Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro to Judges

The book of judges is about the people who led Israel between Joshua and Samuel

It was a godless period of family feuds, civil war, kidnapping, and forced marriage

Yet we get some of the most well known Bible stories in the whole Bible

Gideon defeats an army with 300 men and of course Samson

The book starts with Joshua’s death

An era of progress and confidence has ended, and the future is uncertain.

Joshua was not just anyone.

He had been a man of tremendous importance for Israel.

By his personal example of courage, faith in God, and military leadership, he had brought Israel into its promised inheritance in Canaan.

He was not perfect, but he was unquestionably great—the greatest man of his generation—and Israel would feel the loss of him

After Moses there was Joshua.

But after Joshua there was no one in particular.

There was a leadership vacuum, and Israel was in crisis.

The Book of Judges pictures Israel suffering from invasion, slavery, poverty, and civil war.

What happened?

The nation of Israel quickly decayed after a new generation took over, a generation that knew neither Joshua nor Joshua’s God.

Instead of exhibiting spiritual fervor, Israel sank into apathy; instead of obeying the Lord, the people moved into apostasy; and instead of the nation enjoying law and order, the land was filled with anarchy.

Indeed, for Israel it was the worst of times.

One of the key verses in the Book of Judges

At Mt. Sinai, the Lord had taken Israel to be His “kingdom of priests,” declaring that He alone would reign over them

Deuteronomy 6 outlined the nation’s basic responsibilities: love and obey Jehovah as the only true God (vv.

1–5); teach your children God’s laws (vv.

6–9); be thankful for God’s blessings (vv.

10–15); and separate yourself from the worship of the pagan gods in the land of Canaan

The people didn’t want to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matt.

6:33); they would rather experiment with the idolatry of the godless nations around them.

As a result, Israel plunged into moral, spiritual, and political disaster.

One of two things was true: either the older generation had failed to instruct their children and grandchildren in the ways of the Lord, or, if they had faithfully taught them, then the new generation had refused to submit to God’s Law and follow God’s ways.

Read Judges 1:1-7

I. Judah Cleans House vs. 1-11

After Joshua dies there is still unfinished business

They boundary lines had been determined but they hadn’t fully claimed their inheritance

They owned all fo the land, but they didn’t possess all of it, therefore couldn’t enjoy it

They need to eradicate the Canaanites from the land

They inquire of the Lord to see who lead the charge

Judah is chosen and asks Simeon to go with them

They were blood brothers from Leah

Simeon’s inheritance of land was within the tribe of Judah

The lord gives the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, they defeat 10,000

Adoni-bezek, King of Bezek, is found in battle

He flees but they catch him and cut off his thumbs and big toes

This was humiliating but it also disabled him from running or fighting back because he couldn’t hold a weapon

After he is captured he reveals that he had done the same to 70 kings so he was getting what he deserved

What would easily be lost in there is the fact that this guy was no slouch on the battle field.

To defeat 70 kings meant they were formidable but unmatched against God

After defeating Adoni-bezek they turn their focus on Jerusalem

They defeat the city and burn it down

This is interesting because every where else the Jebusites occupy this city and Israel can’t conquer them till David

There are no archaelogical artifacts to show us where this place is

II.

Caleb Daughter Given in Marriage vs. 12-15

In vs; 12-15 we see a marriage interlude

Caleb is conquering his land and offers his daughters hand in marriage to the one who can conquer Kiriath-sepher

While this is not a frequent occurrence, the idea of “status-elevation” through an otherwise unavailable marriage arrangement would be appealing to some ambitious men.

For instance, David is able to marry into Saul’s royal household as a result of Saul’s offer of a daughter and David’s eventual conquest of Goliath

Othniel steps up to the challenge and wins Achsah’s hand in marriage

Othniel later was called to serve as Israel’s first judge

vs. 14

Othniel is now urged by his wife Acsah to ask for a piece of land with which to support his household.

This could be considered a dowry since it is not mentioned earlier in the narrative.

Apparently Othniel was better at capturing cities than he was at asking favors from his father-in-law, so Acsah had to do it herself

Getting down from her donkey she once again her father’s daughter asking for a favor.

Certainly, unwatered land was worthless; Acsah’s embassy is to insure her household’s survival.

Caleb gives her the upper and lower springs

III.

Further Conquests vs. 16-26

Vs. 16

The Kenites (1:16) were an ancient people (Gen.

15:19) who are thought to have been nomadic metal workers.

The Hebrew word qayin means “a metalworker, a smith.”

According to Judges 4:11, the Kenites were descended from Moses’ brother-in-law Hobab, and thus were allies of Israel.

The city of palms was Jericho, a deserted and condemned city (Josh.

6:26), so the Kenites moved to another part of the land under the protection of the tribe of Judah.

Vs. 17-20

We several areas that Judah conquered

Zephath or Hormah means destruction

Gaza, which we still hear about today, was located in the southwest coastal plain

It became the most important of the Canaanite five cities

Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron may have been temporary victories

During the time of Sampson he goes down to these cities and they are held by the Canaanites

It is only during David’s time do they become Israel’s possession permanantly

Caleb was given Hebron and he drove out the three sons of Anak

Anak was the ancestor of a nation of giants, the Anakim

Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak

The tribe had obviously grown and multiplied into 3 cities

The sons of Anak were probably long dead but the cities were still named after them

IV.

Failure to Conquer vs. 27-36

Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan all failed to overcome the enemy and had to allow these godless nations to continue living in their tribal territories.

The enemy even chased the tribe of Dan out of the plains into the mountains!

The Jebusites remained in Jerusalem

Eventually Solomon conscripted these Canaanite peoples to build the temple (1 Kings 9:20–22; 2 Chron.

8:7–8), but this was no compensation for the problems the Canaanites caused the Jews.

This series of tribal defeats was the first indication that Israel was no longer walking by faith and trusting God to give them victory.

The first step the new generation took toward defeat and slavery was neglecting the Word of God, and generations ever since have made that same mistake

2 Timothy 4:3–4

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

God didn’t want the filth of the Canaanite society and religion to contaminate His people Israel.

Israel was God’s special people, chosen to fulfill divine purposes in this world.