Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies. With the death of Joshua, an important era in the life of the nation of Israel came to an end. The era of leaders like Moses and Joshua whose roles in the community were holistic was replaced by the era of the judges who were primarily military leaders. The judges were individuals raised by God to lead the community through some rough times as the community faced invasion after invasion from their hostile neighbors.
The judges became important figures for the community because their presence re-assured the people that God was by their side. This re-assurance was significant because despite the community pledging allegiance to the Lord God slightly before the death of Joshua (cf. Joshua 24:19-24), the community soon abandoned the Lord God and dishonored the covenant they had made. And while the Lord God allowed them to be delivered unto the hands of their enemies as the terms of the covenant dictated (cf. Joshua 24:19-20), he nonetheless remembered the promise he had made to their fathers.
The raising of the judges thus became a gesture of forgiveness by God of the community’s transgressions. However, the duration of the forgiveness depended on the community listening to their judges.