The Naughty Judges Cont.

[Beulah5]

Hello saints.

We are going to continue with this topic from where we left off.

Before the board went down we had covered chapters 1 & 2 in some detail as we were on 4 pages by then.

I am going to post one or 2 articles that will encapsulate the first 2 chapters just for clarity for those who were unable to partake in the first place then i would like us to launch straight into looking at the Judges themselves.

How does that sound?

[Nikkol]

Look forward to it....

[keita]

beulah5 said:

Hello saints.

We are going to continue with this topic from where we left off.

Before the board went down we had covered chapters 1 & 2 in some detail as we were on 4 pages by then.

I am going to post one or 2 articles that will encapsulate the first 2 chapters just for clarity for those who were unable to partake in the first place then i would like us to launch straight into looking at the Judges themselves.
How does that sound?

Ready when you are, Sis. I know you've been waiting a l-o-n-n-n-g time for a clear shot at Jephthah ! But now that you have him in your sights, can you hold your fire while we take the judges in order? I'm only asking because in this case, chronology ( ) really does have something important to say. I know you already know that there truly is a significant reason why these leaders were "raised up" in the order that they are.

[Beulah5]

Lol!! My bad Keita what i meant was that we should get into Chapter 3 having suffciently covered Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 3 heceforth begins to get into the life of the judges so yes we are going to go chronologically.

I am going to post some articles to summarize xhapters 1 & 2 for those who missed out and then we can start with chapter 3.

My apologies for not being clear enough.

[Beulah5]

The Book of Judges 1.
The Book of Judges.

The Book of Judges was contained in the prophetic section of the Hebrew Scriptures, which indicates its purpose, which was to draw lessons from history and to proclaim the truth about Yahweh through them. It was not intended to be a full history, but a revelation of salvation history, the working of God on behalf of His people, and covers the period from the death of Joshua to the rise of the judges Eli and Samuel.

The book commences with an accumulation of records which continue the account of the conquest of Canaan in Joshua, with an occasional flashback, and depicts the various struggles taking place in order to capture and retain the land for Israel. It then goes on to depict the failure of Israel in this, due to its disobedience to God, its resulting misfortunes, and how God raised up ‘judges’ to deliver them from these misfortunes.

By ‘judges’ we must recognise not legal decision makers (although they did perform that function as well) but rulers, people in authority, recognised by the tribes, who ruled and administered sections of the people (Ruth 1.1), which included charismatic war leaders who rose in time of trouble from among the landed aristocracy. These latter are the most prominent in the book due to its emphasis. There were thus a number of judges at any one time and those dealt with in the narrative may well have overlapped.

The name ‘judges’ (shophetim) is paralleled elsewhere in the shapitum of Mari, who were local provincial governors, and the shuphetim, the regents of Phoenicia. On the whole these judges ruled well and were responsible not only for deliverance but for subsequent periods of blessing and faithfulness. Samson may have been a loveable rogue but he was not on the whole a good judge, although effective in the end.

The judges, like Israel’s leaders before them, were men who were seen as chosen by God and supported by the elders and the voice of the people. Their position was not hereditary, it was dependent both on God, and on the people who had to recognise their calling. Moses was chosen by God (Exodus 3) and was recognised by, and acted through, the elders of Israel (Exodus 4.29-30), Joshua was appointed by God (Numbers 27.16-18) with total support and recognition from priests, elders and people (Numbers 27.18-23), Deborah was a prophetess and accepted as such by the people (Judges 4.4-5), Samuel was chosen by God from birth and called the people together to determine the way ahead and from then on judged Israel (1 Samuel 7.15). Once appointed they had authority of life and death, and to disobey them was treason and meant death (Deuteronomy 17.12; Joshua 1.18). But that authority came from God Whose will they had to seek and obey (Numbers 27.21). He was their Overlord.

The main message of the book is that it depicts how easily Israel allowed themselves to slip into idolatry, sin and godlessness, how Yahweh then allowed them to suffer for it, and finally how good Yahweh was to them when they turned back to Him. That is its emphasis. But we should note that the periods of faithfulness and subsequent blessing, which are depicted as ‘the land had rest’ so many years, are quickly passed over, but were considerable. It was not all doom and gloom. The background to the book is unquestionably the going forward of God’s purpose by His Spirit in spite of man’s failure.

God’s purpose for Israel was depicted as that of a theocracy, where Yahweh was their King and the ‘twelve tribes’ were on the whole independent but were united by God’s covenant around a central sanctuary. Three times a year they were to go to that central sanctuary to renew the covenant, and to rehearse the significance of the feast, and to hear the Law of God. And every seven years they were to hear the reading of the full Law (Deuteronomy 31.10-13 see Joshua 8.34-35). And each was to be available if the call to arms came because one of the tribes was in distress. To refuse the call was looked on as a very serious matter and a breach of the covenant. This general organisation was known elsewhere and is called an amphictyony.

The conquest of Canaan was never going to be easy. Towns were occupied, but then repossessed by the enemy. Sometimes tribes were strong and stretched their borders, at other times they were weak and retracted. The same enemies had to be fought again and again. And sadly it was not long before the tribes of Israel settled down, began to intermingle with the Canaanites in direct disobedience to God’s instruction, and absorbed much of their idolatrous and sexually distorted religion.

Two things were in their favour. The hill country was relatively sparsely populated because until the discovery of lime plaster, which enabled reliable cisterns for the preservation of water, water was in short supply. And secondly because parts of the plains were covered in large forests which provided cover and shelter in times of weakness, and virgin sites for establishing themselves. And most of all, God was with them. In spite of their disobedience He did not totally forget them. This in the end is what the book is all about. God’s deliverance of an undeserving people.

But all this was only possible, humanly speaking, because in the providence of God all the great nations, Egypt, Assyria, the Hittites, and Babylon were at the time mainly weak or occupied elsewhere and thus left Canaan, especially the hill country, alone.


Dr Peter Pett

[Beulah5]

In order to understand the history in the Old Testament, we need the full scope of the Scriptures. If we read the Old Testament according to this full scope, we will realize that at Mount Sinai God married Israel. In His concept and desire, He wanted to be to Israel as a husband to a wife, and He expected Israel to act as a wife toward Him. We need to keep this point in mind as we read the book of Judges.

In writing the books of history, Samuel put Judges after Joshua to show us what kind of life Israel lived toward her Husband. For some reason, she did not have a heart to be the wife of Jehovah. As a wife, she forgot her Husband, left her Husband, and acted according to her own desires. Eventually, Israel became a harlot. At the time of Hosea, Israel was a harlot in the eyes of God (Hosea 1:2; 2:2). Having fallen into the sin of adultery, she did not have a definite husband. In addition to Jehovah as her Husband, she had many other men. This was the situation of Israel in the book of Judges. In the book of Judges there is a terrible picture of a wife forsaking her Husband and not even acknowledging His existence. This is an ugly picture of a harlot, a wife who forsook her Husband and went after idols.

In the beginning Israel had a bridal love toward God, but after her marriage she lost her position as a chaste wife to her husband. She forsook God and went to idols. Every idol was a "man," and Israel became full of idols. Jeremiah 11:13 says that according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem the people had set up altars to burn incense to their idols. Ezekiel 16:24 tells us that Israel made "a high place in every street." This means that there was an idol on every street. This corresponds to the New Testament, which shows us another great harlot in Revelation 17, the Roman Catholic Church, which is the mother of many harlots. Since the mother of the harlots is the apostate Roman Church, the harlots, the daughters of the apostate church, must be all the sects and groups in Christianity that hold to some extent the teachings, practices, and traditions of the apostate Roman Church.

In the book of Judges, a particular saying is repeated a number of times: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did that which was right in his own eyes" (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). But God was the King! According to the principle in the Bible, the husband is the head of the marriage and the head of the family. In creation God ordained that the man would have this authority; therefore, he also has the kingship. In typology and in figure, God is the unique man. We all are females because we, the church, are the corporate wife to Christ. Since God is our Creator and our Lord, He should also be our King.

When Israel said that there was no king among them, this meant that they had annulled God and His status. In the book of 1 Samuel, the children of Israel asked God to appoint a king for them (8:5). This was a great offense to God (v. 7). Even though Israel was a wife to God, she became a harlot. She did not recognize God's kingship, and she did not recognize God as her Husband. Therefore, the children of Israel did what was right in their own eyes, and as a result they became rotten and corrupted.

This is what we see in the book of Judges. The history in this book is thus a history of rottenness. After the story of Judah and Caleb in 1:1-20, Israel's history as recorded in Judges was full of the rottenness and corruption of a harlot. This is the intrinsic significance of the book of Judges.


Witness Lee

[keita]

beulah5 said:

Lol!! My bad Keita what i meant was that we should get into Chapter 3 having suffciently covered Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 3 heceforth begins to get into the life of the judges so yes we are going to go chronologically.

Got it!
(Now you know I just had to put in my plea for chronology !)

I am going to post some articles to summarize chapters 1 & 2 for those who missed out and then we can start with chapter 3.

Amen. The ones you have posted are really excellent set ups. Can we have a bit of discussion on them (chapters 1 & 2) before continuing on to chapter 3 and maybe also start a new sub-forum for commentary?

My apologies for not being clear enough.

LOL! As if such a thing were possible! ;D

[Beulah5]

Lol!! ;D You run with the discussion.....as i said this forum will be as good as everyone who participates.

I for now have posted enough and the floor is now open for all contributions and discussions......

Fly sistah!

[keita]

God Bless You Sista Bee!

(Keita spreads her wings...)

As we begin this study of the book of Judges from the Old Testament, I want to say at the outset that even though Judges is an Old Testament book, the truths we will discover here are very much New Testament truths. The Old Testament brings these before us in a way that fills out the principles we encounter in the New Testament. In particular, Judges highlights like no other book the truth of Romans chapters 6-8.

The book of Judges shows us a time that is sometimes confusing, difficult, and dark. For this reason, many have neglected the book of Judges, and regarded this period of time as a "dark ages" of Israel's history. But if we neglect this book, we neglect a wonderful account of the love and graciousness of God, and how He lovingly corrects His people.

There is an unfortunate cycle which repeats seven times in the book:

- The people are devoted to God
- The people delve into sin
- The people are defeated by their enemies
- The people deplore their situation and repent
- The people are delivered by judges


This pattern repeats itself over and over again. It is a very real representation of Prov. 14:34 which says,

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people."

How often do we as Christians fall short of full victory and then return to the ways of the world! The book of Judges has many warnings for us.


As we study this history of Israel, may we keep our own nations and even our very individual lives in the forefront of our minds and prayers.

What we find out about man in Judges is often depressing; but what we find out about God in Judges is always spectacular!

[keita]

I've often thought that in a lot of ways, the phrase, "Now after the death of Joshua," (Judges 1:1) could have been a kind of subtitle for the whole book of Judges. As Samuel steps back to view the entire period of the Judges, beginning with the career of Joshua, he does so as Israel is requesting a king. He uses this portion of their history as a means of reminding Israel what happened the last time their lack of human leadership caused them to forget that they alwas had and have the perfect Leader in God.

(Sister Lilah shared a wonderful word about this prophetic nature of the book of Judges and I truly hope she'll repeat it.)

"After the death of Joshua", Israel was in a critical place where they had to trust God more intimately than they ever had before. During this period of the judges (which lasted some 340 years), there was no standing "office" of national leadership. Israel had no king, no president, no prime minister on earth - only God in heaven.This required that Israel have a real, abiding trust in God. In the absence of a human leader, the Israelites requested of the Lord what they should do.(1:1). They knew that they were to fight the Canaanites, but they had no plan of attack. And so, they looked to the Lord for their leadership. Here, they do the right thing - the thing Joshua would have wanted them to do. With Joshua gone, they are not left without a leader; they are simply called to a new trust in God

This all reminds me that God gives wonderful human leaders to His work on this earth, and it is always difficult for God's people when those human leaders pass from the scene or our lives. In such a situation, we may live in the past, perhaps even wishing that leader were still with us. Our human leaders must be those who inquire of God but so must His people be, collectively and individually, even and perhaps especially in the absence of human leadership.

To me, one of the greatest challenges of this book is its violence which occurs both with and without God's approval. I've also found that to be a very popular source of the many discussions among those who question and disdain God and those who believe in Him. Indeed in this book's opening verse, we find the people of Israel in the middle of a campaign to exterminate the inhabitants of the promised land. So what's up with and how are we to understand and explain all this VIOLENCE and bloodshed???

We need to remember that these Canaanites were not innocent. Long, long before, in Canaan, when God was making those first promises to Abraham (back in Genesis 15), He had said to Abraham “ … your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure” (Genesis 15:16). The Amorites were just one of the tribal groupings within Canaan. So now their sin had reached its full measure. God had waited over centuries for this moment. The book of Leviticus lists some of their detestable practices, including child sacrifice (burning their children in the fire to the god Molech), and sexual intercourse with animals. So, in one sense, this conquest was an act of Judgment on those Canaanite inhabitants, just as much as it was the fulfilment of a gracious promise to the Israelites, the people of God. This civilization was not innocent and it now faced God’s judgment.

Then there's that matter of vengefully maiming an enemy to render them useless in battle (1:6-7). God is nowhere said to endorse this tactic but He does in this instance seem to permit this type of retributive justice. The enemy king in these verses had done exactly this to others and it appears from his confession that he was acknowledging he deserved the same.

Ultimately we see just how evil, evil is; and just how far God will go to exterminate evil – not in these Old Testament stories, but in the death of His own Son, Jesus, on the cross. And if we think it strange that God should wipe out the Canaanites, we need to think more about what He did to Jesus at Calvary. That is where we can fully understand (and perhaps more seriously fear and appreciate) God’s response to human evil...

Okay, I'm gonna hush up (for now ) and wait to see if there's anybody else participating in this conversation besides Bee and me!

(But in any case, I claim "where two or three are gathered" and look forward to continuing! )

[J13578]

I found this in a commentary on the Book of Judges:

""The book is written in the spirit of covenantal religion in the covenantal polity, although the only direct references to covenant are at the beginning.

The first is Chapter 2:1-5, where a messenger of the Lord appears to the Israelites to accuse them of breaking God's covenant with them by entering into covenants with the inhabitants of Canaan, which have allowed idolatry to persist in the land. In the end, as a punishment, God will not drive out the rest of the Canaanites. Upon hearing this the Israelites wept and named the site of the visitation "Bochim", which means "They cried." It is this visitation that sets the stage for what happens in the rest of the book. Judges, then, is the first book of the Bible based upon the playing out of the theme of the broken covenant.

At two other points in the book there are special references to what would have been understood by the readers of the time as covenantal: in Chapter 8:22-23, where Gideon defers the kingship proferred him by the Israelites on the grounds that according to the Israelite constitution only the Lord is to rule Israel as king; and then again in Chapter 21, where the Israelites find a way to restore the tribe of Benjamin after its punishment for the gross incident of the murdered concubine.

On the other hand, the pattern of backsliding and foreign invasion as punishment, repentence and redemption by a judge who mobilizes the people, is in itself the repetition of a covenantal pattern, but recognizes the reality of human weakness. "

"Here is the tragedy: a people unable to live as they should as a free people under covenant are inexorably driven to lose their freedom."

What a conclusion....

What thinketh thou?
(See what happens when I don't speak French?

[keita]

(See what happens when I don't speak French? )

LOL! Praise the Lord, Sister Lilah!

I was hoping I'd "see" you here!

That conclusion is truly speaking a timeless mouthful.
It's amazing how much we as God's people claim to desire yet can struggle so with the freedom He offers. It seems that keeping covenant is not our strong suit. Like Israel in this book, that shortcoming places us at a perpetual disadvantage because among the many things that He is, God is a God of covenant. And He's S-E-R-I-O-U-S about it!

Oh, and while you're here:

Sister Lilah shared a wonderful word about this prophetic nature of the book of Judges and I truly hope she'll repeat it.

Got any leftovers from that meal?

[J13578]

Sure, always

Here it is, from the same study as before:

""It should not surprise us to find a "sefer nevuah" (a prophetic work) dedicated to the explanation of what went wrong during this time period.

In our study of Sefer Shoftim, we will attempt to uncover how Sefer Shoftim delivers this message, and how it sets the stage for the national renewal that does take place during the time period discussed in Sefer Shmuel."

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?

Sefer Shoftim was written by the navi (prophet) Shmuel. This information is more than just technical, for to appreciate any sefer, and especially a "sefer nevuah" (prophetic book), it always important to understand when, by whom, and for what purpose it was written. Let's explain how these considerations can help us appreciate Sefer Shoftim.

First of all, Chazal's statement that Shmuel composed Sefer Shoftim implies that the sefer was written AFTER all of its events had taken place. Even though this is a very simple point, it is important to note for we usually understand "nevuah" [prophecy] as foreseeing 'future' events, rather than recording events that had already transpired. However, this is the very point of Sefer Shoftim.

Shmuel reviews (and analyzes) the events that had taken place since the time of Yehoshua (Joshua) - not to predict what will happen - but rather in order that Bnei Yisrael will 'learn a lesson' from what did happen. With this observation in mind, we can better understand the manner in which Sefer Shoftim presents its stories. Instead of finding an organized chronological 'history book', we find a more complex composition, including an introduction, the presentation of a thesis, its proof, and a very interesting conclusion.

In other words, Shmuel has a prophetic 'agenda' that he must explain to his own generation; he presents it in Sefer Shoftim.

THE TIME PERIOD OF SHMUEL

To appreciate this point, recall one of most critical events in Jewish history that took place during the life of Shmuel, i.e. Bnei Yisrael's request to establish a kingdom. At first, Shmuel appears to be against the idea, yet nonetheless, God encourages him to grant to the people's request (see I Shmuel chapter 8).

Shmuel faces a predicament, for a kingdom contains both positive and negative aspects. One the one hand, it can provide the nation with the necessary infrastructure for national growth and prosperity; but on the other hand, it also carries the potential for corruption and spiritual downfall.

In our study of Sefer Shoftim, we will show how Sefer Shoftim presents its complex prophetic message.
One last technical point. It is important to clarify that even though Shmuel wrote Sefer Shoftim, it includes numerous 'quotes' from earlier prophets. For example, Shmuel did not compose SHIRAT DEVORAH (song of Deborah), rather Devorah did! Shmuel simply quotes it. Most likely, many other stories in Sefer Shoftim also include lengthy quotes from the description of these events by earlier prophets. Shmuel simply quotes them as part of his development of the theme of his sefer.

Sefer Shoftim is not simply a log of Jewish history from the death of Yehoshua until the birth of Shmuel. Rather, it is special presentation of certain events that transpired during that time period, written by the navi

Shmuel in order to deliver a prophetic message for his own (and future) generations.

Note how these psukim describe a CYCLE of events that repeat themselves. We will summarize the main stages of this cycle:

1)"va'yazvu Bnei Yisrael et Hashem"
Bnei Yisrael leave God, choosing other gods instead.

2) "va'yitnem Hashem b'yad oyvieyhem"
God allows them to be punished by their enemies

3) "va'yitzaaku Bnei Yisrael et Hashem"
Bnei Yisrael cry out to God for help

4) "va'yishlach Hashem lahem moshiah va'yoshium"
God sends a "shofet" to save them from their enemy

Afterward, Bnei Yisrael return to stage one.

SHMUEL'S INTENTION

The leaders reached their own conclusion concerning the reason for this pattern.

They concluded that this was due to the lack of a strong central government. If Israel 'only had a king' like other nations, a strong political leader with the ability to collect taxes and organize a standing army; then Israel would be able to defeat its enemies and strengthen its borders.

In their eyes, the answer to all of Israel's troubles was the establishment of a monarchy. As their leader, Shmuel realized the danger of this conclusion. He fears that by choosing a king to rule them, Bnei Yisrael will depend solely on their king in times of trouble INSTEAD of turning to God as they had done in the past.

Therefore, to counter their claim that a king would solve all their problems, Shmuel argues that the real reason for Bnei Yisrael's problems is because they do not listen to God.

Shmuel emphasizes specifically this point in Sefer Shoftim. He attempts to show that the numerous calamities that had befallen Bnei Yisrael since the time of Yehoshua were caused because they had left God, and that the little salvation that they did enjoy was only because they had cried out to God. Shmuel states this point in chapter two, and proves in the chapters that follow.

"Shmuel said to the people... Now come and stand before me, so I can JUDGE you ["v'ishafta itchem" / note same shoresh as "shofet"!] before God, all the kindness that He has shown on you and forefathers.

Clearly, in this speech, Shmuel describes in 'short form' the very same 'cycle' that he describes at length in Sefer Shoftim!

As we study Sefer Shoftim, we will also see how Shmuel's message, which at first appears to be very 'anti' the monarchy, emerges as more complex than we'd expect.

Shmuel begins Sefer Shoftim by first quoting how the tribe of Yehuda acted properly, followed by examples of how all of the other tribes did not, followed by the story of the "malach" who rebukes them for this.

Even though this detail may seem more fitting to have been included in Sefer Yehoshua (for it deals with the conquest of the land), it is presented instead as a preface to Sefer Shoftim, for it explains how and why the 'cycle' first started.

Note how this interpretation (identifying literary units) explains why Sefer Shoftim mentions the death of Yehoshua twice.

In 1:1 (at the beginning of this 'preface' section), we mention that Yehoshua had died; but in the 'intro to the thesis' section, we return to tell the story of Yehoshua's death.

As Shmuel (most likely) is quoting the writings of earlier prophets as he composes Sefer Shoftim, it is understandable that one quote may mention that Yehoshua had already died, while a later quote tells over the story of his death. (See 2:6-9, noting how it appears to be a quote based on Yehoshua 24:28-31).

Understanding how and why Sefer Shoftim was written helps us understand this phenomenon.

Through its structure and story, Sefer Shoftim teaches us once again a complex message. On the one hand, we see an example for the ideal character of leader (and possibly a king).

On the other hand, the sefer also alludes to the danger of not appointing a king when the 'time is ripe'; while warning us at the same time of the potential danger should the wrong type of king take power. As usual, to be successful, Am Yisrael must strive to find the proper balance. "


- Sefer Shoftim: Book Of Judges
- Shmuel : Samuel
- Yehuda: Tribe of Judah

[Nikkol]

Very interesting information. I don't really have anything to add at the moment.

[keita]

Thanks, Lilah, for once again sharing that prophetic perspective and function of Judges.

For whatever reasons, modern presentations of the Bible as God's Word tend to emphasize the priestly function at the expense of the prophetic. This distortion seems especially prevalent within the mainline denominations of American Christianity. As a result, modern American Christians are often unaware of the full power of the Biblical message. For instance, if we do not realize that the bulk of the Bible's stories are about the failures of God's people to be faithful and the tireless efforts of God to call these people back through prophets, we can hardly appreciate the depth and power of God's love. In other words, if we don't know or play down the challenge of the prophetic function of God's Word, we also reduce the power and appeal of the priestly.

In its prophetic function, God's Word challenges all human authorities and institutions to recognize that they are of limited and relative value. They have no saving power in the face of God's absolute demand for faith. One culture's standards may be more just or democratic than another's but none are to be equated with the kingdom of God. God's prophetic Word challenges the self-glorification of all humans and their institutions and calls us to be sure that we are trusting in God alone alone.

On a more personal preference level, a prophetic view of Sefer Shoftim (Book of Judges) also speaks to my fondness for chronology. It brings into perspective the "reminiscient" nature of the book and enlightens the "flashbacks" that it contains in its introductory chapters. Finally, just as many prophetic views of Israel include significant referencing and focus on Yehuda (Tribe of Judah), this tribe is a major player in the Book of Judges.