Israels downward spiral INTRODUCTION The Historical Setting The historical scope of this period from the death of Joshua 1390 BC to the days of Samuel ID: 486979
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Slide1
The book of judges
Israel’s downward spiralSlide2
INTRODUCTION
The Historical SettingThe historical scope of this period:
from the death of Joshua (1390 BC) to
the days of Samuel
(i.e., the establishment of the monarchy (Saul becomes king in 1051BC) 2. The period of the Judges thus extends from about 1390 to 1051 BC, a total of approximately 340 years2. The purpose of JudgesTo show the downward spiral of sin and apostasy in Israel To teach Israel her need for a righteous king, thus anticipating king DavidSlide3
Israel’s need for a “righteous king”
Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel
, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (KJV)Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel:
Judges 19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when
there was no king in Israel
,Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 3The book of Judges demonstrates Israel’s need for a righteous king who will lead the nation Slide4
INTRODUCTION
The theological setting for Judges
As the book opens, large areas of Canaan remain to be possessed by individual tribes (in notes)What is the main reason for this (allowing some of the inhabitants to remain after Joshua’s campaign)?:
to test Israel, to see whether they would trust YHWH (
2:20-22; 3:4)Slide5
INTRODUCTION
The theological setting for Judges
Two terrible sins resulted from the refusal to drive out the Canaanites: 1.) Intermarriage (3:5,6) 2.) Idolatry (2:12-13;
cf
3:6b)
Notice the “cycle of sin”Slide6
INTRODUCTION
Concerning the office of “Judge”
Def. of Judge (in notes)The primary responsibilities:
military leadership
civil leadership (including judging
and arbitrating disputes)The number of Judges (in notes)The Structure of the book (in notes)Slide7
Introduction: Did Israel finish the Conquest? (1:1-3:6)
Answer: NO! Two introductions? 1:1-2:5 // 2:6-3:6Why does Joshua keep dying? (1:1; 2:6-10)
1:1-2:5 = what happened after Joshua died2:6-3:6 = why it happened
Structure of 1:1-25 as a foreshadow of
the JudgesSlide8
The (downward spiral of the) Judges
Ehud
Deborah (and her sidekick)
Samson
Othniel
Gideon
JephthahSlide9
Othniel
Judges 3:9-11
From Judah
Marries within his tribe
God “raises him up” (only said of Othniel and Ehud)Related to Caleb, one who stands out for his faithfulnessNo defect in OthnielSlide10
Ehud
Judges 3:12-30
The Account
Oppressed
by
Eglon (king of Moab)Left-handed man (significance?)Eglon, a rather large fellow (3:17)Ehud’s plan“He’s only covering his feet” (3:24)??Slide11
Ehud
Judges 3:12-30
Significant points
Humor
in the story
Idols at Gilgal (3:19, 26)Is Ehud good, bad, or ambiguous? AmbiguousSlide12
Judges 4-5
Significant points
Deborah, in tune with God (4:4-7)Barak, a bit of a coward (4:8)Didn’t complete the mission, i.e. “kill Sisera” (4:7)Jael does the dirty work3
rd
unlikely judge
Ehud—a left-handed manShamgar—a foreigner Deborah—a womanDeborahSlide13
Judges 6-9
Was Gideon a good leader?
Not reallyFearfulDisunityVengeancePridefulIdolater
GideonSlide14
Judges 10-12
Was Jephthah
a good leader?Ends in civil warTribal disunitySlaughter of EphraimitesNo “peace formula”
Years of oppression more than years of
judgship
JephthahSlide15
Judges 10-12
Jephpthah’s
vow: what was he thinking?Thinking of a human sacrifice all along?“out of the doors of my house to meet me”
Chemosh
(11:24)
Animal sacrifice?JephthahSlide16
Judges 13-16
Chap. 13, a
very special dude with a very special missionChap. 14, a strong man with a
weak
heart
Chap. 15, God uses him to defeat the PhilistinesDestroys vineyards (15:1-8)Kills 1,000 men with a jawbone (15:9-20)Chap. 16, Samson and DelilahSamsonSlide17
Concerning Samson
Was Samson a good guy or a bad guy?
Heb 11:32-33, “For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak,
Samson
,
Jephthah…who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness….”Slide18
The Epilogue: Judges 17-21
How Bad can it get?17-18 The religious apostasy
of the nationA Levite priest becomes the personal priest to Micah, an unashamed idolaterThe Danites steal the priest and idols19-21 The moral depravity of the nation
Another Levite takes a concubine
Sodom and Gomorrah
déjà vu! (Benjamin is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah)Defeat of Ai déjà vu (Benjamin is compared to a Canaanite tribe)—see 20:29, 32, 38b.Ezek 16:46-48, “Your younger sister…is Sodom with her daughters. Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Sodom, your sister, and her daughters, have not done as you and your daughters have done’”Judges 1:1-2, “Now…the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD,
saying,
‘Who shall go up first for us against the
Canaanites
?’ And
the LORD said, ‘Judah shall go up.’”
Judges 20:18,
“Now the
sons of Israel
arose, went up to Bethel, and
inquired of God
, and said, ‘
Who shall go up first for us to battle against the
sons of Benjamin?’
Then the LORD said, ‘
Judah
shall go up first’”Slide19
The Epilogue: Judges 17-21How Bad can it get?
Judges 1-16 talks about Israel’s battles with
other nations, while Judges 17-21 talks about Israel battle with themselves. God’s “holy nation” has become like Sodom and Gomorrah, like Ai, a Canaanite city!We need a King!