Judges

JUDGESFoundational Book #5

AUTHOR AND DATE OF WRITING

Jewish and Christian tradition assign the book of Judges to Samuel, but there is no real certainty Judges 17:6 and 18:1 do seem to imply that the

book was written during the days when there was a king in Israel

If Samuel was the author, then a date of around 1025 BC would be reasonable

Judges 1:21 would seem to limit the writing to the days of Saul or early in David’s reign, since at the writing of this book the city of Jerusalem was not under the control of Israel.

DATE OF WRITING

One of the chronological difficulties in the Old Testament occur in Judges There seems to be a difference between the total

number of years of oppression and judgeships and the years of Israel’s history

When the years of oppression and peace are added we get 407 years

The time period for the book of judges is 332 years The difference of 75 years can explained by

overlapping of judgeships More that one judge at a time

IMPORTANT DATA ON JUDGES

The Book of Judges covers about 332 years of Israel’s history

It was a time of great spiritual failure in the nation The KEY WORD is “defeat” KEY CHAPTER is chapter 2, which

summarizes the history of Israel during those years

TYPE OF GOVERNMENT

Theocracy A form of government in which a deity is

officially recognized as the civil Ruler and official policy is governed by officials regarded as divinely guided

From the perspective of the theocratic government, "God himself is recognized as the head" of the state hence the term theocracy, from the Greek θεοκρατία "rule of God", a term used by Josephus for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah

ISRAEL'S GOVERNMENT

Theocracy God rule No human ruler Priests were key in this type of government

This was the ideal form of government for Israel and would bring about the greatest blessing and greatest satisfaction This form of government will be reinstituted

upon Christ’s return and the Founding of the Millennial Kingdom

POSITION OF THE JUDGES

The judges role in the theocracy of Israel The Judges were to deliver the people

THE JUDGES POSITION IN CONTRAST WITH THE KINGS

KINGS JUDGES

Armys Ability to Tax Great Power Large area of land

governed All 12 tribes, Israel Northern of Southern

kingdom Office passed on to

descendant

No armies No Taxation No power like the kings Small geographical area

governed Office not passed on to

descendants

WHAT ABOUT SAMUEL?

Samuel was the greatest of the Judges He is not dealt with in the book of Judges Eli is also referred to as a Judge

Samuel was also the first prophet

IMPORTANT BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE

They did not destroy the peoples,As the LORD commanded them,

But they mingled with the nationsAnd learned their practices,

And served their idols,Which became a snare to them.

They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,

And shed innocent blood,The blood of their sons and their daughters,Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with the blood.Thus they became unclean in their practices,

And played the harlot in their deeds.Psalm 106:34-39

PSALM 106:34-39

This Psalm gives a divine commentary of the era of the Judges

It reveals the depths of Israel’s sin Their sin included terrible immorality and

human sacrifice


“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many

nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and

stronger than you, and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you

shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you

shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the

anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. Deuteronomy 7:1-4

DEUTERONOMY 7:1-4

Commanded Israel to Exterminate the Canaanites in the land Refrain from any intermarriage with them

It was the violation of these commands that led to the trouble during the time of Theocracy

ANGEL OF THE LORD REBUKES ISRAEL

Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I

said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of

this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out

before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the

people lifted up their voices and wept. Judges 2:1-4


It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years

old. And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of

Mount Gaash.

Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived

Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

Joshua 24:29-31

JOSHUA 24:29-31

This passage gives us insight into how quickly Israel strayed from the path the Lord had given them after the death of Joshua Israel continued to serve the Lord only for

the few short years after Joshua dies when the elders that served with Joshua were still alive

THE RECORD OF INCOMPLETE OBEDIENCE JUDGES 1-3

The days following Joshua's military victories Israel continued to win battles of the Canaanites Soon thereafter the Scripture tells us that

tribes did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in certain areas 1:21,27,29-33

Instead Israel forced them to serve them 1:28

This was a direct violation of God’s command Deut 7:1

This disobedience was the seed that would bring forth much trouble for Israel

WHY JUDGES?

Judges were not needed for a Theocracy Judges only came into the picture because

of sin and failure They were necessary to rescue Israel from

bad situations Situation brought forth by Israel’s sin

JUDGES OF ISREAL 3-16

The book of Judges records seven apostasies Apostasy is a deliberate, knowledgeable,

turning away from the Lord In each apostasy Israel became

enslaved to a foreign power, repented, and was delivered by a Judge

Judges 1:21-36 tell us that Israel did not drive out the people of Canaan

While some of he failures to exterminate the people could be explained by natural condition which would make the conquest difficult, the major reason of the failure the scripture records is the spiritual failure of Israel

WHO WAS BAAL Baal was the chief deity of ancient Canaan

His exploits and licentious worship practices are well documented in the literature of ancient Ugarit

Baal was both a storm god and a fertility deity who was worshipped in various forms Baal, Baalim, Ashtaroth The worship was carried out not only in temples

but on every high hill under every green tree~ 2 Kings 17:10-11

The rites included Frenzied dances~ 1 Kings 18:26-28 Cult prostitution, both male and female Human Sacrifice 2 Kings 23:10

CYCLE OF THE JUDGES

When the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the

days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came

about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their

fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon

their practices or their stubborn ways. Judges 2:18-19

CYCLE OF THE JUDGES

JUDGES 3:1-4

The nations left unconquered in the Israelite invasion became a challenge and a test of Israel’s faithfulness

God in his grace allowed Israel to learn from them more advanced forms of warfare and weaponry

OTHENIEL

Younger brother or nephew of Caleb Caleb promised his daughter Achsah to

whoever would smite Debir Otheneil rose to the challenge and captured the city

He was known as a heroic individual having been a part of the conquering of Canaan Joshua 15:15-20

The presence of him as a Judge shows how quickly Israel fell into apostasy

Forty years of rest followed

EHUD

The Moabite subjugated part of Benjamin and Ephraim

Ehud was lefthanded Ehud, a leading man of Benjamin

assassinated Eglon, King of Moab and brought deliverance to Israel Eglon was so fat, 3:17, that Ehud could not pull

the dagger out of his belly 3:22 10,000 men were slain After this there were eighty years of rest

SHAMGAR

Not much is known about him He fought against the Philistines who

lived in the southwest part of Israel He slaughtered 600 men with and

oxgoad

DEBORAH AND BARAK

Deborah was a prophetess of God Barak was a General from the tribe of Naphtali and the

deliverer Had a army of only 10,000 men Fought against a multitude of fighters and 900 iron chariots

God gave Barak a victory over the heavy iron chariots of the Canaanites and Jabin of Hazor by causing a heavy rain to make the battlefield muddy 5:21

The Canaanites were commanded by Sisera Jael killed Sisera with a tent stake through his temple

Chapter 5 is a poetic account of the narrative if Chapter 4

GIDEON

Gideon destroyed his fathers altar to Baal

God used three supernatural signs 6:21;6:36; 7:15 Sign of Fire 6:17-21 Sign of the wet and dry fleece 6:36-40 Convinced Gideon and used him to deliver

Israel from the Midianites- descended from Moses and Katurah

GIDEON

God reduced Gideon’s army from 32,000 men to 300 to battle 135,000 Midianites God had an who were fearful to leave

22,000 men left Gideon had them drink water, 300 were

separated from the rest These 300 men went to battle

The battle is evidence of God’s working on Israel's behalf 7:19-22

Israel turns from God 8:33-35

TOLA AND JAIR

These two were probably contemporary judges Tola served west of the Jordan Jair served the east side

JEPHTHAH

He was the illegitimate son of Gilead He liberated Israel from the Ammonites He made a vow to God before the battle to

sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house upon return from the battle 11:29-31 The first thing to come out of his house was his

only child, his daughter He did sacrifice her 11:39

God would never approve this - Psalm 106:37

IBZAN, ELON, AND ABDON

These three served in different areas of Israel

They were probably contemporaries and served during the same time as Jephthah

SAMSON

God gave Samson unusual strength in order to cause the oppressing Philistines great problems and made it impossible for them to overrun Israel

SAMSON

Prophecy to Manoah 12:2-5 Samson was to be a Nazarite He would deliver Israel from the Philistines

Samson being a Nazarene should have been an example to Israel Samson fell far short of God’s standard with sin and disobedience He violated all three vows of a Nazarene

He touched a dead body Attended a drinking feast Had his hair cut

He violated God’s word Married a Philistine Visited a prostitute in Gaza Lived with Delilah

SAMSON

He had many heroic deeds Killed a young lion with his bare hands Tied tails of 300 foxes together to set fire to

fields of the Philistines Killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of

a donkey Carried away the massive gate of Gaza

Believed to weigh about 4 tons Carried it 38 miles mostly uphill

Pushed the pillars of the Philistine temple apart killing 3,000 people

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE ERA OF THE JUDGES 17-21

The events of these chapters happened at different times during the Theocracy

These accounts were selected to represent and illustrate the major sins of this era They are not the only sins or necessarily

the worst of this time

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE ERA OF THE JUDGES 17-21

Religious Apostasy in 17-18 occurred fairly early in the period of the Judges

The moral degeneracy and political anarchy of 19-21 show us how far from the will of God Israel did go

The immorality and disregard for human life illustrate the basic weakness of theocracy Sinful Man

Documents

Judges