Judges: The Story

Introduction

We are starting the book of Judges today.

I have been wanting to preach this book since before even moving to wichita.

The book of Judges is one that I have loved for a long time.

However, to preach through the book of Judges is something many people believe needs a good rational.

Why preach through judges?

Its a gory, violent, gritty book.

Why preach through Judges when there are so many other books of the bible to preach through?

And the best rational I have, other than the fact that its in the bible, is that the book of Judges is a great story, and contains great stories.

The power of story has been on my mind a lot over the last few years.

Everything in life is part of a story.

There are good stories and there are bad stories, there are true stories and there are false stories.

There are comedies and there are tragedies.

When we want to get to know someone we ask them to tell us their story.

You see, Stories change people, they form communities, they build and tear down empires.

God has woven story form into the very fiber of the universe.

Story is how God communicates the realities of his glorious beauty to his creation.

Whenever you ask someone how there day has been, you are asking them to tell you part of their story.

Whenever someone asks you a question, the answer you give is an answer you received in the context of a story.

Salvation itself is Jesus Christ entering into your story, and baptizing you into his. His story becomes your story.

My kids love to hear stories from when I was child. They often ask me about my experiences as a child.

“When you were a kid did you ever fall of your bike?”

When you were a kid did you did win any trophies?

When you were a kid were you scared of this or that…

A couple weeks ago i was gone for the week, and while I was gone my mom came out to spend time with Mandee and the kids.

And when i got home my kids were full of stories they had heard from their grandmother about my childhood.

The learned how i was disappointed to not have a bible name like my brothers

They heard the story of me getting into the drivers seat of a running car and putting in drive at 2 years old.

Why do they want to know these stories?

Why is it so important to kids to know the stories of their parents?

Its because stories form identities, Kids learn who they are by hearing stories of their parents, and grandparents and great grandparents and so on.

Its hard to overstate the power of story in our lives

Stories bond people to one another, they hold families together, they form communities, they are the framework for civilizations.

For kids to grow up into maturity, they must know the stories of their parents, because our stories form and shape and guide their stories.

This is how all stories work, its happening right now,

my story is, at this moment, intersecting and changing your story, and your story is intersecting and changing my story.

It is through story that we learn and grow, it is through story that our identities are formed, it is through story that we find truth, goodness and beauty.

My story is that I grew up in the cold northern state of New Hampshire

If you think about it…

And when we met and got married our stories came together. And now her story of growing up in the jungle is part of my story.

Without story, there is no direction in life.

We are fundamentally narrative creatures, this is how our brains are organized.

Without story, truth is unattainable.

Without story, there is no meaning in life, meaning floats away.

It is through story that God has revealed himself

This is one of the problems within post-modernity, Post-modernity wants to reject any metanarrative - they don’t see life being intrinsically connect to a grand story.

And without story, meaning and truth float away leaving only subjectivism and relativism.

This is one of the problems with post-modernity, they are sceptical of meta-narritive - they don’t see life being intrinsically connect to a grand story.

And apart from story you cannot have objectivity, and apart from objectivity you cannot be anchored to an absolute truth.

To hold on to meaning and truth we must hold on to story

And the reason this is true is because God is the great storyteller, God who is the source of all meaning and truth has revealed himself through story.

You see, in the Bible we see that which many try and reject, a grand metanarrative

Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms Metanarrative

The idea that there is an overarching, all-embracing story of humankind into which all the more particular narratives fit (e.g., salvation history). Christians believe that the biblical narrative of creation-Fall-redemption-new creation is this all-embracing metanarrative, for the biblical story is the narrative of all humankind. In this sense the biblical narrative functions in Christian teaching as the central metanarrative.

The biblical metanarrative is the overarching, all-embracing story of humankind into which all our individual stories fit.

The biblical narrative of creation-Fall-redemption-new creation is the all-embracing story, or metanarrative, for all people of all ages.

for the biblical story is the story that all humanity is brought into.

The story of humanity begins in a garden (as we see in Genesis), and it will be concluded in a garden city (as we see at the end of revelation)

And all of our lives, our stories, fit into this one grand story that God is telling, for he is the great storyteller.

We are all apart of his story

We all live in God’s creation

We have all fallen into the curse of Sin

And we all live under the authority of Christ’s kingship

The question then for us, is what sort of character will we be in this story?

Will be faithful characters that move the story forward by pledging our allegiance to King Jesus?

Or will we be unfaithful characters who rebel against Christ’s Kingship?

So for us to live faithfully before Christ, it is massively important that we know our story and the story of our parents.

For example,

We need to know the story of our father Abraham and his unrelenting faith in God

We need to know the story of Esther, and her bravery and confidence in God

We need to know the story of the scriptures, because the story of the bible is our story.

In Christ we have been brought into the story of redemption.

And we must not forget this story, we must know it, it must get into our bones. For the story forms us into the image of God.

So why preach through the book of Judges? Because its a great story.

This is why we need to read the book of Judges, this is our story, these are the stories of our family.

****Everyone Stand

Those who have never heard a sermon from Judges sit down

Those who have only heard sermons on Gideon or Samson sit down.

Those who have never sat through a sermon series on the whole book judges sit down

Judges is a neglected book for many reasons.

Its a violent, gritty, and disturbing book.

Its a book that if it were made into a movie it would be rated R

Judges records what it looks like when God’s people turn their back on him and get caught up with what the world has to offer.

And because of these things the book of judges is often times avoided…

However, The most shocking feature in the book of Judges, is not the horror of the people’s sin depicted in these narratives but the glory of salvation from that sin, accomplished by the God of patience, mercy, compassion, steadfast love, and faithfulness.

For us to live rightly we must set ourselves in the story of scripture. We must know about our fathers and mothers in the faith. We need to to know about the wit of Ehud, we need to know about Shamgar and his oxgoad, our daughters need to hear about the bravery and Jael, and our sons need to see the strength of Samson. These are the stories that form our story, with the judges we have been brought into the story of God’s redemption, of God’s grace and mercy and his justice and righteousness.

Judges, A 12-Week Study Getting Acquainted

The terror of sin is outshone only by the glory of God’s salvation worked through these judges, who then point us to Jesus Christ.

The terror of sin is outshone only by the glory of God’s salvation worked through these judges, who then point us to Jesus Christ.

The terror of sin is outshone only by the glory of God’s salvation worked through these judges, who then point us to Jesus Christ.

Exodus 34:6 ESV

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

The most shocking feature in the book of Judges, therefore, is not the horror of the people’s sin depicted in these narratives but the glory of salvation from that sin, accomplished by the God of patience, mercy, compassion, steadfast love, and faithfulness ().

And this is why we need to know these stories.

And we see this on full display in the book of Judges.

For us to understand the greatness of God we must know the stories of those who came before us. We must know about our fathers and mothers in the faith.

We need to to know about the wit of Ehud, we need to know about Shamgar and his oxgoad,

our daughters need to hear about the bravery and Jael, and our sons need to see the strength of Samson.

we need to know about the serpent figures who get their heads crushed,

These are the stories that form our story.

Along with the judges, we have been brought into the story of God’s redemption, of God’s grace and mercy and his justice and righteousness.

And as we make our way through the book of Judges we will see how each of the stories prepare us for the ultimate judge, Jesus Christ.

We will see that the gospel story is laced throughout the book of Judges.

Why study the book of Judges?

Not only that, but the book of Judges may be the most culturally relevant book in the OT.

tension and strife between rival groups (in the Middle East or elsewhere)

disputes over land and territory

uncertainty over the roles of men and women

power-hungry political leaders

child abuse

spouse abuse

Judges 1. Why Study the Book of Judges?

• tension and strife between rival groups (in the Middle East or elsewhere)

• disputes over land and territory

• uncertainty over the roles of men and women

• power-hungry political leaders

• child abuse

• spouse abuse

• senseless and excessive violence

• male political leaders who chase women

• excessive individualism

• moral confusion

• social chaos

senseless and excessive violence

male political leaders who chase women

excessive individualism

moral confusion

• social chaos

Hearing the stories of the judges will help us walk faithfully in our world today.

So I want to give us a sense of the landscape of Judges before we jump into the text.

The Landscape of Judges

The book of Judges fills in the historical gap between the period of the conquest (Which we see in Joshua) and the rise of the united monarchy in Israel (told in the books of Samuel).

So Judges gives us a window into the period in Israel’s history after the 12 tribes had made their home in the promised land but before the rise of kingship under Saul and then David.

So if we were zoom out and look at biblical history leading up to the judges we would start in Genesis...

Biblical Overview

creation

take dominion

fall

flood

after the flood a new creation

They are called to take dominion

babel (another fall)

Abraham

The lord then calls Abraham and promises him that through his family he would bless all the nations of the world.

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This is the trajectory after Abraham,

we are going to the land God has given us (promised land),

He is going to make us a great nation,

and he is going to bless us.

Move to Egypt (due to a famine)

Slavery

Redeemer (moses)

Exodus

Wilderness

Promise land (2nd generation, led by Joshua)

Once they made it into the promised land they were to drive out the wicked nations and take the land as their own.

However, Israel failed to drive out the wicked nations but instead assimilated with them.

Israel becomes like the nations.

So how does God save his people?

He raises up Judges to rescue his people and call them back to faithful obedience.

So this time of the Judges, between Joshua and the monarchy of Saul, is around 385 years (1323BC - 1013BC)

Samson is the last Judge recorded in Judges and he is alive at the same time as Ruth and Boaz and Samuel - just to give some reference points.

The structure of book is pretty straightforward

Judges, A 12-Week Study Outline

The book of Judges includes two introductions, two conclusions, 12 judges (six major judges and six minor judges), and one anti-judge, Abimelech.

The book of Judges includes two introductions, and two conclusions,

And in between the introductions and conclusions we find 12 judges (six major judges and six minor judges), and one anti-judge, named Abimelech.

12 judges (six major judges and six minor judges), and one anti-judge, Abimelech.

Although the basic structure of Judges isn’t complicated, We do find the book is full of disorienting cycles, spirals, and circles.

Deserting the King: The Book of Judges Chapter 3: Cycles, Spirals, and Circles: The Structure of Judges

Although the basic structure of Judges isn’t complicated, the cycles, spirals, and circles can be disorienting. And that’s the point. In Judges, God’s people are aimlessly spiraling out of control. The structure of the book reinforces that truth.

And that’s part of the the point. In Judges, God’s people are aimlessly spiraling out of control. The structure of the book reinforces that truth.

The Cycle of Judges

Deserting the King: The Book of Judges The Cycle of Judges

1. Israel does “evil in the eyes of Yahweh” by abandoning him and serving the gods of the nations.

2. Israel’s actions provoke Yahweh’s anger, and he sends foreign nations against Israel to oppress them.

3. The Israelites cry out to Yahweh for deliverance.

4. Yahweh raises up judges who save the Israelites from their enemies.

5. The “land has rest” (i.e., experiences peace) for a specified period of time.

So within the story of the six major Judges, we see this cycle taking place, to one degree or another.

2. Israel’s actions provoke Yahweh’s anger, and he sends foreign nations against Israel to oppress them.

And the cycle is this:

3. The Israelites cry out to Yahweh for deliverance.

4. Yahweh raises up judges who save the Israelites from their enemies.

5. The “land has rest” (i.e., experiences peace) for a specified period of time.

1. Israel does “evil in the eyes of Yahweh” by abandoning him and serving the gods of the nations.

Judges, A 12-Week Study Placing Judges in the Larger Story

The nature of this time period is described on four different occasions in the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6; compare 18:1; 19:1; 21:25

Judges 17:6 ESV

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

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (; compare 18:1; 19:1; 21:25

This happens when the break the covenant God made with them on mount sinai

1. Israel does “evil in the eyes of Yahweh” by abandoning him and serving the gods of the nations.

2. Israel’s actions provoke Yahweh’s anger, and he sends foreign nations against Israel to oppress them.

These are like mini-exiles

3. The Israelites cry out to Yahweh for deliverance.

The people repent of their unfaithfulness

4. Yahweh raises up judges who save the Israelites from their enemies.

These are mini-exoduses’

5. The “land has rest” (i.e., experiences peace) for a specified period of time.

And then the cycle repeats

1. Israel does “evil in the eyes of Yahweh”

This cycle repeats itself six different times throughout the book of Judges. But what we see happening is that not only is the cycle repeating itself, but we also see that it is a spiral downward.

The Spiral of Judges

one element of the cycle that appears without fail in each of the six cycles is some form of the phrase:

Deserting the King: The Book of Judges The Downward Spiral

one element of the cycle that appears without fail in each of the six cycles is some form of the phrase “Israel did evil in the eyes of Yahweh” (3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1)

“Israel did evil in the eyes of Yahweh” (3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1)

With each cycle we see Israel spiraling downward into greater depths of depravity.

Each cycle is worse than the previous.

By the time we get to the end of the book we are left longing for a king to come to rescue Israel out of the complete mess they were in.

The very last verse of Judges says,

Judges 21:25 ESV

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

We see this cycle and spiral of Judges laid out for us in chapter 2

Look with me at

Judges 2:11–23 ESV

11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. 16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Overview

1. Israel does evil and worships the Baals.

2. God becomes angry and hands Israel over to an enemy nation.

3. Israel cries for help.

4. God raises up judges who deliver Israel from the enemy.

5. Israel returns again to foreign gods.

1. Israel does evil and worships the Baals.

2. God becomes angry and hands Israel over to an enemy nation.

3. Israel cries for help.

4. God raises up judges who deliver Israel from the enemy.

5. Israel returns again to foreign gods.

However, God is faithful to his people, and he shows his faithfulness by raising up judges to deliver his people.

Who are the Judges?

So who are these Judges that God raises to deliver his people?

We see throughout Judges that God raised up the Judges to be both the Political and Spiritual leaders of Israel.

By God’s grace he raised up judges to restore Israel during this time, but what Israel needed was the ultimate Judge, the true King, the one toward whom the judges stories point. Israel need the Messiah if they were to walk faithfully before God.

They were like a priest/king hybrid.

There is a very sad and unfortunate narrative around the judges in the evangelical mind these days.

The judges are often viewed not as an instrument of God’s grace, but as part of the problem.

The judges are often viewed as anti-heroes, as evil leaders who lead the people into deeper sin.

How often have you heard that Samson was a short-tempered, womanizing man who failed to follow God?

Our opinions ought not be framed by popular belief, lest we fall into the same snares as the Israelites, our opinions concerning the Judges must be formed from what God’s word says.

And the word of God is overwhelmingly positive in its perspective of the Judges.

We see this in the passage we just read..

Look back with me at vv. 16-19

Judges 2:16–19 ESV

16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

You see, The Judges were the ones who kept Israel in line.

It was the people who did not listen to the judges

It was the people who rebelled against God’s anointed.

Verse 18 says, “Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge”

God called Judges to be his image bearers, to be his representatives on earth at this time.

Judges 11:27 ESV

27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

Judges 11:27 ESV

27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

You see God himself is the true Judge therefore, We must see that the judges point us to Yahweh, Israel’s true Judge

We must see that the judges point us to Yahweh, Israel’s true Judge ().

This leads readers to see that the judges point to Yahweh, Israel’s true Judge (). They are types of Christ, who saves His people from their enemies of sin, death, and the devil.

The Judges are types of Christ, who saves His people from their enemies of Satan, sin and death.

They are types of Christ, who saves His people from their enemies of sin, death, and the devil.

Not only does the book of Judges view the Judges in a positive light, but so does the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews

Hall of Faith

Hebrews 11:32–34 ESV

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

It is of these men that the author of Hebrews says, the world was not worthy.

Hebrews 11:39 ESV

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

Hebrews 11:33–34 ESV

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

The Book of Judges is a book of stories that play a huge role in God’s story.

Were these men and women perfect? of course not! However, they are examples for us, they are our mothers and fathers in the faith and we must hear and learn their stories, so that we might grow up in Christ as mature men and women.

As we travel through the book of Judges there will be parts of the story that will cause us to cringe, there will be parts of the story that cause us to rejoice, and there will be parts of the story that will make us uncomfortable…

however, the entire story is to lead us to Christ who is the true judge, the true king, the true deliverer. He is the one toward whom the judges point, and he is the one toward whom we must fix our eyes.

Lets pray.

No Judge was able to bring life that which was dead due to sin.

You see, when we read the the book of Judges we should read the stories as stories of men and women who foreshadow and point us to Christ.

Who were the Judges?

The judges were Spiritual and military leaders God appointed to lead Israel in faithful obedience before God.

The judges were a sort of priest/king hybrid.

“Major” Judges:

Othniel

Ehud (E-hood)

Deborah and Barak

Barak ()

Gideon and his treacherous son Abimelech

Abimelech ()

Jephthah

Samson

Eli ()

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Judges

Major Judges:

• Othniel (Judg 3:7–11; 1:13–15; Josh 15:17–19)

• Ehud (Judg 3:15–30)

• Deborah (Judg 4–5)

• Barak (Judg 4–5)

• Gideon (Judg 6–8)

• Abimelech (Judg 9)

• Jephthah (Judg 11:1–12:7)

• Samson (Judg 13–16)

• Eli (1 Sam 1:1–4:22)

• Samuel (1 Sam 7:6–17; 12:11)

“Minor” Judges:

• Shamgar (Judg 3:31; 5:6)

• Tola (Judg 10:1–2)

• Jair (Judg 10:3–5)

• Ibzan (Judg 12:8–10)

• Elon (Judg 12:11–12)

• Abdon (Judg 12:13–15)

• Bedan (1 Sam 12:11 LEB)

Samuel (; )

“Minor” Judges:

• Shamgar (; )

• Tola ()

• Jair ()

• Ibzan ()

• Elon ()

• Abdon ()

Now, something really unfortunate has happened in the retelling of the judges, The judges are often seen in a negative light.

Some scholars claim that the judges are anti-heroes

Some think the judges are examples of what happens when evil men are given power

Some look at the judges as leading the people of Israel into deeper and deeper sin.

This is a very sad and unfortunate background

Deserting the King: The Book of Judges Chapter 3: Cycles, Spirals, and Circles: The Structure of Judges

Although the basic structure of Judges isn’t complicated, the cycles, spirals, and circles can be disorienting. And that’s the point. In Judges, God’s people are aimlessly spiraling out of control. The structure of the book reinforces that truth.

Deserting the King: The Book of Judges Chapter 2: Judges in the Context of the Grand Story

Judges by no means covers all the events that took place during the period of the judges, but it does aim to fill in the historical gap between the period of the conquest (recounted in Joshua) and the rise of the united monarchy in Israel (told in the books of Samuel). So Judges gives us a window into the period in Israel’s history after the tribes had made their home in the promised land but before the rise of kingship under Saul and then David.

Judges by no means covers all the events that took place during the period of the judges, but it does aim to fill in the historical gap between the period of the conquest (recounted in Joshua) and the rise of the united monarchy in Israel (told in the books of Samuel). So Judges gives us a window into the period in Israel’s history after the tribes had made their home in the promised land but before the rise of kingship under Saul and then David.