BBS 103 Historical Books Notes 3

Judges
Outline:
I. Introduction to and summary of the Judges period (1–2)
II. The judges cycles (3–16)
A. Othniel (3:7–11)
B. Ehud (3:12–30)
C. Deborah (4–5)
D. Gideon (6–8)
E. Abimelech (9)
F. Jephthah (11–12)
G. Samson (13–16)
III. Two narratives of extreme depravity (17–21)
A. Dan’s migration and idolatry (17–18)
B. The Levite, his concubine, and Benjamin’s judgment (19–21)

Themes: Idolatry, Canaanite influence, Israel’s unfaithfulness, God’s mercy,

deliverance, depravity, God using the weak and flawed

People and events: Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, victories over various people
groups

The book of Judges begins just after the conquest in the days of Joshua, and concludes
just before the time of Samuel. It thus forms a bridge between two significant
developments in the kingdom of Israel: taking the land, and the introduction of kings.
This period likely lasted between 250 and 400 years.

THE HISTORICAL SITUATION

 At the beginning of this period, much of the land had been conquered by the
Israelites, but a number of cities and people groups remain unconquered
 The Israelites had some successes but also some failures in further attempts at
conquest
 Throughout the book, some of the Canaanites remain in the land, and neighboring
people groups frequently invade and oppress the Israelites as well
 Toward the end of the Judges period the Philistines rise to dominance on the
coast, and they begin to invade inland where the Israelites are located

THE MESSAGE OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES

Judges focuses on the state of the covenant relationship during the early centuries in
the land of Canaan prior to the rise of kings. It highlights a contrast between God’s
faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness:
 Joshua focuses on God’s fulfillment of his covenant promises. It highlights
God’s faithfulness.

Judges focuses on Israel’s failure to respond properly to God’s gifts by

remaining loyal to him. It highlights Israel’s unfaithfulness.

The message of the book, then, is that Israel’s oppression by foreign nations is their
fault, not God’s.

The Introduction to the Book in Judges 1:1 – 3:6

The book begins with two “introductions”:

1. The first introduction (1:1–2:5) deals with Israel’s military failures, organized
from south to north. These failures are portrayed as a violation of the
command to destroy the Canaanites.
2. The second introduction (2:6–3:6) deals with Israel’s religious failures, and
introduces the “cycle” throughout the book. The main religious problem is
highlighted in the last two verses of the introduction in 3:5–6…

The book’s diagnosis of the problem: Canaanite influence on Israel

“So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to
themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they
served their gods.” (3:5–6)

There are three problems highlighted in these verses:

1. Lived among the Canaanites

2. Intermarried with Canaanites

3. Served their gods

God had warned his people that if they did not completely drive the Canaanites from
the land, the Canaanites would influence Israel negatively – and this is precisely what
happens. The primary problem of influence is that the Israelites were enticed to
worship Canaanite gods alongside Yahweh, a violation of the first and greatest
command (see also Deut 6:4). In summary, instead of Israel influencing the nations as
was God’s design, the nations are influencing them. The “Canaanites would not be so
much a military threat as a spiritual cancer.” (Davis, Judges, 24)

Contemporary Relevance: Our mission as Christians today is also to be “salt and

light,” influencing culture with the truth of the Gospel and holy living. However,
we too face this same challenge of being influenced by the surrounding, ungodly
culture rather than being the ones who are doing the influencing.

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Continual covenant violation in the Judges “Cycles”: Judges 3–16
In response to God’s gift of the land along with its many blessings, the people must
obey the King and owner of the land to maintain it, but instead the nation of Israel
repeatedly violates the covenant by worshipping other gods.

The period of the “judges” is presented as a series of repeated cycles in Judges 3–16:
1. Israel “does evil in the eyes of the Lord” (2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1)
2. God becomes angry and gives them over to foreign oppressors
a. They are violating the covenant blatantly, so he begins to bring some
of the covenant curses against them
3. In the depths of despair, Israel cries out to the Lord for help
a. Note, though, that this is not necessarily heart-felt repentance, not
necessarily sorrow for their sin and turning from it and back to God. It
appears that they are simply expressing pain in their circumstances,
wanting the suffering to end.
4. Yahweh responds and sends them a deliverer, sometimes said to be
empowered by the Holy Spirit for this task
5. Finally, there is a period of peace and the enemy is subdued as the deliverer
continues to judge Israel

Two stories of depravity: Judges 17–21

The book concludes with two narratives in Judges 17–21 that are not focused on
national deliverances or judges, but illustrate the depravity present in Israel by this
time:

1. Story 1: The roots of northern idolatry as Dan looks for a new home (Judges
17–18)
a. This illustrates a complete failure to “love God with all your being,” a
complete breakdown of the religious order

2. Story 2: A gruesome account of homosexuality, gang rape, civil war, murder,

kidnapping, and general mistreatment of women (Judges 19–21)
a. This illustrates a complete failure to “love your neighbor as yourself,”
a complete breakdown of the social order

The need for a king

The end of the book of Judges anticipates the next “chapter” in the story of the Bible
by repeatedly noting the lack of a human king at the time:

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own
eyes.” (17:6)

“In those days there was no king in Israel…” (18:1)

“In those days, when there was no king in Israel…” (19:1)

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own
eyes.” (21:25)

It is not very clear, though, what the author means to suggest:

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 Is he optimistic that a human king could bring religious and social order to this
chaos? Is he anticipating David?
 Or is the main point that they are living as if they have no king at all, disregarding
God’s divine Kingship?

THE CHARACTER OF THE “JUDGES”

In general, the judges are different from Moses and Joshua in that they have no
discernible spiritual role within Israel. These are simply random (and unlikely) men
(and women) whom God raises up to bring about political and military deliverance.

1. Othniel (3:7–11):

2. Ehud (3:12–30):
Positive:led them to conquest
Mesapotamia -8yrs restl Negative: continued sin/temporal peace/
Not a lasting solution

3. Deborah (4–5):
Positive:ju Negative:

4. Gideon (6–9)
Positive: Negative:

5. Jephthah (11–12)
Positive: Negative:

6. Samson (13–16)
Positive: Negative:

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Conclusion: The judges themselves get worse with time and increasingly seek power
for selfish reasons. Rather than providing a positive influence within Israel they
reflect and contribute to the progressive moral and spiritual decline in Israel.

What does Judges teach us about God?

Based on the narratives from this period, a great deal could be said about human
nature. Perhaps even more could be highlighted in terms of God and his character.
However, the main points that must be grasped are the following:

 Despite Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness, God remains faithful to his commitment

to them
 We see God’s character from Exod 34:6–7 on display:
 “Yahweh, Yahweh, a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and
great in covenant kindness and faithfulness, keeping covenant kindness for
thousands of generations, forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin…”
 God is forgiving, merciful and gracious to continue to deliver Israel over
and over and over and over…even though they continue to turn back to
false gods and do not learn their lesson
 This grace is even more striking if we are to conclude that there was no
true repentance each time they “cried out to God”
 God is slow to anger, continuing to bear with his people for hundreds of
years in the judges period as they continue to fail
 “…but he certainly will not leave the guilty unpunished, avenging the sin of
the fathers upon the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth
generation.”
 God does punish his people repeatedly for their sin by sending foreign
oppressors against them
 But this is not the “final word,” and even the acts of judgment could be
said to be manifestations of God’s grace since foreign oppression had the
effect of turning the people back to him in some fashion

Other things that Judges teaches us about God:

 God is sovereign:
 He has complete control over the movements and rise and fall of nations,
using other people groups to punish his people, and then defeating them when
Israel cries out to him
 God delights in using those whom we would least expect him to use

Contemporary Relevance: This should be an encouragement to us that we do

not need to be especially talented

 God sometimes works through people not because of their moral goodness but
despite their lack of godly character
 This is not an excuse to ignore our own growth in godliness, but we do see in
the Bible that God works through people despite their flaws and even their sin

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Contemporary Relevance: We should of course pay careful attention to our
growth in godliness, but there is comfort for us in knowing that our ongoing
struggles with sin do not necessarily disqualify us from being used in ministry