Introduction: Judges

Introduction:

There is an old story about a frog placed in a pot of water. If you drop him into boiling water, he’ll jump out immediately. However, if you put him in cool water and slowly turn up the heart, he won’t notice the change. Before long, he’s cooked.

That’s Israel in the book of Judges. They didn’t abandon God all at once, they compromised slowly—tolerating the Canaanites, flirting with idols, adopting just a little of the culture around them. Little by little, the water got hotter. And before they knew it, they were enslaved.

Judges is a warning to us: small compromises with sin lead to spiritual disaster. But it’s also a reminder that even in our failure, God is faithful to raise up a Deliver.

Author // Title:

The book gets its title from the 12 leaders of Israel during the period between Joshua and Samuel.

Othniel (3:7–11)

Ehud (3:12–30)

Shamgar (3:31)

Deborah and Barak (4–5)

Gideon (6–8)

Tola (10:1–2)

Jair (10:3–5)

Jephthah (11–12:7)

Ibzan (12:8–10)

Elon (12:11–12)

Abdon (12:13–15)

Samson (13–16)

The author of Judges is anonymous; nowhere in Scripture is any author indicated. As we read last week, the book consists of various blocks of material about different judges, which conceivably would have been written by multiple authors over a period of time. Late Jewish tradition ascribes authorship to Samuel, which is certainly possible.

Date:

The events in Judges took place in the period between Joshua’s death and before the kingship of Saul.

Timeframe of the events in the book~1400–1050 B.C.

The earliest the book would have been written is after the last recorded event, mid-eleventh century B.C. If the phrase in:

Judges 18:30 NKJV

30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

refers to the Babylon exile, then the final form of the book doesn’t precede the time of the exile.

My opinion: Most likely most of the book had been written by David’s time (1010–970 B.C.), because of what we see in chapter 1 which states that the Jebusites were living in Jerusalem:

Judges 1:21 NKJV

21 But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

Since David captured the city 1003 B.C.

Theme:

“The theme of Judges is the downward spiral of Israel’s national and spiritual life into chaos and apostasy, showing the need for a godly king to lead it.”

Judges 17:6 NKJV

6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25 NKJV

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Purpose/Occasion/Background:

Purpose: The book was written to show the consequences of religious apostasy and to point the way to a king who, if righteous, would lead the people of God.

There is an interesting contrast in which the book of Joshua ends—with all Israel obeying God’s commands, for the most part—the book of Judges reveals Israel began to disobey God even during the time of Joshua. This disobedience continued and grew more serious—and more debased.

Time and time again, throughout Judges, Israel turns its back on God and embraces the gods and the ways of the Canaanites. Revealing the cyclical pattern, with each cycle taking Israel further down towards apostasy and rebellion against God. By the end of the book, Israel had violated its covenant with God in almost every imaginable way.

Occasion: It was written as a justification for the monarchy, since the final verdict of the book implies that things would have been different had there been a godly king leading the nation. They would have done right in God’s eyes.

The next book after judges, is Ruth, which ends with a genealogy that points to David, the godly king. Following Ruth, is 1 and 2 Samuel which relates the establishment of the legitimate Davidic monarchy in Israel, which God was pleased to bless.

God had planned for kings to rule in Israel from the beginning:

Genesis 17:6 NKJV

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

Genesis 17:16 NKJV

16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

Genesis 35:11 NKJV

11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

Genesis 49:10 NKJV

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

God had even given instructions for the future kings of Israel’s conduct:

Deuteronomy 17:14–20 NKJV

14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. 18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Historical background:

During the late bronze age into the early Iron Age.

The major problem for Israel during this time was being drawn away from the Lord and toward the gods of the Canaanites. Remember before you judge to quickly; to recently freed slaves, who were accustomed to the hardships of life in the wilderness, the cities and material wealth could not have failed to impress them.

The Canaanites were clearly superior to the Israelites on many levels: art, literature, architecture, trade, political organization, and more. It isn’t difficult to see how the Israelites would have been tempted by the elaborate Canaanite religious system which provided all of this.

One prominent feature of Canaanite worship was its highly sexualized orientation. The system of sacred prostitutes, “priestesses” of Baal” allowed the people to combine sensual pleasure with worship of Baal.

Setting:

[Picture]

They were to conquer the whole land; however, because they didn’t there were still pockets of Canaanites which continued to be problem for the new nation.

Assessment of the Book:

I hope as you read through the book last week, you noticed how incredibly violent it is. I picture an old gritty western movie where Clint Eastwood is the star. All of the major characters are all people who perform acts of violence, sometimes heroic, other times horrific.

Most notably the violence is visited upon women, such as Jephthah’s daughter, Samson’s first wife, the Levite’s concubine, and the virgins of Shiloh. Violence is also brought about by women such as Jael (peg) and Delilah, and even celebrated by women like Deborah and, in her own way, Sisera’s mother.

I believe it is highlighted in the book to remind the reader of Genesis 6.

Genesis 6:5 NKJV

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Israel needed a godly king, but more importantly they need the King of kings.

Also: the two most famous judges were anything but perfect examples. Gideon asking for a sigh because of a lack of faith or fear. He would even make an ephod an object of worship which snared him, his family, and all of Israel. Samson violated all rules of his Nazirite vow, drinking wine, touching something dead, and allowing his hair to be cut.

This book doesn’t describe the judges as leading Israel in true repentance and in putting away foreign gods, certainly not in the way the godly kings did later in the kingdom of Judah.

Key Themes:

Israel’s existence in the land, which had been promised by God, was threatened by its continuing apostasy. Israel had not conquered the land completely, and its unfaithfulness was to blame. Therefore, the day would come when the nation would be taken into captivity, and away from the land.

The oppressions, chaos, and generally negative picture in the book are due to Israel’s repeated sin. They broke the covenant time and time again, doing evil. As a result, they repeatedly suffered the consequences.

God’s faithfulness was the counterpoint to Israel’s apostasy.

The judges do little to arrest the downward cycle of apostasy, some of them, accelerated it.

Israel needed a godly king to lead in doing right in the Lord’s eyes rather than a leader who “did what was right in his own eyes.”

The Message of Judges:

The book is broken up into 3 parts:

Part 1: Prologue—The Failure of Israel (1:1–3:6)

Part 2: The Judges and the Cycles (3:7–16:31)

Part 3: Epilogue—Israel’s Collapse (17:1–21:25)

The Cycle of Sin:

Steps: Sin/Oppression/Cry/ Deliverance/ Peace/ Back to Sin.

Judges 2:16–17 NKJV

16 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so.

Question:

Where do you see this cycle in our culture?

What happens when God’s people live alongside sin instead of removing it?

“it is our duty to mortify, to be killing sin while it is in us. We must be at this work. He that is appointed to kill an enemy, has only done half his work if he quits before the enemy is dead.”

Galatians 6:9 NKJV

9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1 NKJV

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV

1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

A Downward Spiral:

Judges start with strong leaders, like Othniel and end with Samson, flawed and selfish.

The nation also declines morally and spiritually.

The Need for a King:

Judges shows Israel’s need for godly leadership. Pointing forward to David and ultimately to Christ, the perfect King and Deliverer.

Why Judges Matter Today:

Compromise leads to bondage: Small sins tolerated grow into strongholds.

Question: What are some common areas where believers today compromise?

Cycles repeat without heart change: Real repentance breaks the cycle.

Question: What is the difference between regret and repentance?

Only Christ delivers fully: The judges saved temporarily, but Christ saves eternally

John 8:36 NKJV

36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Closing Charge:

Men, Judges shows us what happens when leadership falters. When men refuse to stand in faith, women and children suffer, and nations collapse. God is not calling you to something unattainable, He is calling you to be faithful. Tonight, I charge you: lead courageously, put sin to death, and do not compromise with what is evil. Don’t settle for what is right in your own eyes—live by what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Ladies, Judges highlights your vital role as well—Deborah judged with wisdom, Jael acted with courage, Ruth (in the next book) displayed loyalty and faith. In a culture full to the brim with compromise, your faith, courage, and discernment matters. Tonight, walk closely with Christ, stand strong in faith and be women of truth and devotion. You strengthen your families, the church and the next generation by your faithfulness.

And finally, all y’all: Judges ends with chaos, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” but God calls us to something greater. Do not live by what seems right in your own eyes. Live under the Kingship of Christ. Compromise is easy; obedience is costly—but Christ is worth it. he alone can break the cycle of sin, and He alone gives freedom that lasts forever.

Numbers 6:24–26 KJV 1900

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.