Samuel, the young boy from our last session, becomes Israel’s last, long-term judge. He was also a prophet and priest. Throughout the time of the judges, the people of Israel followed the sinful ways of their neighbors. God allowed them to be oppressed until they repented and returned to Him. After hundreds of years living in this cycle, the people were tired of enduring the oppression of their enemies. However, instead of committing to follow the Lord with their whole heart and trusting Him to keep their enemies at bay, they once again tried to solve the problem their own way. The Book of Judges ends with this sad statement, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25).