This week’s post is the first installment in a series on the book of Judges. In the coming weeks, we will analyze each of the major judges of Israel, their stories, and how we can learn to write deep and dimensional characters.

Today, however, I want to zoom out on the entire book of Judges. From a writer’s perspective, there are several things we can take away from this account.

First, Judges is the perfect example of patterns in stories. We can find repeating patterns in all sorts of things, from nature to man-made products, and Judges is no exception. Throughout the book, we see the nation of Israel go through a repeating cycle… from idol-worship to judgment to deliverance to prosperity to idol-worship again.

In the same way, we as writers can use repeating patterns to help our stories flow better. Whether it be a similar scene, a prop that keeps popping up at key moments, or a phrase that is said at different times during the story. Readers love picking out those little nuggets of continuity, and it serves as a recollection of the past that works almost as well as—if not better than—a flashback.

Second, let’s take a look at the main characters of this book… the judges. Now, when God sends a leader to help an ungodly nation turn back to Him, you wouldn’t think He’d send someone like Samson or Gideon. But the faults of the judges help only to amplify the proven fact of man’s fallen state—and help to point to God, the only one who is truly perfect.

These flawed judges show us the right way to write a main character. Yes, a Flat Arc character should believe the Truth of the story. But every MC—every character—needs to have faults. Don’t hesitate to write in a few weaknesses for your MC… it will not only be more realistic, but it will also cause the Truth to stand out even more.

(Note: If some of these terms are unfamiliar, we will be addressing them in-depth during our Writing Tips series.)

Third, we see how to portray the sovereignty of God. Notice how He does not swoop in and turn the Israelites’ hearts back to Him. He allows them to go through times of judgment and waits for them to cry to Him before He rescues them.

This is how we should write our own stories. Christian authors may be tempted to use the presence of God in their works to provide an “easy fix” for the MC’s problems. But that’s not the way God deals. He allows people to go through hardships, whether to chasten them or to strengthen their faith. Placing roadblocks in front of our MCs not only provides a dose of reality, but also gives us the opportunity to show how (or how not) to respond with trust that God is in control.

To go along with this point, we can see how God’s dealings with mankind work out to His ultimate purpose… His glorification. While the Israelites did not truly turn back to God until much later, we can see how God’s sovereignty and grace towards His people brought glory to Him. Everyone—the Israelites, their captors, the judges—was flawed, but God’s goodness remained unchanged.

We can use this in our writing to bring glory to God’s name. Whether or not everything “works out” for the characters in the end, God should get the praise. Things may not go according to what our MCs would like, but they will always go according to God’s plan.

Lastly, the book of Judges gives an excellent example of how to weave the theme of salvation throughout a story. Throughout its pages, we see how Israel—and even its judges—fails time and time again. This causes readers to reflect on their own lives, and see how they’ve failed at keeping God’s commandments. Sure, they may have turned to Him when times were hard, but then they went right back to what they were doing.

Along with this, we see another underlying thread… God’s faithfulness. The Israelites sinned again and again, yet He still delivered them when they called upon Him. Instead of destroying them all right then and there, God chose to be patient with them. This leads readers to consider the longsuffering of God, and realize how He has chosen to withhold His wrath so that they will have a chance to turn to Him.

In the same way, our stories should echo this reality. This is one of the reasons to give our MCs some flaws… it will reflect the fallen nature of mankind and point to Christ as the answer to it. In order to correctly portray the gospel, we shouldn’t just insert dialogue. Rather, we should weave it into our story through the characters, plot, symbolism, and even setting.

And that’s about it for our overview of the book of Judges. In two weeks, we will be discussing the character and story of our first major judge, Ehud.

If you like this post or have any questions, drop a note in the comments below!