Dakota Community Church
October 30, 2011
Judges – Week One
Introduction & Historical Context
Judges is named for the military and civic leaders who were raised up by GOD to deliver Israel from its oppressors in the roughly 350 (1380-1050 AD) year period between the death of Joshua and the coronation of King Saul.
(Joshua a book of victory – Judges the other side of that coin.)
Author: Unknown, however the Babylonian Talmud attributes it to Samuel.
Date: The exact date of its composition is not known. Internal evidence indicates that it was written in the first years of Saul’s reign between 1050 and 1000 B.C.
Background: Judges covers a chaotic period in Israel's history between the years 1380 and 1050 B.C. Under Joshua's leadership, Israel had conquered and occupied, roughly speaking, the land of Canaan, but extensive areas hadn't yet passed into the hands of the individual tribes.
The pattern: Israel did evil - GOD delivered them into the hands of various oppressors - the people cried out to the LORD for help - a judge brought God’s deliverance AKA: The cycle of sin
Judges 3:7
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
Judges 3:12
Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.
Judges 4:1
After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan
You get the idea.
What we see is a repeated cycle throughout the entire book – a cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, devotion, followed by sin and bondage again.
Israel would follow the Lord when there was a leader who reminded them of the ways in which they should walk, but with his death they again wandered off into idolatry.
In spite of this cycle we should not fail to see that there were long periods of time, while the judges ruled, that Israel did remain free and enjoy victory.
Notice that in most cases the period of time spent in freedom was considerably longer than the time in bondage.
Opening Scripture Passages:
Judges 1:1-2
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
2 The LORD answered, “Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.”
Judges 1:27-34
But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob, 32 and because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.
Judges 2:18-19
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Throughout the Book we see a few important themes:
God is the faithful, covenant keeping deliverer
The judges are weak and unworthy of the positions of authority they are given
Deliverance is an unmerited response to cries for mercy
Judges 3:8-9
The anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them.
Any type of governing system is difficult as a result of the fall, just get involved at the community centre if you don’t believe me; a Theocratic government is next to impossible. Why?
Judges 17:6
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Numbers 16:1-3
Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites — Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent 2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?”
Even when there is abundant supernatural evidence sin blinds us and convinces us of our own importance. There are false signs and wonders after all and “God knows my heart”.
The rejection of God as King
1 Samuel 8:1-7
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead[a] us, such as all the other nations have.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
The desire for a physically present human mediator has never left the human psyche – give me a priest, just tell me what to do!
This desire for a go between is why we have so much pastoral abuse of power and importance.
The concept of corporate responsibility
Genesis 18:17-26
Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Doing justice – preaching grace: taking up the cause and care of (the vulnerable – those with no social power) in Bible times - widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor, in our day we could add the homeless, migrant workers, some single parents and some elderly.
Zechariah 7:9-10
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.
Modern rejection of wisdom from past ages
Next time: (February 5, 2012):
1. Othniel
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
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