“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6). The people of Israel in the time of the judges were stuck in a draining cycle of their own making. The cycle went like this. First, the people would turn away from God and do evil. Second, the Lord would see their evil acts and respond in justice by executing his judgment. Third, the people would realize their error and, usually in remorse, cry out to the Lord for deliverance. Fourth, God would hear their cries and raise up various “judges” to deliver them from their plight. But then, with the crisis removed, the people would once again become complacent and turn away from God—and they would be stuck in the cycle all over again.
Why were the people unable to break free? The author of Judges gives us a clue when he states, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6; see also 18:
