Judges: A History of Rebellion, Retribution, Repentance, and Rest

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  1. A Look at the Book

    1. Name - from the 12 principle characters of the book who served as God’s mouthpiece and deliverers to the Israelites. They were: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah & Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson.

    2. Author - probably Samuel. The record of Eli and Samuel, the last two Judges, is not recorded until 1 Samuel.

    3. Date - probably during the reign of Saul @ 1000 B.C.

    4. Overview - Judges spans about 350 years and contains a record of 7 judges raised up by God to deliver Israel from 7 captivities by 7 heathen nations resulting from 7 apostasies.

  2. Key Passages:

    1. Judges 2:11-19 - the book of Judges in miniature

    2. Judges 17:6; 21:45 - "there was no king in Israel, every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

  3. Key People & Events

    1. Failure to drive out the Canaanites - 1:19-35

    2. Curse of God pronounced - 2:1-3

    3. Othniel - 1st judge (3:9), nephew/son-in-law of Caleb (1:12-13)

    4. Ehud - killed Eglon, the fat king of Moab (3:12 - 4:1)

    5. Deborah & Barak - (4:4 - 5:31)

      1. Deborah was first a prophetess, then judge (4:4).

      2. She went with Barak to defeat Sisera, but did not lead the Israelites in battle - (4:9-24)

      3. Barak, not Deborah, is mentioned in Hebrews 11:32

    6. Gideon - Judges 6 - 8

      1. Called by God to deliver the Israelites from Midian

      2. Asked for signs of proof

      3. With God’s help, delivered the Israelites with 300 men against 135,000 Midianites.

      4. Refuses to become king

    7. Abimelech - Judges 9

      1. 1st "king" of Israel (9:1-6)

      2. Jotham’s fable (9:7-15 - difference b/w fable & parable)

      3. Delivered into the hands of a woman

    8. Jephthah - Judges 10:6 - 12:7

      1. Called to deliver Israel from the Ammonites (10:17-18)

      2. Son of a harlot and a family outcast (11:1-3)

      3. Recalled to fight Ammon (11:5-10)

      4. Sought dialogue with the king of the Ammonites (11:13)

      5. Jephthah sets the record staight (11:14-27)

      6. Jephthah’s foolish vow (11:30-31)

      7. What does it mean when it said, "he did with her according to his vow which he had vowed"? (11:39)

    9. Samson - Judges 13 -16

      1. Samson’s birth foretold to Manoah and his wife (13:2-23)

      2. Samson’s woman problems:

        1. Samson chooses a Philistine woman as a wife (14:1-19)

        2. She marries another after Samson’s fit of anger (14:20)

        3. Samson takes revenge with 300 foxes

        4. The Philistines can’t leave well-enough alone:

          1. kill Samson’s wife and father in law (15:6)

          2. Samson takes revenge on them (15:7-8)

          3. Judah delivers Samson into their hands (15:9:14)

          4. Samson slays 1000 w/ the jawbone of an ass (15:15)

      3. More woman problems - Delilah (16:4-20)

    10. Micah - Judges 17-18

      1. Stole 1100 pieces of silver from his mother (17:1-4)

      2. Was a gross idolater (17:5)

      3. Had a false view of God’s blessings (17:13)

    11. The near destruction of Benjamin - Judges 19-21

      1. Levite and his concubine (19:15)

      2. The hospitality of the man of Gibeah (19:16-21)

      3. The wickedness of the Benjaminites (19:22-28)

      4. The Israelites war against Benjamin (20:1-48)

      5. Wives found for the 600 survivors (21:8-23)

 

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