Judges Overview Study Guide: Life When There Is No King
Community Group Study Guide — Life When There Is No King
Judges 21:25
Sept 13, 2026
Study Information:
Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (ESV)” When we thought about what book of the Bible to focus on after our series on heaven we wanted something really joyful and happy, so we chose the book of Judges! If you’ve read the book of Judges you know that is meant to be a joke. It is one of the more difficult and dark books of the Hebrew scriptures. The book begins with some hopefulness as the people of God moved to fill the Promised Land and complete the conquest, but in a matter of just a few verses God’s people become like the nations they’re replacing and they fall into the same sorts of sins that God promised to judge. This is because Israel rejected God as their king and did what was right in their own eyes. They replaced God’s kingship with their own individual kingship. The author wants to warn us against being like the world and not submitting to God’s rule; as we are taught that God alone has the power to save. This theme of a lack of a king and “everyone doing what is right in their own eyes” is a consistent and constant need in every generation and a core spiritual struggle for humanity in their rebellion against God. It is only when we submit ourselves to God’s rule that we find freedom and life in Christ. The hope with teaching this book is not to fill you with despair and dread, but for you to see a need for constant spiritual renewal and the grace that God provides his people, even us with a flawed and weak faith.
The main question we want to ask in this first study guide is, “how did we get to here?!” How did we go from God saving and rescuing his people in Egypt, to establishing them in the Promised Land to the last words of the book “everyone did what was right in their own eyes?”
The Creation of Israel (Genesis/Exodus)
Genesis 15:12-16
God called Abram from the land of Ur to follow him in faith, with the promise that God would make him into a great nation and bless the world through his offspring. Abram’s journey was one marked by both faith and fear and we read of many times where he boldly trusted God and boldly trusted himself. God appeared to him in Genesis 15 in a vision that spoke of an unconditional covenant where God would establish him and his people in the Promised Land regardless of his ability to be faithful or worthy. This Promised Land was the land of Canaan, where Abram had called home for a couple decades at this point in time. The promise from God was that Abraham’s descendants would be strangers in another land and oppressed for 400 years but come back to Canaan and be God’s instrument of judgment and justice for the sins of the Canaanites. God continued to renew this promise with Abraham’s son and grandson and great grandson Joseph, whom he used to bring the people of God into Egypt where they grew into a nation.
The Exodus story tells of their freedom from Egypt. Over time the new Pharaoh forgot Joseph and enslaved the Israelites for hundreds of years. God heard their cries and groaning and responded by calling Moses to be his instrument to free them. The story culminated in the passover miracle where God judged Egypt for their evil and led his people to freedom across the Red Sea. In Exodus, God gave his people his Law to make them distinct from the nations with the role to be a light of salvation to the world (Ex 19:5-6). Exodus ended positively with the Tabernacle constructed and the people of God on the way to the Promised Land, but it did not take long for things to unravel.
The Establishment of Israelite Society (Leviticus/Numbers)
Leviticus 19:2
The theme of the book of Leviticus and Numbers is “be holy for I am holy (Lev 19:2).” The book of Leviticus contains rules and statutes for Israelite purity to make them distinct from the nations around them and to remind them that God is holy. We have details on sacrificial offerings, restrictions to prevent sexual immorality, reminders of God’s purity through dietary laws, prohibitions against mixing seeds in planting and fibers in clothing all as a reminder that God is pure and holy. The center of Leviticus is the Day of Atonement, where God had the high priest make sacrifice for the sins of the people, which is an image and ceremony pointing forward to Christ’s death on the cross.
Throughout the book of Numbers we get more detailed instructions around the law, the celebration of passover and the first steps into the Promised Land. God had them send forth spies into Canaan, with the plan to go in to the land to conquer and inhabit it. However, the spies came back with reports of fear and doubt and they refused to go into the land. God prevented that unbelieving generation from entering the land and only Joshua and Caleb were able to go 40 years later because they were faithful. Throughout the book of Numbers, Moses also had to intercede for the people of Israel as they complained, grumbled and rebelled against God in the wilderness. God did not give up on his people, he continued to form and shape them.
The Prediction of Israelite Failure (Deuteronomy)
Deuteronomy 28:1, 15
The book of Deuteronomy is a retelling of the Law and the time of wilderness wandering to prepare them for the challenge ahead with entering the Promised Land. Deuteronomy reminded them of their story so they’d remember who they were and who their God was as they went into Canaan. In the book God called them to keep his commandments and trust him in faith. Towards the end there is a list of blessings for being faithful to God and curses for falling into idolatry and sin. The list of curses were substantial and included things like being defeated before their enemies, God withholding rain from them which would impact their crops and ultimately being exiled out of the land. In multiple spots, Deuteronomy even predicted Israel’s shift away from God to a monarchy, which happened in 1 Samuel.
God made provision for them to repent and turn to him, he promised to show them grace if they would pursue faithfulness, but that would be an incredibly hard challenge for them.
The Provision of Israelite Land (Joshua)
Joshua 1:1-3
The people moved in faith to enter the Promised Land, led by Joshua and the angel of the Lord. They crossed the Jordan and put up an Ebenezer, 12 memorial stones, to remind them and their children of the Lord’s providence. The Israelites then received a quick lesson about whether they’d do things God’s way or their own way. Joshua 6 detailed a quick success as they listened to God’s command and defeated Jericho, but their success got to their head and they had hidden sin and went out ahead of God to try and defeat the nation of Ai which was a disaster. They repented and turned back to God and he gave them more victories and a foothold in the land. The book of Joshua ends with a dividing up of the land, but without the land being fully conquered, the need to finish the job and the death of Joshua.
The Rejection of God (Judges)
Judges 1:1, 21:25
There was no leadership successor to Joshua. This seems to be by God’s design and the people of God turned to him to inquire of him. God gave them directions and the immediately go their own way. The book of Judges tells us of their failure to drive out the Canaanites and their spiral into being unfaithful to God. Their unfaithfulness led to God sending foreign nations to discipline and harass them. The people of God cried out for help and God raised up a judge, which is the Hebrew word for “ruler.” This judge would lead them for a time and they’d have peace but soon grow complacent and fall into unfaithfulness and then the cycle started over again.
What we will learn in Judges is that the people of God wanted freedom from God’s kingship, they wanted to do things their own way in their own timing and have the blessings of God without submitting to his will and his way and things go incredibly wrong. As we learn from this book we will learn about the spiritual danger of not submitting to God’s kinship, our need for constant spiritual renewal, the danger of being like the world and how God promises to send a true and better king and savior in Jesus.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
Read Judges 21:25
How did God prepare his people to enter the Promised Land and why did they struggle with unbelief and idolatry?
Why did God want the Israelites to be distinct from the nations of Canaan?
How does the book of Judges show us the need for a savior?
What are some reasons people are inclined to reject God’s rule and do what is right in their own eyes? Do you see this in our culture today?
