Lesson 1 - JUDGES
Lesson 1
JUDGES
The portion to Read: Book of Judges
Memory Verse: 1 Sam 7:12
Objective: God will never leave sin unpunished. But he who cries to God for forgiveness will be received and redeemed. Believers should not yoke themselves with unbelievers.
Who were the Judges?
Judges were men or women raised by God from Israel to save them from their enemies and judge them. The period of Judges was about 2000 years between the death of Joshua and the first king Saul. Between 2000 years, 15 judges were appointed by God. Among them, the history of 13 is given in the book of Judges, and that of the other 2 is given in the first chapters of 1Samuel. The sequential order of Judges is given below.
- Othniel
- Ehud
- Shamgar
- Deborah
- Gideon
- Abimelek
- Tola
- Jair
- Jephthah
- Ibzan
- Elon
- Abdon
- Samson
- Eli
- Samuel
7 were more influential: Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, and Samuel.
What a contrast the people of Israel are to the closing chapters of the book of Joshua, where we see a nation resting from war and enjoying the riches God had given them in the Promised Land. But the Book of Judges pictures Israel suffering from invasion, slavery, poverty, and civil war.
The nation of Israel quickly decayed after a new generation took over, a generation that is now neither Joshua nor Joshua's God. "And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that He did for Israel. There arose another generation after them, which know not the Lord, not yet the works he had done for Israel."
Instead of exhibiting spiritual fervor, Israel sank into apathy. Instead of obeying the Lord, the people moved into apostasy. And instead of the nation enjoying law and order, the land was filled with anarchy.
One of the key verses in the Book of Judges is 21: 25 " In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" At mount Sinai, the Lord had taken Israel to be His "kingdom of Priests" declaring that He alone would reign over them. Moses reaffirmed the kingship of Jehovah when he explained the covenant to the new generation before they entered Canaan (Deu 29). After the conquest of Jericho and Ai, Joshua declared to Israel her kingdom responsibilities ( Josh. 8:30-35), and he reminded the people of them again before his death (Josh 24). Even Gideon, perhaps the greatest of the judges, refused to set up a royal dynasty "I will not rule over you," he said, " neither shall my son rule over you" The Lord shall rule over you" (Jud 8:23)
Deuteronomy 6 outlined the nation's basic responsibilities: love and obey Jehovah as the only true God; teach your children God's laws be thankful for God's blessings and separate yourself from the worshiping of the pagan gods in the land of Cannan. Unfortunately, the new generation failed in each of those responsibilities. The people didn't want to seek God and His righteousness; they would rather experiment with the idolatry of the godless nations around them. As a result, Israel plunged into moral, spiritual, and political disaster.
One of two things was true; either the older generation had failed to instruct their children and grandchildren in the way of the Lord, or if they had faithfully taught them, then the new generation had refused to submit to God's Law and follow God's ways. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" The Book of Judges is the record of that reproach and decline and fall of Israel.
What was the need for Judges?
After the death of Joshua, when we examine the general conditions of Israel's leaders, we see a lack of efficient leadership. The following are the reasons.
1. After the death of the generation that fought with Joshua, there came a new generation. Who did not know anything about God and the miracles by God done for Israel?
2. At that time, Israel had no king. Everyone worked according to his will.
3. They never removed the Cananitesnations from among them but employed them as workers
4. The lands of the philistines, Sidon, and Lebanon were not yet conquered.
All these turned out to be causes for curses against Israel. The nations living among them prospered, and they attacked Israel and made Israel slaves; notice that verse 'They will be a thorn in the side ( Num. 33:55)
Moreover, Israel started to worship the idols of the nations dwelling in their midst. Notice it is written 'their gods will be a snare to you (Judges 2:3)
Whenever Israel sinned against God, he delivered them into the lands of surrounding nations. And in their slavery, they would cry out to God, and God would raise up Judges to save them and lead them. The wars during the period of Judges did not affect the whole of Israel. It was mainly centering particular tribes that sinned.
JUDGES OF ISRAEL
1. OTHNIEL :
Othniel belonged to the tribe of Judah, Son of the younger brother of Caleb, Kenaz. According to Caleb's order, he conquered Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for 8 years. Othniel got married to Caleb's daughter Achsah. Later he became the judge of Israel. So the land had peace for 40 years until Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.
2 . EHUD
Ehud belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, a left-handed man. Eglon, the king of Moab, defeated Israel with the help of Amorites and Amalekites. Ehud killed Eglon and united Israel. For 80 years, the Jews had enjoyed rest because of the leadership of Ehud.
3. SHAMGAR
After Ehud came to Shamgar, son of Anath, who struck down 600 philistines with the oxgoad
4. DEBORAH
Jabin, the king of Hazor and his army commander Sisera, defeated Israel. They had 900 chariots of Iron. They persecuted Israel for 20 years.
Deborah was the prophet in Israel at that time. She was the wife of Lapidoth. According to her prophecy, Barak gathered 10,000 men from Napthali and Zebulun tribe and went for battle, along with Deborah. In the battle, which occurred at the bank of river Kishor, Sisera was defeated and fled to the tent of a woman, Jael. She gave him a drink and killed him with a tent peg when he was asleep. Deborah and Barak praised God by singing. The land had rest for 40 years.
5. GIDEON
Gideon was the son of Joash. He was from the tribe of Manasseh. His father's home turned to idol worship. God delivered them to Midianites. They used to kill the Israelites and destroy their farms. God chose Gideon, a farmer, to destroy the Midianites. The Angel of God came and strengthened him. He destroyed the idol of Baal, which belonged to his father. In its place, he built an altar for God. He sacrificed his father's OX upon it.
God's spirit descended upon Gideon. He gathered Israel together and went to war. But God commanded to reduce the number of men so that the people would not later glorify themselves. When the fearful and coward were asked to turn back, about 22,000 out of the 32,000 went back. After this, out of 10,000 left, all others, except 300, were sent back because they failed in a simple test conducted near water by Gideon.
Side note
You have a garden, and you worked hard all spring and summer to make that garden produce abundantly. But every year, just about the time you're ready to gather in the harvest, your neighbor swoops down and takes your product away from you by force. This goes on year after year, and there's nothing you can do about it.
If you can imagine that scenario, you'll have some idea of the suffering the Jews experienced every harvest when the Midianites made their annual raids. For seven years, God allowed the Midianites and their allies to ravage " the land of milk and honey," leaving the people in the deepest poverty.
About the time of the eighth Midianite invasion, Gad called a farmer in Manasseh named Gideon to become the deliverer of His people. Gideon started his career as a coward, became a conqueror, and ended as a compromiser. But more space is devoted to Gideon in the Book of Judges (100 verses) than to any other judge, and Gideon is the only judge whose personal struggles with his faith are recorded. Gideon is a great encouragement to people who have a hard time accepting themselves and believing that God can make anything out of them or do anything with them.
Before the Lord could use Gideon in His service, He had to deal with four doubts that plagued him and were obstacles to his faith. These doubts can be expressed in four questions.
a. " Does God really care about us?"
"The Lord has forsaken us" was Gideon's response to the Lord's message, and yet the Lord has given Israel proof of his personal concern.
He had chastened them, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delight" (proverb 3: 11-12)
Charles Spurgeon said, "The Lord does not permit His children to sin successfully." God is not a permissive parent who allows His children to do as they please, for His ultimate purpose is that they might be conformed to the image of His Son. The father wants to be able to look at each member of His spiritual family and say, "This is My beloved child in whom I am well pleased."
Chastening is evidence of God's hatred for sin and His love for His people. We can't conceive of a holy God wanting anything less than His very best for His children, and the best He can give us is a holy character like that of Jesus Christ. Obedience to the Lord builds character, but sin destroys a character, and God can not sit idly by and watch His children destroy themselves.
Israel had already experienced 43 years of suffering under the harsh rule of the neighboring nations, but they hadn't yet learned their lesson and turned away from the heathen idols. Unless our suffering leads to repentance, it accomplishes no lasting good. Unless our repentance is evidence of a holy desire to turn from sin, not just escape from pain, repentance is only remorse. Chastening assures us that we are truly God's children, that our Father loves us, and that we can't get away with rebellion.
The Midianites organized a coalition of nations to invade the land, and all that Israel could do was flee to hills and hide from the enemy. When the Jews returned to their homes, they found the only devastation; and they had to face another year without adequate food.
He had rebuked them
“And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.”
Judges 2:1 Meaning
“And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.”
Judges 2:5 Meaning
An angel of the Lord, probably the Son of God, had come to Bochim to reprove Israel for her sins, and now an unnamed prophet came to repeat the message. Often in the Old Testament, when the Lord denounced His people for their disobedience, He reminded them of that wonderful way He had delivered them from Egypt. He also reminded them of His generosity in being them the land and helping them overcome their enemies. If the Jews were suffering from Gentil bondage, it wasn't God's fault! He had given them everything they needed.
When your read the New Testament epistles, you can't help but notice that the apostles took the same approach when they admonished the believers to whom they wrote. The apostles repeatedly reminded the Christians that God had saved them so that they might live obediently and serve the Lord faithfully. As God's children, they were to walk worthy of their high and heavenly calling and live like people who were seated with Christ in glory. The notice for Christian living is not that we might gain something we don't have but that we might live up to what we already have in Christ.
When you consider the kind of man Gideon was at this time, you wonder why God selected him; but God often chooses the weak thing of this world to accomplish great things for His glory. Gideon's family worshiped Ball, although we have no reason to believe that Gideon joined them. When Gideon called himself "the least in my father's house," he may have suggested that his family treated him like an outcast because he didn't worship Baal. Gideon wasn't a man of strong faith or courage, and God had to patiently work with him to prepare him for leadership. God is always ready to make us what we ought to be if we're willing to submit to His will.
Gideon's negative response to the Lord's words indicated his lack of faith and spiritual perception. Almighty God told him that He was with him and would make him a conqueror, and Gideon replied by denying everything God said! God would have to spend time with Gideon turning his question marks into exclamation points. Gideon was living by sight, not by faith, and had he remained that way, he would never have been named among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.
b. "Does God know what He's doing?" (Judg. 6:14-24)
It has often been said that "God's commandments are God's enablements." Once God has called and commissioned us, all we have to do is obey Him by faith, and He will do the rest. God cannot lie, and God never fails. Faith means obeying God despite what we see, how we feel, or what the consequences might be. Our modern "practical" world laughs at faith without realizing that people live by faith all day long.
Once God has revealed His will to us, we must never question His wisdom or argue with His plans, "Who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been His counselor? " Can you search out the deep things or God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7) All God's acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time.
When we review God's gracious promises to Gideon, you wonder why this young man wavered in his faith. God promised to be with him. God called him a "Mighty man of valor" and promised that he would save Israel from the Midianites and smite them "as one man" God's word is " the word of faith." Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" But Gideon didn't receive that Word and needed assurance beyond the character of Almighty God.
Gideon asked for a sign to assure him that it was really the Lord who was speaking to him, and the Lord was gracious to accommodate Himself to Gideon's unbelief. Gideon prepared a sacrifice, which was a costly thing to do when food was scarce. An ephah of flour was about half a bushel.
c. " Will God take care of me?"
d. "Does God keep His promises?"
6. ABIMELECH
Abimelech was the son of Gideon, born in a concubine. His mother belonged to Shechem, and the sheckemites made him their leader. He killed 70 sons of Gideon and later destroyed Shechem also. But a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and crushed his skull. According to Abimelech's request, his armorbearer killed him. He judged only 3 years.
7. Tola
Israel again went into idol worship. Therefore God delivered into the hands of Ammonites for 18 years. When they turned to God, he raised Jephthah as their leader.
Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a mighty man of Valour, but he was the son of a harlot. His brothers drove Jephthah out of his house. But, when it came to the point of the war against Ammonites, the elders of Gilead made him their leader. He sent messages to the people of Ammon to make a peaceful solution, but they refused it. Then God's Spirit came upon him, and he made a vow to God that whatever comes out of the house after returned from defeating Ammonites will be offered to God as an offering. Jephtha defeated Ammonites, and when he returned with dancing and timbrels, he met his only daughter coming out of the house to receive him. Though Jephthah was sad, the daughter gave herself up for offering. It is believed that she lived as a virgin all her life, as the killing of human beings is not permitted.
10. Ibzan
He was a Benjamite and had 30 sons and 30 daughters. He judged Israel for 7 years.
11. Elon
He belongs to the tribe of Zebulun. He judged Israel for 10 years.
12. Abdom
He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, who rode on 70 young donkeys. He judged Israel for 8 years.
13. Samson
Philistines afflicted Israel for 40 years. Samon was born at that time as the son of Manoah, belonging to the tribe of Dan. His birth was informed to his parents before, and the child was to be consecrated to God and be a Nazirite from the womb.
No razor shall come upon his head; he could do a lot of might things. When the spirit of God was upon him, he tore a lion, killed 30 philistines, tied 300 foxes by the tail and put torches between them and destroyed the grain of Philistines, killed 1000 philistines who came to bind him with the fresh jawbone of a donkey and took on his shoulders the gate post of Gaza. But his relationship with Delilah led to his downfall. He revealed the secret of his strength to her. She told Philistines that Samson would become weak if he was shaved his head. Thus Philistines caught Samson and bound him with bronze shackles. They set him to grinding grain in prison. At last, Samson cried out to God, and he shook the pillars of the temple of philistines, and the temple fell on their god and all the people. Samson also died there. At his death, he killed more than he had killed in all his life. The reason for Samson's fall was his lust for the flesh. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
14. Eli
He was a High priest who served God in the tabernacle set in Shiloh.
He judged Israel for 40 years. His sons Hopine and Phinehas also were priests. But they were wicked. And defiled the sacrifices offered to God. They were adulterers and never obeyed their father. But Eli never rebuked them, neither did he remove them from the priesthood. Instead, he ate the meat the sons brought, stealing from sacrifices, and Eli grew fat. Though God spoke against him through a man of God, Samuel. Eli never pays attention to it. Meanwhile, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, and the Ark of Covenant was captured. Hopni and phinehas were killed. Eli fell off the seat backward, and he broke his neck and died. His daughter-in-law, the Phinehas wife, gave birth to a son Ichabod and died. Ichabod means no glory. God says Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.
16. Samuel
After the death of Eli, Samuel worked as the prophet, priest, and judge of Israel. He judged Israel until his death. People came back to God. Art of Covenant was captured back from Philistines, and philistines were defeated.
Samuel was a Levite from the descendants of Kohath. He was one of the few biblical characters to have a detailed birth narrative.
His story in the Bible began with a barren woman, Hannah, praying to God for a child. The Bible says, "the Lord remembered her," and she became pregnant. She named the baby Samuel, which in Hebrew means "the Lord hears" or "the name of God." When the boy was weaned, Hannah presented him to God at Shiloh, in the care of Eli, the high priest.
As a child, Samuel served at the tabernacle, ministering to God with the priest Eli. He was a faithful young servant who had God's favor. One night God spoke to Samuel while he was sleeping, and the boy mistook the Lord's voice for Eli's. This happened three times until the old priest realized God was speaking to Samuel.
Samuel grew in wisdom and became a prophet. Following a great Philistine victory over the Israelites, Samuel became a judge and rallied the nation against the Philistines at Mizpah. He established his house at Ramah, riding a circuit to various cities to settle the people's disputes.
Unfortunately, Samuel's sons, Joel and Abijah, who had been delegated to follow him as judges, were corrupt, so the people demanded a king. Samuel listened to God and anointed the first king of Israel, a tall, handsome Benjaminite named Saul.
In his farewell speech, the aged Samuel warned the people to give up idols and serve the true God. He told them if they and King Saul disobeyed, God would sweep them away. But Saul did disobey, offering a sacrifice himself instead of waiting for God's priest, Samuel, to do it.
Again Saul disobeyed God in a battle with the Amalekites, sparing the enemy's king and the best of their livestock when Samuel had ordered Saul to destroy everything. God was so grieved that he rejected Saul and chose another king. Samuel went to Bethlehem and anointed the young shepherd David, son of Jesse. Thus began a years-long ordeal as the jealous Saul chased David through the hills, trying to kill him.
Samuel made yet another appearance to Saul--after Samuel had died! Saul visited a medium, the witch of Endor, ordering her to bring up the spirit of Samuel on the eve of a great battle. In 1 Samuel 28:16-19, that apparition told Saul he would lose the battle, along with his life and the lives of his two sons.
In all of the Old Testament, few people were as obedient to God as Samuel. He was honored as an uncompromising servant in the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11.
Character Strengths of Samuel in the Bible
Samuel was an honest and fair judge, dispensing God's law impartially. As a prophet, he exhorted Israel to turn from idolatry and serve God alone. Despite his personal misgivings, he led Israel from the system of judges to its first monarchy.
Samuel loved God and obeyed without question. His integrity prevented him from taking advantage of his authority. His first loyalty was to God, regardless of what the people or king thought of him.
Weaknesses
While Samuel was spotless in his own life, he did not raise his sons to follow his example. They took bribes and were dishonest rulers.
Lessons From Samuel's Life
Obedience and respect are the best ways we can show God we love him. While the people of his time were destroyed by their own selfishness, Samuel stood out as a man of honor. Like Samuel, we can avoid the corruption of this world if we place God first in our life.
Key Bible Verses
1 Samuel 2:26
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people. (NIV)
1 Samuel 3:19-21
The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. (NIV)
1 Samuel 15:22-23
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams..." (NIV)
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (NIV)
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