as Exemplary
One major challenge when preaching from the book of Judges is to understand the characters in their own context, not simply within the book of Judges, but within the biblical canon. We see in Hebrews 11, famously called the hall of faith, that several judges are named as exemplars of our faith. Yet many commentators steer clear of this healthy encouragement to emulate the characters and instead they present a series of corrupt figures whose behavior is to be avoided, not imitated
The challenge for any Christian and preacher when reading the Bible is how to apply the characters found within it, especially in the Old Testament. We need think no further than Matt Chandler’s exhortation that “you’re not David,” as an assertion which epitomizes this approach. For those of us raised within the church and the Christian tradition, Bible stories are often moralized as if our salvation with God is contingent on our personal holiness, not upon the righteousness of Christ. However, in reaction to this general evangelical disposition when teaching about characters like David, many have opted for what is often referred to as a “christocentric reading” of every figure. Of course we should illuminate from the text for the hearer how the various figures connect to Christ and how salvation can only be found in Christ. But too often this type of reading and preaching leads us to conclude that there is nothing to be learned or emulated from the characters of the Old Testament. We should be like David in many ways, and we should not be like David in other ways.
Of course, within the book of Judges, the characters that rise up or are risen up by the Lord reflect the natural character of the people at that time. Therefore, each judge embodies the general holiness (or lack thereof) of the people from which God raised them. This is why, as the book unfolds, there is a pattern of decline in the moral character of the judges themselves. I am hardly the first to recognize in the story of decline a spiral of moral decay, reaching its nadir in Judges 20 where the people turn on each other in a fratricidal war. As the situation on the ground disintegrates and descends into chaos, so too are the leaders that God raised up less clean and tidy than the one before.
The Judges Explained
James Jordan’s commentary on the book of Judges falls into neither trap. Originally published in 1985, Jordan’s commentary on Judges, subtitled a practical and theological commentary, is just that: practical and theological. It is friendly to the expositor by providing an 18 chapter breakdown of the book of Judges which can easily be crafted into a sermon series, although Chapter 9 on the minor judges feels a bit contrived as it combines some of Judges 10 and 12.
Jordan approaches Judges with his typical creative typological reading famously recorded in his book Through New Eyes, steering clear of what he calls “interpretive minimalism.” Jordan uses a typological reading, or what he calls a “maximal approach,” which he says aligns with the conclusions, if not always the methodologies, of the church fathers. Second, Jordan approaches Judges by asking three questions: 1) what is God’s word of promising command? 2) what is man’s response? 3) what is God’s word of evaluation? Jordan argues that this pattern of questioning underlines every narrative of scripture. The third ingredient in Jordan’s commentary connects the book of Judges to the larger story of the Bible. He accomplishes this by highlighting connections within the book of Judges to various stories of the Bible, whether Adam in the garden, Noah and the flood, or the life of Christ. The fourth and perhaps most controversial manner in which Jordan utilizes his hermeneutic is by paying close attention to details in the text, particularly specific words and numbers. For example, he focuses on the specific number of men and armies in a given story to reveal insights some commentators might label as speculative.
One section in which Jordan is particularly helpful is the story of Deborah (chs 5 and 6). Jordan steers clear of any egalitarian sympathies by clearly pointing out Deborah’s relationship to the people of God whom she represents and what her particular role was. Jordan’s hermeneutic shines through as he comments on Judges 19, connecting the crime to Sodom and Gomorrah, and Judges 20 by discussing the numbers and patterns of the armies and the tithe.
While Jordan’s typological reading provides ample connections to God’s story of redemption and prefigurement of Jesus Christ, at times it comes across as strained. Jordan admits in his introduction that disagreement with his hermeneutical approach is completely fine and that Christians may debate his maximalist reading; there are times at which Jordan does seem to stretch the text beyond what it might be permissible. This has always been a rock in my shoe regarding such maximalist and typological readings, as they often fall prey to the errors of those who, in former times, allegorize the text to an unrecognizable point. Jordan’s timeliness is remarkable for a 40 year old book, but even so he seems to strain at gnats regarding secular humanism and its connection to Judges.
Regardless, Jordan’s commentary provides what most modern commentaries do not. He deals with the text as it is in its situation and points out broader themes and connections in the Bible. Most modern commentaries get bogged down in the historicity of the different stories and modern biblical scholarship. That information is present, but he also models the assumption of Christians for thousands of years: Judges is true and perennially relevant for God’s people. His commentary is an essential addition for any expositor to own as he has a creative and applicable approach which brings to the surface many truths which would otherwise go unnoticed.
The Judges Today
We live in the days of the Judges, and preachers should herald this book accordingly. There is a justice on the supreme court who cannot define what it means to be a woman. Everywhere it seems justice is called injustice. The elimination of those with down syndrome is hailed as a modern marvel in Iceland. America slaughters babies in utero via pharmaceutical pills. In Canada and England, the elderly are encouraged to kill themselves. There is no king and everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
What do Christians need during such times? They need clear biblical instruction on the why and how of repentance. They need to understand, with stark terms, what is at stake. Christians must understand that embracing the posture of a “beautiful loser” is not what God has for them. Instead, in the book of Judges, we see that God raises up deliverers for his people time and time again. These leaders are not idyllic leaders as pure as the driven snow–indeed, only Christ can meet and fulfil such an expectation. Judges is a bucket of cold water to the face, because of what it says about Christians today as well as the Israelites then. From our lawless time will be raised an imperfect man.
Even if one is unfamiliar with Jordan’s hermeneutics, this contribution is sure to benefit their study and exposition of the book of Judges. One does not need to understand the intricacies of typology or even agree with all of Jordan’s conclusions to find a treasure trove of connections often missed by modern commentators. As our culture seems to descend into godlessness, there is a great deal of interest in what has been lost. Many are asking questions and are curious about the story of God’s redemption. The book of Judges provides answers, even answers some may not like, as to the how and why of returning to the Lord.
Chase Davis is the Lead Pastor of Ministry at The Well Church (SBC). He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and Denver Seminary (M.Div & Th.M.). He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Vrije University of Amsterdam.