The Book Of Judges

Lord, we behold you as our almighty God and as our eternal King. Help us Lord as we open your word to get a good glimpse of you a sovereign as ruling on the throne and Yet whose loving kindness extends to all generations.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right. So today actually in my notes, I have written Joshua. So Barry you're not too far off. It's Judges we are going to be looking at the outline of the book of Judges and we're going to look at Christ as we see through the pages of this particular book this book Covers about 350 years.

So it's not a very short period of time. You have the Pentateuch the first five books as Moses brings the people to the verge of the promised land. We saw last week Joshua where God Enabled the people to enter the land and take these key strategic areas and now all they had to do was to finish the conquest and settle in the land and all these tribes had their portions broken out to them and What they needed to do.

They failed to do and we get to see how God is faithful to them Even as they fail to keep their covenant with him. So when you think of judges, you don't want to be thinking especially little ones don't be thinking of this judge on him on a With a gavel in his hand.

This is like a regional Chieftain like a tribe a warrior that the Lord raises up like a deliverer. I think that would be a better term to be thinking of. We're going to be looking at a bunch of judges in this book and one way to look at this book is when Moses brings the people in the book of Exodus out of Egypt you see deliverance redemption God bringing the people out and Then in the book of Leviticus you get to see how these people who brought their idolatrous Thoughts from the Egyptian land they get purged as they remember how it is it is to worship God.

So they get rescued from Egypt and then they get rescued from idolatry. Now when you look at the book of Joshua and judges God brings the people into the from his promised land. So all these Kingdoms the people in the land are dispossessed and You would think that they would now go to the next level up.

But instead what you see is a regression they actually go back down into the idolatrous worship of the people in the land the very people that were taken out of the land because of their idolatry because of their sexual sins because of their Sacrifice of children to their gods God had taken them out.

But the very people of God now will follow after these false gods. So when you think of the outline of the book, there's three major sections. So you have the prologue in chapters 1 2 and then you have the epilogue.

We have another two sections there from 17 through 21. But right in the middle chapters 3 to 21 you have this series of judges several judges that are bit Mentioned here. Some of them are the major ones.

So we'll look at snapshots of what happens in the lives of each of these judges. And then there are a few minor ones, which we just know that they ruled As God raised them up for this period. So let's dive right into the beginning the prologue.

So in chapter 1 2 you get this introduction and an overview of the book before you can actually read this. Chapter 1 begins really really well. So remember Joshua they've come and Settled in the land and Now they need to go and clear the rest of the people.

So they've all they've been strategically placed. They just needed to finish and drive out the rest of the people and it seems like they start off. Well with chapter 1 verse 1 after the death of Joshua the people inquired who shall go for?

Go up first for us against the Canaanites and the Lord says Judah and they go they win and You seem to think okay. This is it. They've they've inherited the land they can finish this work they can worship their God in peace and all is well.

Sadly, that is not so if you move to chapter 1 verse 27, you get to see what the people did. Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Betshean and so on verse 29 Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Giza.

30 Zebulun did not drive out 31 Asher did not drive out and 33 Naphtali did not drive out and you get to see these these Israelites were very Explicit commands there is a very there's God's purpose in bringing these people here.

Because the land was spewing out the people who were Idolatrous and that filled up their wickedness and God said these people you shall not endure in your midst. You need to drive them out and not intermingle with them and the people Compromise in chapter 1 and so you had chapter 2 read before you where you actually get to see God's perspective on this.

This is not just a question of you know, how do these nations work with one another if you look carefully in chapter 2? Verse 2 you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars and What is it that God sees in the people of?

Israel you have not obeyed My voice you remember in Joshua it is God's power. So uniquely in each of these battles that was driving out all the people before them this generation had seen what God had done.

And yet when they when they needed to continue this work the next generation as we read in chapter 2. They had forgotten the power of God just as in Exodus. The people saw the work of God in redeeming them and very soon in the wilderness their bodies were strewn.

So also here right after seeing Joshua and the power of God through Joshua. Now this next generation comes and they follow after these false gods and so in verses 16 and beyond. You get to see The rule of God amongst a Decadent people the people of God who ought to have worshiped God and exalted him.

They've come into this land and they were supposed to keep God's name as a light and to be Exemplifying the holiness of God, but these are the very people who corrupted themselves with the land and God says I will Resist you.

And you will see that my hand is against you and yet I will not abandon you. So God's hand is with his people even in their sin rescuing them and turning them turning them back toward himself. In fact chapter 2 is a summary of the rest of the book.

So what you see in this book is repeated over and over and again over these 350 years. So the people of God instead of worshiping God they follow after the gods of their land so they're they're morally corrupt and their worship practices are after these bails because they Do not know the holiness of their God and when they go after these gods God raises up these nations.

It is not just A natural circumstance. This is God's sovereign rule in bringing up these nations against his people. So these people see the consequence of this and this is exactly what he promised in the mosaic conditional covenant you obey me I will bless you.

You reject me and I will bring he there is a there is a sequence of Curses and it culminates with uh, the nations rising up against and ultimately for them to go off into exile. So God brings up these nations.

And then the people feel the weight of suffering and pain and so we we read here in chapter 2 there is groaning that goes up to God and they repent of their sin and as they Repent God raises up these judges these individuals In whom you will see that the spirit of God comes upon and for that time period Uses this judge to lead the people and to rescue them from their oppressors.

So there is a temporal Easement if you will of the pain as God directly gets involved to see to show them that he is still God in their midst and so there is a there is a rejoicing as the people get to see deliverance but very soon they go back into that cycle sin and Nations oppressing and then another judge and then back to rejoicing.

So this cycle is what repeats over and over again over these several generations. Leading up to the point when you will have kings ruling over Israel, so that's the prologue so it gives you an overview.

The Prologue and the Cycle of Sin in Judges 1–2

So now let's look at chapters 3 to 16. We're going to look at very quickly several of these judges. And get a sense of what was going on. So in chapter 3 you get to see the first judge and actually before we look at it Just as between joshua and judges you get to see this one within one generation the people abandoning the land.

Judge after judge after judge you're going to see in the beginning. The judges are okay but very soon These judges themselves start getting corrupted toward the very end you think are these men even believers you you get to see a slide even in the leaders that god calls to himself to redeem his people and god is faithful despite the wickedness of these judges and.

And really the epilogue that you get to see is there is this spiral downward that happens in the life of the judges. And then all of the people Are reflecting this moral chaos that happens. So as We come to the last two events in the book of judges you get look and see.

Uh, these are like people from sodom and gomorrah. This is just a completely Uh a people who do not seem to know the god who had rescued them. So let's begin with the first judge in chapter 3 and chapter 3 you get to see Othniel and Othniel.

In fact before we start there, we have joshua and caleb. These are the only two men who come into the Promised land. Joshua dies at 110 caleb. We get to see a little bit of him as he goes at age 80 and takes over uh, the hill country the giants the anik anikim and uh here in chapter 1 again, you get to see his daughter inheriting part of the land and Othniel is actually caleb's nephew and He is raised up as the king of mesopotamia comes up against the people of israel.

So here you want to be thinking I have maps here. You can look at it afterward but in the southern or southwestern side. You have othniel who comes up as a judge and he rescues the people and the people have relief all through the time of othniel for 40 years we see in judges chapter 3 verse 11 then after uh Othniel we have ehud and he does that kind of exciting story where you have the people oppressed.

They don't really have any means to fight and then this man is raised up and he uh, And the king that comes up against them is uh, eglon the king of moab. You want to be thinking moab in the southern side by the dead sea south?

Uh eastern if you will and he comes against and then Ehud is this left-handed guy and he goes up to uh, king eglon's Palace, he gives him his tribute and then they're on the upper cool chamber. And then he says well, I have a message for your king and the king sends everybody out and it's like oh, what is it?

Maybe I have a little gift and I well, this is the message from the lord and out comes the sword in goes it through this fat man's belly and The hilt disappears, this is a pretty gruesome Assassination if you will and god uses ehud to rally the people to himself and then they have deliverance through this judge.

Then you have a another judge shamgar. It just doesn't say much. He just uses an ox goad a pointed tip for oxen. He kills 600 people. And the point about these judges is you can see that none of the things they do they could have done on their own.

They have a supernatural power Given to them from god. How they use that power is not necessarily commented on remember again as we saw with joshua. This is a descriptive book. It doesn't necessarily endorse everything that is said so don't go assassinating people, but this just tells you that this is a Work of god.

There's no one else who could have done these things because god Empowers these people to rule for a season and remember it's a sin cycle. It's nothing to do about these other nations. Versus israel. It's about the holiness of god and the purity of his people and god is demonstrating that he is still on the throne.

Even when the people his subjects reject him and then in chapters four and five we get to see the story of deborah and barrack so deborah is this uh prophetess and she's uh, she's judging the land and uh the king this time that they have to contend with is Jabin and he is an hazar.

Hazar if you remember is when joshua came into the battle. There were two campaigns the southern and the northern. The northern campaign was against hazar. And they defeated the king of hazar. But now this few generations later, they have this king jabin who's a very powerful king.

He has chariots and he has cicera who is his commander-in-chief who's driving the war against the people. And so the word of the lord comes to deborah uh. The call goes out to barrack and barrack says sure if the lord calls me I will go what kind of a judge is this?

Well, I will go. Not in the strength of the lord. But if you come with me deborah and you can just see the kind of confidence that barrack has uh in the lord. Going forward and so deborah says just for that very reason cicera will not fall in your hand.

But in the hand of a woman and you know the story so this uh cicera comes with all his chariots. And he is Humanly speaking impossible for the israelites to have defeated them. We're not given a detailed account of how that happens.

But what we find out is that god's hand was upon these people. Cicera is routed completely that he has to just flee on foot and as he's running away and hiding uh jail this lady. Uh, she is approach. She approaches him.

He wants some refuge. She says sure come along hides him in the tent gives him milk instead of just water and then as he is sleeping. A tent pig in the temple and he's gone. And you get a little bit of a hint of what happened in the war in deborah's song of praise where she talks about this little stream that Poetically is described as being mighty and we don't exactly know what happened.

Was there a mighty flood in a very small stream that normally doesn't happen? However, it was god came and rescued through this deborah and barak and jail was the instrument of Defeat of cicera. So again, you get to see another season in the northern Side deborah herself is from the center of israel, but the war is against the king of hazor.

And so you have the next next judge deborah and barak. Then you have gideon and this is a story we are all very familiar with chapter six through eight. Gideon is an enigma. You want to be thinking about what is going on with gideon.

Gideon is fighting which nation. The medianites yes now we know these nations that are there. So this is two more to the west and north and these are the medianites who are oppressing the people they are oppressing them so badly that uh Israel, you know land flowing with milk and honey.

They are having all this harvest. There's plenty of food and Except they can't eat it. The medianites would come and they would take them all and go away. In fact when we get to see median Gideon for the first time let's turn to chapter six.

In fact, I forgot to mention in chapter two As barry was reading the angel of the lord. Who is it? It is a theophany once again because you have the angel saying I Referring to himself to as god in the first person and this is again christ.

Uh in the midst of his people judging his people and declaring how he is going to deal with them in this land. And so in gideon six you get to see Uh in verse 11 the angel of the lord came and sat under the terebinth at or ofra.

That belonged to joash the abbey is right while his son gideon was beating out the wheat In the winepress to hide it from the medianites. You got to remember this. Uh threshing floor normally on the top of the hill, you know.

Where there's a lot of wind while you do this the chaff can go away, but gideon is undercover winepress hidden down small place. Sweaty dusty he's probably I heard my wife say irritated, uh, probably with all this stuff going on in his eyes and That is where we find gideon for the first time.

And verse 12 says the angel of the lord appeared to him and said to him the lord Yahweh is with you. Who are you oh mighty man of valor. Mighty man of valor. Uh, it's kind of strange to call someone a man of valor when he's kind of hiding in the wine press.

And uh threshing out his grain and then there is this conversation that uh, gideon has with the lord. Uh, why then is these things happening, you know, where are all his wondrous deeds that his father's counted Recounted to us saying did not the lord bring us up from egypt.

But now the lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian and then the lord says Go in this might of yours and save israel from the hand of midian. Do not I? Send you so here you have this calling of media of gideon.

Who is not really a very brave person and then you get to see a few Events in the life of gideon the first one if you remember, uh, if you as you go further down the passage. First of all, it is made clear that this is the angel of the lord.

He Consumes the offering that is given to him. And then you get to see the altar of baal. In fact, gideon has another name. It's called jerub baal because he is going to destroy the altar of baal. And in fact, even that he would he is commanded to because fighting the army of the midianites is not really a one of physical power prowess or Army strategy.

It is one of trusting god that god would deliver the people of israel from his hand. And so the first thing that needs to be done with is repentance. Remember that cycle sin deliverer repentance. And then you get to see the rescue from the people so gideon goes and in the night as a man of valor that he is destroys the Pillar that is dedicated to baal and then you get to see this engagement Gideon and his dad talking with the rest of the townspeople the townspeople want to go and Prosecute the one who has done this and then gideon's dad says well if baal is that strong Why doesn't he defend himself?

And so that there begins that return to seeking the lord for strength. And then you have the end of chapter 6 and I think you know till I came here. I didn't know how Sad this sign is that gideon asks so now gideon is to go against the midianites.

These mighty soldiers that he's scared of and he hides in the winepress and he says well i'll go but um I need I need more proof that you are with me lord. And so he has this fleece. Um, the fleece gets wet not the rest of the land and then the land gets west not the fleece and so these two signs he asks for just to Boost his confidence if you will and you might think well.

Is the word of the lord not enough for you gideon? And god could have rebuked him just as he rebukes moses. In fact, there is a conversation not very different in in what moses has of what gideon has with The lord as moses did maybe not me.

I'm kind of the least of all of these people but god even Shows his favor upon gideon and his weakness and then Does some remarkable things and I think you know for all his weakness you got you want to think of in chapter 7 What god accomplishes through this Mighty man of valor in quotes the guy who is a coward so you get to see in chapter 7 God calls jerub baal.

And then that's gideon and then he takes them out into the camp. And so he is right there by their side. They're now going to be in battle. They have 22 32 000 people from israel that are gathered together and so You'd think okay 32 000 people.

Maybe we can come up with a strategy and fight these people like joshua did when he went into war. But god has a different plan. Well, you wanted fleece. Gideon Let me show you something more powerful send all those people who are scared away.

You have 10 000 left. That's a lot of people that you Saw disappear. You can just imagine what the rest remaining people are thinking of and then gideon's probably thinking Well, the fleece kind of tells me my god is with me but 10 000.

Well gideon, you're not done yet. We need that also down. So, you know that it is the lord who does this work and not the people and so he has this very unique Sifting of the people in the way in which they drink the water and then you have only 300 that are left 300 left 300 people to go against the army of the medianites.

And so here you get to see you can just imagine if you are in gideon's shoes the kind of guy who's in the wine press the kind of guy who is Looking for the fleece the kind of guy who just is in the night destroying the altar to bail 300 people what can you do and god is a god who understands the weakness of Gideon and he says, you know gideon.

I kind of know where you are. Just go into the camp. And you will kind of know what's happening in your enemy's side. Spy it out. Oh, by the way, if you're scared take your servant with you gideon takes a servant with him.

This is the kind of guy gideon is but he goes there and he hears the soldiers talking to one another. And about how god was going to do this thing and destroy the medianites and gideon is like what 300 people?

What do you know? But he comes back encouraged because he knows that god is doing something in the enemy camp. Just as he did when god brought the joshua and the israelites several generations ago. So that's exactly what is happening and gideon has a sense of there is something supernatural there is god moving in our midst and so these 300 men come they have this uh pot the jar with the Candle, uh the torch in them.

They don't have a uh, They have a trumpet, but they don't have a space for a sword. Uh, at least ehud had one sword for his left hand. Here are people surrounding the camp 300 men and they burst the Jars, and they say a sword for the lord and for gideon.

And the lord does the rest. Can you imagine you're one of those 300 people surrounding an army of several hundred thousand and these people. You have no sword to fight with but your confidence is in the lord and the lord delivers them.

Remarkably, he turns the people one against another and these people decimate themselves and the remaining people gideon and his 300 men. Will follow and destroy now, you know. You almost want that story to end right there.

It's like yes weak man. Empowered by god rescues the people. Not so there are a few other things that happen in gideon's life and you remember this is a spiral that goes down. Gideon is probably the first one where you get to see that directly.

Uh, you already start to see internal strife among the tribes the land of sukkoth, uh instead of helping gideon in his chase. They refuse to give food because the people that gideon is chasing those kings are pretty powerful.

And if they find out that if gideon is destroyed those kings are going to come back and destroy sukkoth so the people of sukkoth have to say do I help gideon and trust the lord of israel or should I Stack my bets against the kings of.

That gideon is going after and they decide to go with the losing side. Gideon does destroy the kings. He comes back and he flays these men with thorns and then he destroys the men of the land. Uh in the tower of penuel and you kind of get to see what kind of judges we will have where people have personal vendettas.

Spill out into the land that they themselves are meant to judge but they are not remember these judges are not national leaders. They are regional leaders and uh, but the thing is right after this battle the people say well gideon.

Why don't you be our king and gideon does the right thing? No, I will not be the king. The lord is your king. I didn't rescue these people. There is the lord who rescued these people you need to look up to him but you know, give me some gold and i'll make this ephod and he makes an ephod of.

That will be a snare to him and to the people Of the land. So, uh, if you look in chapter 8 verse 24 Let me make a request of you every one of you. Give me. Give me the earrings of his foil. They said we will willingly give them the weight of the golden earrings was 17 1700 shekels of gold and he made an ephod and put it in the city.

And all israel hoed after it there and it became a snare to gideon and his family. Median was a the nation of median was a. Israel was rescued from median but gideon and his family now start to Follow worship this idol that they've created and that was not the last of gideon's problems.

He had several wives just like solomon did and even david did and he has 70 sons and the very next So-called judge that comes up is abimelech. One of his the sons of his concubines who would kill the rest of his sons.

You kind of get to see the politics. Enter into the land. It's my power. I want to be the King, in fact abimelech means my father the king even though gideon said I don't want to be a king. Abimelech presumes upon himself and he rules and he's the one.

For those of you who know those stories. Who gets uh crushed in his head with a millstone that a woman throws? He says, you know, I don't want to be called as a guy who died with a woman's hand and he asks Uh to be thrust through with a sword and he is but we still know him as a guy who was killed by a woman abimelech.

Not a good name we see this name again later. Um, then we have two two other judges tallah and jay. And then we come in chapter 11 to jefta and jefta is this, uh, wild man, uh, in fact, you get to see that he's surrounded by a bunch of ragtag people, um, probably criminals, but uh, he is a.

He's a strong guy. So the ammonites this time these ammonites are from the east of the land and they are oppressing the people and so the people come to Uh jefta and say hey, can you help us? What you are the guys who kick me out of the place?

Why do you want me to come? But well, well, well, you know, we are in trouble. We need your help. Please come and Rescue us so jefta comes and he says, you know. You don't want to turn your back on me when the when I rescue you and they say sure that's fine.

You can lead us and they do keep their word to him, but jefta. It looks like he begins with this diplomacy. He actually starts to Discuss with the king of amun. What is it that you're talking about? What land is it that you think we have taken from you?

And he does a pretty good job of describing what it is that israel did how they were in egypt. They came back. They went through um, and uh, the king of amun is not buying it and then they go to war and jefta rescues.

But before he wins jefta makes this rash valve. To the lord he says Lord you give me uh, let's actually look at it in Chapter 11 verse 29. Then the spirit of the lord was upon jefta and he passed through gilead and manasseh and misbah of gilead and and On to the land on to the amanites.

And he made a valve to the lord and said if you will give me give the amanites into my hand. Then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me. When I return in peace from the amanites shall be the lords and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

So here is this valve that jefta makes. Seems like a very pious thing but a very foolish thing. In fact, the first thing that comes out of his house is his only daughter and uh, he is saddened his daughter is saddened, but it says that he Um went through with the valve in verse 39 at the end of two months.

Uh who did with her according to the to his valve that he had made? Um commentators Seemed to differ on what exactly he did. Did he actually sacrifice her which would be abhorrent to the lord? That's the kind of the practice of the canaanites or was she a virgin and remained single the rest of her life.

Whatever way it was he Foolishly vows not recognizing the kind of god that he used to worship. What ought he to have done? Remember exodus and levity because there was a prescribed means of worship to god and here It seems like the knowledge of god and his worship is dying in the land.

And then uh, and with jefta as well you get to see a conflict that happens with the iframites not very different from that of gideon and uh the. There is this quabbling between the tribes that starts to rise up During the time of the judges where they no longer see themselves as a people of god as brothers.

But rather as each one uh vying for his own strength and then you have a few other judges, uh, ibzan alon and abdon but then you come to uh, samson the last of the infamous judges in this book chapters 13 to 16 you get to see Samson and this is probably the judge that is given the most detail in terms of how the lord is Sovereignly involved in the life of samson right from this very early age.

In fact jefta is in hebrews 11 so is Samson and in fact if not for hebrews 11, you'd have a very difficult time recognizing these men as men who trusted in the god Who rescued israel, but samson here he begins in chapter 13 once again.

The cycle begins verse one people did what was evil in the sight of the lord. It gives them to the hand of the philistines for 40 years philistines. You remember again is in the south West of israel and this would be the people that king saul will fight when the kings come into the land.

But there you have in verse three the angel of the lord appeared to the woman Who was barren the wife of manoah and said to her you are barren have not born children. But you shall conceive and bear a son.

He shall be a nazirite um, and So there is a very specific instruction how this Baby, this child is to be reared up in holiness. And the child is anything but once again, we get to see this angel of the lord is again the pre-incarnate Theophany of jesus christ and in fact manoah, uh says in verse 22.

We shall surely die for we have seen god. But that was not the intent god comes here to bless them with this son samson. And without going through in detail what happens in the life of samson. I think if you are thinking of how can evil Fulfill the purposes of god you get to see it in no In in stark terms in the life of samson.

Samson um. One of my professors said he man with the she problem. He has like a real weakness for women. Uh, he goes to timnah sees a philistine woman. He wants to marry her. We get to see him later with a prostitute all night.

And then we get to see him with delilah when he will lose his strength. Uh in the first case he has this affection for this lady and he His parents tell him you are not to marry a philistine woman. You need to marry within The people of god.

I want her you get her that was what samson tells his parents no honor for his parents uh, no regard for the law of god and even as he Fulfills his selfish desires and going after this woman. You see the circumstances that come out as god uses the willful Disobedience of samson to bring about the destruction of the philistines among whom he will be Present so you see him killing some of these philistines in anger selfish anger.

You will see him destroy the harvest with those 300 foxes with their torches tied behind them. Uh, you will see him with his. Uh, and the philistines are now looking after samson. He goes in there and in the night.

He just goes takes out the Gates of gaza and walks around, you know, in fact one of my professors thought samson probably wasn't this mighty strong guy. He was probably just thin weird looking guy who was just supernaturally strengthened by the lord.

That's why when you see him doing all these things you're like, how can this be? How does this guy kill a lion with his bare hands? How does this guy carry the gates of his city up the hill and. So you get to see his personal vendetta is what the lord uses to destroy the philistines and it it progresses from one to the other until he comes to delilah and then.

It's a tragic story where You get to see this his sinful desire culminate in revealing to this pagan woman the source of his strength he no longer sees this gift from god as As holy but rather says, you know, here is what it is.

I'm a nazirite devoted to the lord. And he loses his strength as the lord departs from him. His eyes are gouged out he is brought into this place where he is a object of derision and. And right at the very end the lord he prays to the lord for deliverance, let's actually just read that in chapter 16.

Chapter 16 verse 28 samson called to the lord and said oh lord god. In fact in verse 27, there are 3 000 men and women who are looking on while samson entertained. This is really not a good place to be.

Uh, this they worship the god dagon. This is again a A filthy environment in which samson is he says oh lord god, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once oh god that I That I may be avenged on the philistines for my two eyes.

And samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested and he rested and he leaned his weight against them. His right hand on one and his left hand on the other and he said let me die with the philistines.

He bowed with all his strength and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

And that's the tragic end of the last recorded judge in this book you get to see. In this 350 years these people have completely lost their love for god. Their desire for holiness and purity. They have only their selfish desires foremost in the promised land.