3. =Tribal Jealousy.= Until the establishment of the American republic the world never saw, for any length of time, a league of states on an equal footing. In Greece the strongest state claimed the _hegemony_, or leadership, and oppressed its allies. In Italy the Ro'mans reduced all their neighbors to subjection. In Europe it now requires an army of more than a million men to maintain the "balance of power." So in Is'ra-el there was a constant struggle for the leadership between the two great tribes of Ju'dah and E'phra-im. During the period of the judges E'phra-im was constantly asserting its rights to rule the other tribes (Judg. 8. 1-3; 12. 1-6). We trace this rivalry through all the reign of Da'vid; and at last it led to the division of the empire under Re-ho-bo'am. 4. =Idolatrous Tendencies.= We note constantly "the two Is'ra-els"--a spiritual minority and an irreligious, idolatrous mass. For many centuries the greatest evil of Is'ra-el-ite history was the tendency to the worship of idols. Causes which operated to promote it were: 1.) The natural craving for a visible object of worship, not altogether eradicated from even the Christian heart; for example, Ro'mish images and the use of the crucifix. 2.) The association of Is'ra-el with idolaters on the soil or as neighbors. 3.) The opportunity which idol worship gives to gratify lust under the guise of religion. As a result of these forces we find idol worship the crying sin of the Is'ra-el-ites down to the captivity in Bab'y-lon. II. =The Judges of Is'ra-el.= These were the heroes of that age, the men who in turn led the tribes, freed them from their enemies, and restored them to the service of God. 1. =Their Office.= It was not generally to try legal cases between man and man or between tribe and tribe. It might be regarded as a military dictatorship blended with a religious authority. The judge was a union of the warrior and the religious reformer. 2. =Their Appointment=, not by election, nor the votes of the people. The Orientals have never chosen their rulers by suffrage. The judges were men whom the people recognized as called of God to their office (Judg. 2. 16; 3. 9; 6. 11-13). 3. =Their authority= rested not on law, nor on armies, but on the personal elements of integrity and leadership in the men, and on the general belief in their inspiration. They spoke to the people with the authority of a messenger from God. They arose in some hour of great need, and after the immediate danger was over held their power until the end of their lives. 4. =The Extent of Their Rule= was generally local, over a few tribes in one section. Deb'o-rah ruled in the north (Judg. 5. 14-18); Jeph'thah governed only the east of the Jor'dan (Judg. 11. 29). Often more than one judge was ruling at the same time; probably Sam'son and E'li were contemporaneous. Gid'e-on and Sam'u-el alone ruled all the twelve tribes. Blackboard Outline