Judges Survey of the Old Testament: The Prophets Fall 2005

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The Cycle of the Judges (3:7 – 16:31)

The Cycles Outlined

The body of the book of Judges falls into a predicable cyclical pattern. This cycle is outlined in the chapter 2.

1. The sons of Israel do evil in the sight of the Lord (2:11-13).
2. The anger of the Lord is kindled. The Lord sells them to their enemies (2:14).
3. Israel is distressed & cries out to the Lord (2:15).
4. God raises a judge to deliver (2:16).
5. The judge delivers (2:16-18).
6. The land rests until the judge dies (2:19).

The book uses this pattern to highlight the rule of six specific judges. There are two trends as this pattern is repeated. First, the narratives get progressively longer. The story of Othniel is 5 verses long. The story of Samson is several chapters long. Secondly, the judges become more corrupt and farther from God.

These cycles are actually more of a downward spiral. The early judges, Othniel and Ehud are faithful leaders. However, Gideon and Jephthah are seriously flawed and inconsistent in their worship of the Lord. By the time we get to the last judge, Samson, we see the cycle break-down completely as he fails to deliver Israel from the Philistines and ends up actually killing more Philistines in his death than when he was alive.

Othniel (3:7 – 3:11)

The Cycle Begins

The cycle begins within a generation after the death of Joshua. The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and began worshipping Baal and Asheroth, the Canaanite fertility god and goddess. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and so He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. Israel cried out to the Lord, so God sent them the first judge to deliver them.

Character of Othniel

The first judge is Othniel, who is the nephew of Caleb. Over 40 years prior to this, right after Israel had escaped from slavery in Egypt, Caleb was one of 12 spies sent by Moses to assess the situation in the Promised Land. As recounted in Numbers 13, only Caleb and Joshua trusted in the promises of the Lord and said that Israel could take the land. The rest of the spies doubted that Israel had the military might to conquer the land. This lack of belief led to 40 more years of wandering in the wilderness before the nation entered and began conquering the Promised Land.

God had promised Israel that he would drive out the inhabitants if Israel would only be willing to capture it. Those who believed this and trusted in this promise were very successful in taking the land. But many of the Israelite tribes only captured some of the land they were allotted due to their lack of trust. Othniel, however, was not one such man.

Othniel had the same faith as his uncle/father-in-law. Caleb promised that anyone who captured the city of Kiriath-sepher would be given his daughter in marriage. Othniel took up the challenge and thus married Caleb's daughter (Joshua 15:16-17, Judges 1:12-13). Othniel trusted in the promises of the Lord and was rewarded for it.

Now as the first recorded judge, Othniel again goes to war and after eight years of oppression by the king of Mesopotamia, he drives out the foreign invader. Othniel continues as judge for 40 years, and the land rests under his rule.

The Spirit of the Lord

Othniel, while being a courageous and faithful man, also had the Spirit of the Lord come upon him (Judges 3:10). This is a common thing for the judges, and it illustrates a significant difference between Old Testament and New Testament saints. Throughout the Old Testament we see that the Spirit comes upon only certain people for the accomplishment of certain tasks. Most of the judges, the prophets and even some of the kings of Israel receive the Spirit at least for a time. However, in the New Testament, beginning in Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit come upon all believers. In the Old Testament, the Spirit comes on only select individuals and only temporarily. In the New Testament, the Spirit indwells and guides all believers (Romans 8:9).

This means that the same Spirit of God who leads Othniel, the other judges, King David and the other prophets, is the Spirit inside all believers today. That same courage, power, authority and faith is available for believers. However, like so many of the tribes of Israel, we are willing to settle for less and we don't have the courage to take all that God has promised us. Let us instead be like Othniel, who under the Spirit of God took the city ,drove out the King of Mesopotamia and ruled over a peaceful nation for 40 years.

Ehud (3:12 – 3:31)

The Cycle Repeats

After the death of Othniel, the cycle repeats again. Israel again does what is evil in the sight of the Lord. This time the Lord gives the nation over to Eglon, the king of Moab. After 18 years of oppression, Israel cries out to the Lord. God raises a left handed Benjamite named Ehud to deliver the nation.

The Death of Eglon

Israel had been paying tribute to Eglon for 18 years. Ehud brought the tribute to the king and told the king he had a message for him from God. As he got close to the king, he took out a concealed sword and plunged it into Eglon's belly. But Eglon was so obese that sword was completely swallowed up in his fat.

Eglon escaped the kings throne room and then led all of Israel against the Moabite army, killing 10,000 men. The land remained at rest for 80 years under Ehud's leadership.

Shamgar

The book of Judges then tells us of another judge, Shamgar, who defeated 600 Philistines and also saved Israel. From the text it is difficult to tell if Shamgar was a judge ruling either at the same time as Ehud or after Ehud. The term translated “after him,” could also be translated “following after him,” meaning that Shamgar was a disciple of Ehud [1]. So Shamgar may have been a “lieutenant-judge,” thus explaining why so little is discussed about him. Or, Shamgar was a full-fledged judge, but his rule wasn't characterized by the same cycle, and therefore help the author develop his overall purpose.

Deborah & Barak (4:1 – 5:31)

The Cycle Repeats

After the death of Ehud, the cycle repeats. Israel does evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord sells them into the hand of the Canaanite king, Jabin, and his general, Sisera. After 20 years of oppression at by Jabin's 900 iron chariots, Israel cries out to the Lord.

The judge who will deliver Israel this time, however, is a woman named Deborah. Deborah was already a judge (4:5), settling disputes among the Israelites. But Deborah was also a prophetess of God. Deborah is one of about a half a dozen women called “prophetess” in the Bible. She spoke on behalf of the Lord to the nation of Israel. Deborah had a great reputation among the people and is even called the Mother of Israel (5:7).

The Character of Barak

One such message was to a man named Barak. Deborah tells Barak that the Lord was commanding him to take the army to fight Sisera and that God had promised him victory.

Throughout judges and the Old Testament we see that God commands people directly to do things. But like Barak, most of these times when God directly commanded someone, it comes through the voice of a prophet of God. The prophets served as the word of God to Israel at a time when there was no scripture. This will be more fully developed in our study of the book of Samuel.

Barak, however, does not fully believe the promise of God. In fact, his faith does not seem to be as much in the Lord as it is in Deborah herself. He says he will only go out to fight if Deborah goes with him.

The Death of Sisera

Barak's failure to believe in the promise of God costs him the glory of victory. Sisera is not defeated by Barak in battle, but is killed in his sleep by a woman named Jael who drives a tent stake into his head.

Barak is a man who won't go to battle without a woman leading the way. As a result, the final glorious blow is delivered not by Barak, but by another woman Jael. Barak is a man who is used by God to throw off the oppression of the Canaanites. But because of his lack of faith he is stripped of the glory that might have been his.

The Song of Deborah and Barak

The narrative ends with a hymn of victory. In this song, Deborah leads the nation in praising God for the victory. The song praises those in Israel who joined the battle and condemns those who stayed at home. Then gives details of the battle not included in the narrative section.

The song then ends with a contrast of two women. One woman is Jael, who killed Sisera. The other woman is Sisera's mother who is waiting for him to return with his plunder. But, of course, Sisera does not return.

After the song is complete we learn that Israel rested for 40 years.

Gideon (6:1 – 10:5)

The Cycle Repeats

After this rest of 40 years, Israel does evil again in the site of the Lord. This time the Lord hands Israel over to the oppression of Midian. After 7 years of oppression Israel finally cries out to the Lord for deliverance. In response, God sends a prophet to declare to them why they are under this oppression. But God also sends Gideon as their judge.

The Call of Gideon

The Altar of Baal Destroyed

The call of Gideon is very detailed, involving a visit from the angel of the Lord. As part of God's call, Gideon is asked to destroy an altar to the god Baal which had been established by his father. God was calling Gideon not just to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites, but to address the real issue: Israel's idolatry.

Gideon obeyed the angel of the Lord, but he did it at night because he was afraid of his father's household. When it was discovered that Gideon had destroyed the altar, Gideon did not defend his actions and call people back to the Lord. It was his father who defended him. Nonetheless, Gideon earned his nickname from this incident: Jerubbaal, or one who contends with Baal.

The Fleece

After this, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon and directs him to battle with the Midianites. However, Gideon is not sure of God's call. So, just to be sure, he lays out a fleece of wool at night and asks God to confirm his calling by making the fleece wet with dew while leaving the ground dry. God obliges. But Gideon is still not convinced, so he repeats the test, this time asking God to make the fleece dry while the ground is wet.

Many Christians have taken Gideon's behavior here as an example to follow. The term “laying out a fleece” has come to mean any test which we give God to determine His will for our lives. But Gideon here is serving as a negative example. His laying out of the fleece is a demonstration of his lack of faith. Too often we know God's will for us, and rather than obey God we lay out fleeces hoping to get some other answer so we don't have to do what we know God wants us to do. We can know God's will for us confidently. It is found in His Word. If we want to know God's will for our lives, we don't need to lay out fleeces. We need to study and then obey the Word of God as revealed in the bible.

The Conquest of Midian

The Reduction of Gideon's Army

Gideon's army totals 32,000 men. But this is too many for God's plan. If they proceed with this large of an army the people will not credit God for the victory. So Gideon tells all those who are afraid to go home, thereby reducing his army down to 10,000 men.

Then the Lord has Gideon further reduce his army. He leads them to water, and those who lap the water like a dog are sent home, while those who cup it in their hands are allowed to remain. This reduces the army to 300 men. This must have concerned Gideon. His army less than 1/100 th the size it was when he began his campaign. But God assures Gideon through a dream that the battle will be his.

The Enemy Confused

Gideon leads is army at night to surround the Midianites. Each man is given a torch covered by an empty pitcher and a trumpet. Upon Gideon's signal, the men all blow their trumpets, break their pitchers hiding the light from the torch, and yell out “for the Lord and for Gideon.” This confuses the Midianite army and in the confusion they began battling each other. God had delivered Israel from their oppressors.

The Character of Gideon

After Gideon's victory, two incidents are recorded which show the dichotomy of Gideon's character.

In verse 22, the nation of Israel is ready to make Gideon their king. They say, “rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son.” Because of Gideon's victory over Midian, the nation wanted to establish the house of Gideon as their royal family and monarchy. However, Gideon refuses this, for he knows that Israel already has a king: Yahweh. He replies to the nation:

I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you. (Judges 8:23)

In his humility, Gideon recognizes that it was God who delivered Israel from Midian. The ideal for Israel is that they see God as their king and their deliverer, not man.

However, on the heals of this great demonstration of humility, Gideon makes a very poor choice which leads both him and the nation into idolatry. In a move reminiscent of Aaron in Exodus 32, he asks Israel to bring him gold earrings obtained from the spoils of the battle. He collected 1,700 shekels of gold (between 35 and 75 pounds depending upon the weight of a shekel at the time [2]), which he then melted down and turned into an ephod.

An ephod is an apron like garment usually warn by the priest. The ephod included lots which were cast to determine the will of God. In making the ephod, Gideon was assuming the role of the priesthood.

Over time this ephod became an idol which the nation would come to worship. Remarkably. even Gideon himself was caught up with the ephod, for:

It became a snare to Gideon and his household (Judges 8:27)

This could mean that Gideon and his family worshipped the ephod as an idol the same as the nation. Or, it could mean the Gideon allowed or encouraged Israel to worship the ephod and saw that as worship of himself. If the latter is the case, then over time, the humility which allowed Gideon to see that God had been the one to rescue Israel diminished, and now by accepting the nation's worship, Gideon was taking credit for his accomplishments.

The Conspiracy of Abimelech

While Gideon had refused to establish a monarchy, his son Abimelech did. In fact, the very name Abimelech means “father of the king.” Abimelech conspires with the men of Shechem to slaughter his brothers and to become king. Abimelech ruled as king for 3 years before God created division between Shechem and the king, so that the king took his army out to recapture the city. However while attacking the citadel in the city, a woman threw down a millstone and crushed Abimelech's head. Thus God punished both Abimelech and Shechem for the slaughter of Gideon's sons.

Tola & Jair

After the reign of Abimelech, there were two more judges. Tola ruled for 23 years, and Jair for 22 years.

Jephthah (10:6 – 12:15)

The Cycle Repeats

After Tola and Jair, Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and God delivered them over to the Philistines and to Ammon. The nation cried out to the Lord for deliverance and repented of their idolatry. This time, however, the people call on Jephthah to come and deliver them from their oppression. Jephthah was from Gilead, a hilly region east of the Jordan. However Jephthah was the son of a harlot and so was not allowed his father's inheritance and had to flee from Gilead. But Jephthah was a brave warrior and so he was called by the people to lead the army against Ammon.

Jephthah's Vow

After the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Jephthah, he traveled from Gilead to Ammon to fight against the Ammonites. As the battle is to begin he makes a vow unto the Lord that if God gives him victory, he would offer as a burnt sacrifice the first thing that comes out of the door of his house.

God indeed grants victory to Jephthah, delivering Israel from the oppression of the Ammonites. But when Jephthah returns home, his daughter, who is an only child, runs out the door of his house with tambourines and dancing to celebrate the victory. This grieves Jephthah, for he must fulfill his vow to the Lord and now offer her as a burnt sacrifice.

God obviously does not accept human sacrifices (Deut. 12:31). Many commentators have stated that this was not a true burnt sacrifice, but Jephthah's daughter merely was to be committed to serving God and would never be married. However, there is little in the text to support this theory. If we are troubled by the idea that this judge, indwelt by the Spirit of God, would kill his daughter by burning her as a sacrifice to the Lord, then I think we get the point of the author. This story serves to illustrate the failure of the judges and the depths of evil to which Israel has fallen.

While the judges are God's appointed military and judicial leaders for Israel, the time of the judges is one of corruption and failure. As we move through the six cycles of the judges, we see each judge become more and more perverted from the ideal that God would have. By the time we get to Jephthah, we have a judge who has so little understanding of the Lord and his law, that he thinks God would actually desire a human sacrifice.

Ephraim and the Shibboleth

The decay of Israel is further illustrated after the battle of Ammon. Ephraim, one of the larger tribes of Israel, was offended by Jephthah, for he had not invited them to the battle, and therefore kept them from the spoils of war. So Ephraim became angry and set out to raid and pillage Gilead .

Ephraim was located on the west side of the Jordan , while Gilead was in the hill country in the northeastern part of Israel . So Ephraim crossed the Jordan River and made their way to the highlands to attack Gilead . But Jephthah was ready for the attack and soundly defeated the Ephraim raiders. As Ephraim retreated they had to cross back over the Jordan River to get back home. But Jephthah had blocked their escape route, capturing and holding the fords of the river.

But how would the soldiers holding the fords know if someone trying to cross was from the Ephraimite army, or was someone from Gilead ? How would they discern the friend from the foe? To solve this dilemma, the Gileadites would ask the man, “Are you an Ephraimite?” and if they said no, they would say, “Say the word, ‘Shibboleth.'” The Ephraimites had a regional accent, and they could not say, Shibboleth, but instead said Sibboleth. So when they could not correctly pronounce this word, they would take the fugitive and kill him.

And so Jephthah and his army destroyed 42 divisions of the Ephraimite army. As if the oppression of the foreign armies was not enough, Israel was now fighting inter-tribal wars over such trivial matters as dividing the spoils of war.

Ibzan, Elon & Abdon

Jephthah judges for 6 years. Following him there are a series of judges mentioned in chapter 12. Ibzan of Bethlehem judged for 7 years, Elon the Zebulunite judged for 10 years, and Abdon judged for 8 years.

Samson (13:1 – 16:31)

The Cycle Repeats

The final cycle begins in chapter 13 as Israel does evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord gives them over to the Philistines for 40 years of oppression. However, here the cycle breaks down in a number of ways. First we don't see the nation cry out to the Lord. Secondly, this judge does not actually ever deliver Israel from her oppressors.

The Call of Samson

This judge is called by God before he is even born. The angel of the Lord appears to a barren Danite woman and tells her that she is about to give birth to a son. This son is to fulfill the Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:2-6), where a person would refrain from touching dead things, alcohol and cutting of the hair so as to be especially clean for service unto the Lord. The son was born as predicted and was named Samson. The child grew, God blessed him and placed His Spirit in him.

Samson's Marriage

While Samson had the Spirit of God within him, Samson turns out to have very little regard for the Law of God. Samson falls in love with Timnah, a Philistine girl and desires to marry her. The Law strictly forbids marriage with foreigners. To make matters worse, the Philistines are the very people Samson should be defeating to deliver Israel. But Samson does not seem at all interested in his call as a deliverer for the nation. All his decisions seem to be to satisfy his own desires. Furthermore, Samson seems to have very little regard for his Nazarite vow. He touches the carcass of a dead lion and a dead donkey.

Samson's Deliverance

It's not that Samson likes the Philistines. Indeed, he regularly slaughters them. He kills 30 of them when they won't pay out on a bet they lost. He burns down their fields and slaughters 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey when his father-in-law refuses to let his daughter see him. But none of this was motivated by a nationalistic fervor, but as revenge for his own personal offenses.

In chapter 16, Samson falls in love with another Philistine woman named Delilah. The Philistines decide to use Delilah to extract revenge against Samson, and they ask her to trick him into giving away the secret of his tremendous strength. After several attempts, she finally entices him to give away that it is his long hair, grown out as part of the Nazirite vow, which gives him strength.

The Philistines, of course, cut his hair and are able to subdue Samson. They gouge out his eyes and put him on public display at a feast, chaining him to two pillars. For the first time we see Samson acknowledge the Lord, and while standing there chained to the pillars, he asks God for the strength to avenge the Philistines for gouging out his eyes. Again, his motivation is not to deliver Israel, but personal revenge.

God gives Samson the strength, and he pulls the pillars down killing himself and all the Philistines within the building. The narrative ends with an ironic statement illustrating Samson's failure as a judge:

So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. (Judges 16:30b)

Footnotes

1. Wolf.
2. Wolf.

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