Donatello heard a lot about the book of Judges from Michelangelo, who tried to explain it in his unique way. But he was still curious about it, so he dove into the book himself.
The book starts with Joshua’s death, leaving the tribes of Israel without a clear leader. The Israelites constantly forget about God and worship other gods, so God raises up judges to save them. One of the most well-known judges is Deborah, who is a prophetess and leads the Israelites to victory against the Canaanites with Barak.
Another judge, Gideon, is called by God to lead the Israelites to victory against the Midianites. Gideon has doubts but God proves himself through signs and wonders, and Gideon eventually defeats the Midianites with only 300 men.
But not all judges are as successful as Deborah and Gideon. Samson is a judge who has incredible strength from God but is led astray by his love for a Philistine woman named Delilah. She betrays Samson and cuts off his hair, which was the source of his strength, and he is captured by the Philistines.
Throughout the book of Judges, there is a repeated cycle of Israelites forgetting about God and worshipping other gods, then being punished by God, and then being saved by a judge. But the cycle continues because the Israelites continue to disobey God.
Donatello was surprised by how human the book of Judges was. The judges weren’t perfect and made mistakes, and the Israelites continued to disobey God. But despite it all, God still showed mercy and saved his people.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover… unless it’s the book of Judges.” – Donatello.
