Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's Judges

1. Throughout Judges, the recurring, downward spiral-like theme reappears with each Judge that is raised up by YHWH. While it begins with the depiction of the general people of Israel being disobedient, you begin to see that even the Judges, appointed by YHWH, were fallible. Whether it was Gideon’s lack of faith and continued distrust in YHWH, or Samson’s indiscretions and immense pride, the Judges proved that no leader was blameless in breaking the covenant with YHWH, it was not just the people, but those YHWH called Himself. So as Israel moves towards a monarch, how will these patterns continue? Will the fallibility of man, even in the ones that God calls to reign be a continued issue in the covenant with Israel? 1 Samuel uses fewer characters with a more in-depth look at each and the fallibility of man and the relationship with God.

We begin with the God appointed priest, Eli. God shows His power through the events surrounding Eli; He can exalt one to strength and power, He can also bring one down when His covenant is mistreated. While Eli is not directly disobedient to God, his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are. God sees this and tells Eli he is going to cut off the strength of his family and raise up a faithful priest, one that will do according to what is in His heart (1 Sam. 2:34-36). God

follows through with this by bringing war to the Israelites with the Philistines and both sons are killed in battle. When Eli learns of the news, he falls from his place and dies.
Samuel, with the voice that God gives him among the people, we hear of the covenant and his attempt to bring peace and protection in the land. Samuel tells the people that they need to put away the foreign gods and serve the one Lord with all their heart (1 Sam. 7:3). In 1 Sam. 9 & 10, God uses Samuel to appoint Saul as the first King of Israel. God’s hand is always the one to appoint leadership over Israel; this is the way of the Judges. Samuel struggles with the new order of king, because it is the people’s rebellion against God that has brought the king into place. Samuel summarizes the theme of Judges and 1 Samuel when he says, “If you will fear the Lord and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well; but if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.” (1 Sam. 12:14-15)
As the text moves from the judges to the monarchs, the overall theme does not change. God is in control. With every leader, whether military, priestly, prophetic, or kingly, God is clearly in control of their strength and power among the people, and even in their fall. God is the Judge of Judges. We see the fallibility of man and the humble beginnings of the most powerful, which all point to the power and sovereignty of God and His covenant with His people.
2. Samuel is the last of the Judges and God makes him a prophetic and priestly figure among the people. Samuel seemed to do right by the Lord, so he is used to carry out God’s orders as the monarch comes into form. Eli was the priest that Samuel’s mother visited and from an early age Eli was raising Samuel up in the Lord. Eli and Samuel are linked just as Saul and David are linked later in the text. Samuel is portrayed as an apprentice of Eli’s. While the two are very similar in their roles with the Lord, they are portrayed somewhat differently, where the author of the text is more apologetic towards Samuel.
In 1 Sam.

2:34-36, the Lord gives notice to Eli that He will be cutting him off due to the actions of his sons and Eli’s lack of obedience, and will be raising up a faithful priest, one that will do according to what is in His heart. The text is not apologetic towards Eli, it is clear it was Eli’s sons being disobedient, however, when the Lord speaks to Samuel about what is going to happen, He says, “For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them” (1 Sam. 3:13). The Lord does not let Eli off the hook and holds him accountable for not dealing with his

sons.
On the contrary, we have Samuel, who time and time again, it is spoken that he is being raised in the Lord, or the Lord is with him, so we know, he will be held in high regard. In 1 Sam. 3:19-20, the text states the Lord is with Samuel and all Israel knew that he was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. As the life of Samuel goes on, he too has sons that are disobedient to the covenant with the Lord after he puts them in charge in his old age. In 1 Sam 8:3, the text says “they turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.” At this point, rather than cutting Samuel and his house down, at the request of the people, Samuel hesitantly asks God for a king to rule over Israel and God grants this request. God sends Saul, who eventually disobeys the covenant as well. The text never points a blaming finger at Samuel, and continues to be apologetic in the view of him. At one point, Samuel clears his name and the text shows a loyalty towards the positive view of Samuel. In 1 Sam. 12:4, following Samuel’s testimony to clear his name, the people say, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone.” Samuel is always portrayed in a positive, loving, apologetic manner, even in his death. In Sam 28, we first hear all of Israel mourns Samuel, and then when Saul visits the medium, Samuel is described as a “divine being.”
The positive portrayal of Samuel is consistently carried out through the book of 1 Samuel. Even when he is charged with the same grievance as Eli is punished for, Samuel clears his name and the Lord never leaves him. Israel remembers him as a divine being and one without blame.