Post-Levitical & Resettlement - Judges & Ruth

The Book of Judges in the Bible tells the story of a cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance experienced by the ancient Israelites after the death of Joshua and before the monarchy began. The book details how Israel repeatedly turned from God, was oppressed by other nations, and then cried out for a leader, or "judge" (a charismatic military leader), whom God would send to rescue them. However, the judges themselves often grew corrupt, and the cycle worsened over time, showing the dire consequences of unfaithfulness and setting the stage for the establishment of a king in Israel. The Book of Ruth is named for the Moabite woman who commits herself to the Israelite people by an oath to her mother-in-law Naomi and becomes the great-grandmother of David by marriage to Boaz of Bethlehem. Thus she is an ancestor in the messianic line that leads to Jesus (Mt 1:5).