Judges

Judges

The story of the 12 Tribes of Israel living in the Promised Land of Cannan, and having constant conflict with the Cannanties and Philistines. The book represents the repeated cycle of how God’s people lived at peace, then they sin/accept corruption, there was oppression, then repentance, then deliverance and more peace. There are many examples of God using men and women as Judges/Leaders of the people, going to God and helping to facilitate repentance and deliverance. I carved a few of my favorite stories, but there are many more.

1-2 The 12 tribes live in the promised land according to their allocation by Joshua. There is a list of worldly, ungodly and corrupt people groups living in the land because they were not fully driven out as God commanded. The Israelite people begin to adopt their pagan ways. The author describes the cycle of Sin, Oppression, Repentance, Deliverance through a Judge, and Peace… only to happen all over again.

3-5 – Otheniel, Ehud, Deborah & Jael. Ehud assassinated the pagan king Eglon by driving a dagger into his fat belly, soo deep that it swallows the blade up to the hilt. Deborah leads an army against the pagan king Sisera, and defeats his armies. Jael drives a tent peg into Sisera’s head while he is sleeping. There is a song/poem written and recorded about Deborahs accomplishments.

6-9 – The story of Gideon. Gideon is called to be a Judge. He lays out a fleece before God as a litmus test of what he should do. If it is wet in the morning and there is no dew, or if there is dew in the morning and the fleece is dry. One time he selects fighters by the way they choose to drink water from a stream. He fights many battles and defeats a huge army of Midianites with only three hundred men, carrying torches and clay pots. At the end of his life he gets prideful. He slays fellow Israelites who don’t help him fight battles, and he ends up making a golden image from all the gold he won in battles, and the people bow down to it.

10-12 The Story of Jeptha. Jeptha fights many battles against the ammonites and the people follow him. But he makes a terrible vow to sacrifice his teenage daughter if he wins a battle. This is a pagan practice, and Jeptha falls tragically prey to the customs of the pagans. He has forgotten the character of his own God.

13-16 – The story of Samson. Samson wins many battles, but he is promiscuous, violent and arrogant. He slays thousands of Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. As a Nazarene, he has promised God that he will never cut his hair, and God gives him incredible strength. He succumbs to the tempting of a beautiful philistine woman named Delilah. She cuts his hair, and he is captured by the Philistines, blinded and imprisoned for years. At the end God gives him his strength back, and he is able to push down the pillars of the palace where he was on display, killing many Philistines.

17-21 – Judges concludes with several stories of how Israel has forgotten their God.  There is much evil, sexual abuse, violence, and eventually civil war.  “In those days Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”