A picture commentary on Judges:
If you are following the chronological chart, it shows the time of the Judges rule as being approximately 400 years, most likely including 50 years of Joshua’s time.
We closed our session last time with the question: Why did Joshua say to Israel, “You are not able to serve the Lord?” (Joshua 24:19, NIV). The answer comes in Judges 2:7 and 10. But for Joshua, he probably had Deuteronomy 31:16 in mind. This is built on the requirement given in Leviticus 20:26. Only a people separated from other gods serve the God who is holy.
Sharing:
- Why did the next generation after Joshua fall away from the Lord so quickly? It may be that the parents never taught their children what they were supposed to, or maybe the children chose to forget. There could have been apathy of parents who got lazy with passing on the knowledge of God’s laws. Judges 2:7 says the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and continued all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. Verse 11 then says that the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals. It seems that the next generation chose to do only what was right in their own eyes. They may have deliberately forgotten what their parents taught them. They did not ‘remember’, in the biblical sense of obeying, what they were taught. They may have entered a time where there were no dynamic leaders, and this usually results in failure of the previous generation’s work. Moses warned that there would be those who would only do what was right in their own eyes. Sometimes there are children who just will not listen. Often times a new generation wants to learn by their own experience, and not by older people who have already gone through the many struggles in life. Too often a generation simply passes on what the next generation is supposed to believe, instead of having them learn through ongoing relationships. Some leaders encourage the next generation to learn for themselves, and then share in a mutual trust and respect. They learn about a relationship with God through relationships with others. There are always a few who know the truth and obey God!
- Why are there so many who don’t read the Bible? Hollywood hasn’t put out their own version yet! We’re too busy. A twelve-year-old said that we aren’t really too busy; if we really put our minds to it and we want to read, we’ll make time for it. We’re too easily bored and we don’t actually believe that it matters. We think there are ‘other ways’ to know God that takes less work than reading! We have learned from our approach to education just to learn what we need to in order to achieve. We take the same approach with the Bible by simply looking for what we need to know, instead of taking the time to read through God’s Story to us.
Judges covers a period of approximately 350 years. It records God’s Story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the judgeship of Eli and Samuel. It was a period of probation. God had been faithful to His promise. Would Israel remain faithful to Jehovah?
God’s dealings with all but the last two judges are recorded in the Book of Judges. The judges were ‘deliverers’ and ‘temporary rulers’. They were not kings. Their rule was not nationwide. These judges should not be confused with the officers appointed by Moses for the administration of justice among the people (Exodus 18:21-26). They were raised up for a specific purpose and with extraordinary powers.
The Judges of this period:
- Othniel
- Ehud
- Shamgar
- Deborah and Barak – ruled Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Naphtali, Zebulon, Issachar
- Gideon – ruled Manasseh, Naphtali, Zebulon, Asher, Ephraim
- Tola
- Jair
- Jephthah – Gad, Manasseh
- Ibzan
- Elon
- Abdon
- Samson
- Eli
- Samuel – actually only ‘ruled’ over Benjamin and Ephraim; his spiritual influence was nationwide
Israel experienced political instability and suffered from internal turbulence, paralysis, defeat, and external opposition. Israel’s continual worship of foreign gods angered the Lord, who would then allow other nations to dominate them. The people would cry to the Lord who, in turn, raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them (Judges 2:16). The judges had three things in common:
- God raised them up.
- God’s Spirit temporarily empowered them to function in an extraordinary way.
- Their work led to victory, times of rest, peace, and civility.
Judges easily falls into three parts:
- · Israel’s Unfaithfulness (1-2)
- · Israel’s Servitude (3-6)
- · Israel’s Corruption (17-21)
There are two descriptions in Judges that give the theme of the book:
- Seven times it is recorded: Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord… (Judges 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1).
- These fit in with: …everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). After God delivered the second pair of tablets to Moses, Israel was warned in Deuteronomy 12:8: “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today – every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes.”
God’s story of the Judges shows us what happens when people worship in their own ways.
A running commentary is found in Judges 2:11-23
· did evil.
· forsook the Lord God of their fathers (see the prediction in Deuteronomy 31:16).
· provoked the Lord to anger (see the warning in Deuteronomy 31:17).
· followed other gods among the gods of the people who were all around them (see the command in Deuteronomy 6:14), and they bowed down to them (see the commandment in Exodus 20:5).
· served Baal and the Ashtoreths (Canaanite god and goddesses).
So God…
· delivered them into the hands of plunderers (see the promise of retribution in Leviticus 26:17).
And with this…
· the Lord raised up judges who delivered them.
But Israel…
· Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them (see the commandment in Exodus 34:13-15).
Even so…
· the Lord was with the judge and delivered them.
· for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning (see God’s sorrow in Genesis 6:6).
But…
· when a judge was dead… they reverted and behaved more corruptly…
So…
· the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel.
· He will no longer drive out before them any of the nations… so that through them I may test Israel (see the purposes of testing in Deuteronomy 8:2, 16; 13:3).
It was a time for Israel to be trained in the obedience of faith. Israel made a good beginning: “Israel asked of Jehovah” (Judges 1:1). Judah’s successes (Judges 1:3-20) contrast strongly with the brief accounts of the failures of other tribes, where it is repeated: they did not drive out (Judges 1:21-36). The house of Joseph was an exception – the Lord was with them (Judges 1:22). Judah did not require a Judge from the Lord during this time in Israel’s history.
Caleb (Judges 1:12-15), though of Kenizzite ancestry (Genesis 15:19; Numbers 32:12), was counted as belonging to the tribe of Judah. He represented Judah when the spies were sent into Canaan (Numbers 13:6).
Sharing:
- Judah did what was right by capturing their land. They knew what was required of them, so they never had a judge.
Israel’s disobedience resulted in a rebuke through a visit from the Angel of the Lord: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant [treaty] with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars’” (Judges 2:1-2).
God proved that He was the true Ruler of Israel by three more visits in the time of the Judges:
- During the time of Deborah the Angel pronounced a curse upon a city that had failed to come to the help of the Lord (Judges 5:23).
- The Angel called Gideon to his task (Judges 6:11-14).
- The Angel charged the parents of Samson, before the birth of their child, to prepare him for the life of a Nazirite (Judges 13:3-5).
These appearances are evidence that God was the true Ruler of Israel. Although Israel did not have a central government, they certainly had a theocracy.
Share with us your insights into God’s dealings with Israel through the different Judges.
· Joshua 15:15-19; Judges 1:11-15; 3:7-11.
· Tribe of Judah, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s nephew, and became his son-in-law after the capture of Kirjath Sepher.
· Oppressors: Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, for eight years.
· Defeated Cushan-Rishathaim.
· Period of rest: 40 years.
Sharing:
- Othniel married Caleb’s daughter, who asked for water for the area where she settled. God honors those who know how to ask with good motives. He blesses us when we ask for a bigger portion of Him.
- Judges 3:12-4:1.
- Tribe of Benjamin, son of Gera.
- Oppressors: Eglon, king of Moab, Ammonites, Amalekites, for 18 years.
- A left-handed Benjamite, Ehud personally slew Eglon, the fat king of Moab.
- Led in the slaying of 10,000 Moabites.Period of rest: 80 years.
- Judges 3:31; 5:6.
- Perhaps a foreigner, son of Anath.
- Oppressors: Philistines, unknown number of years.
- Slew 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
- Period of rest: not given.
- Judges 4:1-5:31.
- Deborah: Tribe of Ephraim, a prophetess and judge, the wife of Lapidoth.
- Barak: Tribe of Naphtali, son of Abinoam.
- Oppressors: Jabin, king of Canaan; Sisera was the commander of his army, for 20 years.
- Both defeated Sisera, with his 900 iron chariots at the battle of Kishon.
- Sisera killed by Jael, the wife of Heber, with a tent peg.
- The Song of Deborah recounts the victory over Sisera.
- Period of rest: 40 years.
Sharing:
- Deborah told Barak to go fight, but he wouldn’t go without her, so she went and got the credit. It was neat that she received the recognition as a woman at that time.
- There was no capable man available in Ephraim at that time, so God used a capable woman. A good man is hard to find!
- It should be noted that mothers taught their children. Children to this day acknowledge that their mothers teach them.
- In Israel, nationality was determined through the mother.
- There is nothing negative recorded about Deborah.
- Judges 6:1-8:32.
- Tribe of Manasseh, son of Joash the Abiezrite; also called Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth.
- Oppressors: Midianites, Amalekites, “People of the East”, for seven years.
- The Angel of the Lord appeared to him at Ophrah as he was beating out wheat in the winepress.
- His offering consumed by fire.
- He “put out a fleece” twice for a “sign”.
- Reduced his army from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300; he routed the Midianites with trumpets, pitchers, and torches.
- Oreb and Zeeb, Midianite princes, were killed by the Ephraimites.
- He took revenge on the men of Succoth and Penuel for not giving his army bread.
- He killed Zebah and Zalmunna (Midianite kings) in revenge for the death of his brothers at Tabor.
- He made a gold ephod and used it to lead the people into idolatry (the high priest used the genuine ephod).
- Period of rest: 40 years.
Sharing:
- God did not wait for a great faith to use Gideon. He was on a journey of faith, and in all his feebleness God used him.
- Gideon is not a good man in comparison to Joshua; even so, God shows that He can use anyone for His purposes. People don’t change God’s story!
- Gideon reminds us of the narratives of some of those we have already read, that said they couldn’t perform the task God gave to them. God’s reply is that He will always be with them.
- Gideon refused to be king, but he named his son ‘Abimelech’, which means ‘my father is king’.
- Why did Gideon create a golden ephod and then worship it? It seems that the story about Gideon and his sons shows that when people want some of the glory for themselves, rather than the glory of God, there is always failure.
- Judges 8:33-9:57.
- Not a judge, but seized power, ruling over Israel for three years.
- Tribe of Manasseh, son of Jerubbaal.
- Oppressors: Civil war, unknown period.
- Slew all his half brothers except Jotham, the youngest.
- Defeated Gaal (son of Ebed, a lost brother claiming through his ancestry the right to rule), who conspired against him.
- Captured Shechem and destroyed the city.
- At Thebez a woman threw a millstone which hit Abimelech on the head; to remove his shame of impending death by a woman, he had his armor bearer kill him with a sword.
Sharing:
- Abimelech was the son of a concubine. His story shows that when the head of the household sins (having other women), it causes difficult relationships for the family.
- When God’s standards are lowered, it produces bad situations.
- Judges 10:1-2.
- Tribe of Issachar, son of Puah.
- Judged Israel for 23 years.
- Oppressors: unknown.
- Period of oppression: unknown.
- He was probably one of the leading families of Issachar (cf. Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23).
- Judges 10:3-5.
- Tribe of Gilead-Manasseh.
- Judged Israel for 22 years.
- Oppressors: unknown.
- Period of oppression: unknown.
- He was probably a descendant of the Jair who distinguished himself during the days of Moses and Joshua (Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30).
- He had 30 sons who were itinerant judges.
- Judges 10:6-12:7.
- Tribe of Gilead-Manasseh, son of Gilead by a harlot. His name means ‘opened’ or ‘opener’.
- Gilead, meaning ‘rugged’, was originally the name given to the vast region east of the Jordan that Moses allocated to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 3:13). All the Israelites who settled in this region came to be known as ‘Gileadites’.
- Oppressors: Philistines, Ammonites, civil war with the Ephraimites, for 18 years.
- Born of a prostitute, he was a social outcast, so he was driven off by his vengeful half brothers and fled to the land of Tob, somewhere in Syria.
- Elders of Gilead brought him back and made him their chief at Mizpah.
- He sent a message to the king of Ammon saying that the Israelites had been in possession of Gilead for 300 years – too long for the Ammonites to challenge their right to it.
- He subdued the Ammonites, conquering some 20 cities.
- He made a vow to the Lord: “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering” (Judges 11:31). Little did he realize that it would be his only daughter who would be the first to meet him!
- He defeated the Ephraimites, who were offended because they had not been asked to join in the battle against the Ammonites.
- Period of rest: Six years.
Sharing:
- Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute. This probably did not help him when making a rash vow. God takes vows very seriously, as we have already read in God’s Story. Foolish vows have serious consequences.
- He made his vow out of pride and not out of obedience to the Lord.
- It is possible that Jephthah never sacrificed his daughter, but she remained unmarried and childless, which was a disgrace in that time and culture.
- People make vows to make themselves look good, when God does not ask for vows.
- We are still not free to do as we please; we still have the same God.
- Judges 12:8-10.
- Tribe of Judah or Zebulun – he was of Bethlehem, which was the inheritance of the children of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15-16).
- Oppressors: unknown.
- Period of rest: seven years.
- Judges 12:11-12.
- Tribe of Zebulun.
- Oppressors: unknown.
- Period of rest: 10 years.
- Judges 12:13-15.
- Tribe of Ephraim, son of Hillel.
- Oppressors: unknown.
- Period of rest: eight years.
- Judges 13:1-16:31.
- Tribe of Dan, son of Manoah.
- Of all the twelve judges, he was the only one born to lead.
- Oppressor: Philistines, for 40 years.
- His birth was announced by the Angel of the Lord.
- He was consecrated a Nazirite from birth.
- He slew a lion barehanded.
- He caught 300 foxes, tied them in pairs with a torch between their tails, and turned them into the grain fields of the Philistines.
- He slew a thousand Philistines with a jawbone of a donkey.
- He carried off the gate of Gaza.
- He was conquered by Delilah, blinded, and imprisoned in Gaza.
- He pulled down the Temple of Dagon, killing himself and about 3,000 Philistines.
- Period of rest: 20 years.
The last three chapters of the Book of Judges deal with the story of a Levite and his concubine. A domestic feud ended up as a national tragedy. The moral state of Israel is described through an unnamed Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim (Judges 19:1).
In preparation for our next session, read the Book of Ruth to learn God’s Story of love, devotion, and redemption standing in contrast to the war and strife of Judges.
Sharing:
- The judges died, and Israel went their own way again, even after judges had provided leadership.
- We are not required to follow others; we need to make our own choice to follow and obey God.
- God let the tribes of Israel find out the results of sin, then stepped in to remind them of His rules and place to worship. They couldn’t say they didn’t know how to worship God.
- We should have a desire to worship right as we learn more about God and what He wants from us. Worship is not so much an activity as it is a lifestyle.
- When we attempt to worship God in our own power rather than what God wants, we are depending on our works. And they are worth nothing because this leads to us setting aside God’s work for our own.
