The Book Of JUDGES
Judges 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
|
CHAPTER 10:
Judge #6: Tola (Issachar) Verses 1-2: We are told very little about Tola, only his tribe and his home territory. He’s from Shamir, which is somewhere near mount Ephraim. (v.1) We are not even told which heathen nation God used to chasten Israel in this cycle, only that Tola judged Israel for a total of twenty-three years. (v.2) Judge #7: Jair (Gilead) Verses 3-5: We’re not told much about this judge either. Like Gideon, he is of the tribe Manasseh, but from those that settled on the western side of the Jordan. The name “Havoth-jair” (v.4) is translated literally as “tent settlements of Jair”. He is judge for twenty-two years, and hails from Camon. The description in verse 4 of his thirty sons riding on donkeys and the thirty cities that belong to them indicates their elevated social status. Both were symbols of royalty in the ANE. Verse 6: The list of false gods is lengthy. In addition to the familiar names of Baal and Ashtaroth, the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines are mentioned for the first time. All of these gods are similar in description and character, and all are part of the pantheon of fertility gods and goddesses that were common to the ANE at this time. The Moody Bible Commentary adds this note: “Dagon of the Philistines was probably not a fish god, as has sometimes been thought. The name “Dagan” is the common Semitic word for “grain,” suggesting that Dagan/Dagon may have been a West Semitic fertility god. In fact, he is included in the literature of Mesopotamia.” The god of the Ammonites was called “Milcom”, a variation of the name “Molech”, the Canaanite deity that required child sacrifice as part of its worship. The god of the Moabites, Chemosh, also demanded child sacrifice, which means that Israel was practicing this regularly in their cycles of apostasy and disobedience. The author underscores this point at the end of this verse: “…and forsook the LORD, and served not Him.” Verses 7-9: “The anger of the LORD was hot against Israel…”, and this time it’s the Philistines and the Ammonites that attack the nation. The Ammonites conquer the tribes west of the Jordan (v.8) before crossing the river to attack Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. (v.9) The Philistines, presumably, attack from their territory along the eastern coast. Verses 10-16: Instead of the usual summary of Israel’s cry to the LORD, the author records here the actual scene of dialogue between God and His chosen people. Israel recognizes the reason for the LORD’s chastening, acknowledging their sin of idolatry and disobedience. (v.10) God’s response is to remind them of His mighty works on behalf of Israel up to this point: deliverance from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Zidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites. (v.11) That last name is unfamiliar, but perhaps it refers to the Midianites. Each time, the LORD says, you cried out to me “…and I delivered you out of their hand.” (v.12) But each time Israel played the harlot by turning away from God to serve false gods, and now He tells them “…I will deliver you no more. (v.13) Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” (v.14) The LORD has had enough of Israel’s insincere repentance. Nevertheless, the men of Israel continue to plead with God, begging for His deliverance on their behalf. They confess once more, “We have sinned…” (v.15), and they throw themselves upon God’s mercy. “…do Thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee…”. But it’s not just words. They tear down the idols and the groves, and renew their obedience to the law of Moses. (v.16) Their confession of sin followed by their actions causes the LORD to have pity on them in their misery. For this current generation, at least, the repentance is sincere. There is more than just an outward change of behavior. Their hearts have been convicted and changed as well. Verses 17-18: The Ammonites gather their forces and set up camp in Gilead. Israel responds in kind, setting up camp in Mizpeh. (v.17) The men of Gilead now wait upon the LORD, wondering which man He will choose this time to lead them to victory. (v.18) CHAPTER 11: Judge #8: Jephthah (Manasseh) Verses 1-3: Jephthah is the second judge to hail from Gilead, who was a son of Manasseh (Numbers 26:29, Judges 10:3) As with Jair, Jephthah comes out of the half tribe that settled west of the Jordan. The fact that Jephthah’s father is not named specifically in verse 1 emphasizes Jephthah’s status as an outcast because of his mother’s occupation. For that reason he was disinherited by his half-brothers (v.2), and so he fled to Tob (v.3) where he made a name for himself by becoming “…a mighty man of valour…”. (v.1) Jephthah had gathered unto himself a following of “vain men” (v.2), similar to those hired by Abimelech. But the difference here, of course, is that Jephthah did not have to buy the loyalty of his men. He earned it by demonstrating quality leadership and performing heroic deeds, as evidenced by that author’s use of that phrase in verse 1. Verses 4-11: The fact that the elders of Gilead are forced to turn to an outsider and an outcast for help speaks volumes about the sad state of affairs in Israel at this time. Jephthah’s status and fame as “…a mighty man of valour…” (v.1) indicates that he must have built himself a small but powerful army of men who were the strongest military force in that area. And when the Ammonites begin attacking the Israelites, the elders of Gilead send messengers to Jephthah asking for his help. (v.5-6) Jephthah is, understandably, resentful and wary of the offer. (v.7) But the elders persist, and so Jephthah strikes a bargain with them: if he is able to defeat the Ammonites then he will be Israel’s ruler. (v.8-9) The elders agree, and the agreement is confirmed in a vow before the LORD. (v.10-11) Verses 12 – 29: Jephthah’s first act as leader is to send messengers to Ammon requesting their reasons for going to war against Israel. (v.12) The Ammonite king claims that Israel seized land that didn’t belong to them, and the only way to restore peace is to give it back. He cites the territory that lies between the rivers Jabbok and Jordan which had once belonged to the Ammonites. (v.13) (Numbers 21:24) But Jephthah schools the Ammonites in recent history, pointing out that Israel had sent requests to Edom, Moab, and Ammon during their journey after fleeing Egypt and requested peaceful passage through those lands. (v.15-19) (Numbers 20:14, Deuteronomy 2:18-19, 26) All of those kings denied Israel passage, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, even went to war against Israel instead of simply letting them pass by peaceably outside their borders. (v.20) Thus God gave Israel the victory over the Ammonites and Israel possessed their land which includes all the territory between the rivers Arnon, Jabbok, and Jordan. (v.21-22) Therefore, says Jephthah, if God has given that land to Israel, who are you to defy Him by taking it back? (v.23) Jephthah goes on to mock the false god of the Ammonites, Chemosh, by asking if he has granted any land to the Ammonites? (v.24) He then reminds the Ammonites of Balak, the Moabite king who had foolishly defied the LORD God of Israel by hiring Balaam to curse them. (Numbers 22:2, 5-6) Not only that, the Ammonites had three hundred years to come re-conquer their land, so why now are they coming against Israel? (v.26) In other words, it didn’t matter to the Ammonites for all that time that Israel had possessed their land, so why suddenly does it matter now? Jephthah closes his rebuttal with a challenge to the Ammonite king: Israel has done only what God had commanded them to do, and it’s the LORD that will now act as righteous judge in this dispute. (v.27) The king, of course, doesn’t heed Jephthah’s words (v.28), and so Jephthah gathers his army and sets out to meet the Ammonites in battle. (v.29) Verses 30-40: Jephthah makes a rash and foolish vow to God, promising that whatever comes out of his house when he returns from battle will be sacrificed unto the LORD if He will give Israel the victory this day. (v.30-31) God, of course, gives Jephthah and his army the victory over the Ammonites. (v.32-33) But He had already promised this to Israel and Jephthah from the beginning when Jephthah accepted the request of the elders of Gilead. (v.11) Furthermore, verse 29 confirms that “…the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah…”, so there was no need for this second vow. God was already on Israel’s side and had given them permission to fight the Ammonites. Furthermore, Jephthah had no way of knowing whether it would be his daughter or his livestock that would come out to greet him when he returned home, so that makes his vow all the more baffling. When he sees his daughter come running from the house, joyous at his victory (v.34), Jephthah blames her for his distress! (v.35) In great sorrow, he explains the vow he made to the LORD, and she understands why he must honor it. (v.36) She is his only child (v.34), and that’s what makes this foolish and rash vow all the more devastating. She will never marry or bear children (v.39), and for that reason she requests 2 months to mourn this fact before returning to her father’s house to serve the LORD for the rest of her life. (v.37-39) It’s those three verses that confirm the fact that she was not offered literally as a human sacrifice, as many Biblical scholars have erroneously claimed. Instead, she lived the rest of her life as a single woman devoted to full time service to God. Though the author doesn’t give any detail about what that service was, we can logically presume that it would have been at the tabernacle at Shiloh, if that was even still in use during these cycles of Israel’s great apostasy and idolatry. This account of Jephthah and his vow becomes so well known in Israel that the women go out every year at a certain time for four days to remember Jephthah’s daughter and lament her sacrifice. (v.40) Jephthah’s story is a sobering lesson in that we must be careful what we promise to God. (Ecclesiastes 5:2, 4-5) Vows are never to made lightly as God takes them very seriously. It’s also necessary to point out here that we should not bargain with God. As I mentioned earlier, God had already promised the victory to Jephthah, so there was no need for him to make such a foolish vow, especially if he thought it was earning God’s favor. Gideon made the same mistake with his constant testing of the Lord regarding the fleece. (Judges 6:36-40) Instead, we should simply pray, “LORD, thy will be done. I give myself completely to you for your service.” God will direct us and the events in our lives for our good and His glory as He sees fit. Period. CHAPTER 12: Verses 1-7: Once again, the tribe of Ephraim is complaining about missing out on all the action, just as they did with Gideon. (v.1) (Judges 8:1) Jephthah reminds them that he did actually call for their help, but they ignored him. (v.2) But whereas Gideon was able to appease the elders of Ephraim with tactful diplomacy, the same apparently doesn’t work here. The men of Ephraim insult the Gileadites by calling them fugitives because they settled on the other side of the Jordan with Manasseh. (v.4) Because of this, Jephthah leads his men in war against Ephraim. The soldiers of Gilead are able to take control of the passages that bridge the two sides of the Jordan, and they stop any man fleeing from the battle. (v.5) Any man that claims he is not of Ephraim is put to a linguistic test. (v.6) If he is unable to correctly pronounce the word “Shibboleth”, he is killed. Apparently, the Ephraimites had a specific way of pronouncing that word, and they were unable to form the “sh” sound. Instead, it came out as just “s”. (v.6) The total number of Ephraimite soldiers slain that day is 42,000. Jephthah rules Israel for only six years and, upon his death, is buried in Gilead. (v.7) Judge #9: Ibzan (Zebulun) Verses 8-10: The Bethlehem mentioned here is not the famous one in Judah since that one is always referred to in scripture as “Bethlehem in Judah”. This Bethlehem is about seven miles east of Mount Carmel in the north. The fact that Ibzan sends his thirty daughters abroad to be married, as well as seeks thirty women from abroad for his sons (v.9) indicates that he is probably trying to unite the nation after the devastating civil war between the Gileadites and Ephraimites. Judge #10: Elon (Zebulun) Verses 11-12: Elon rules Israel ten years. Judge #11: Abdon (Ephraim) Verses 13-15: The town of Pirathon is in Ephraim, and the description in verse 14 echoes that of Jair and his sons in chapter 10. Abdon rules Israel for eight years. All three of these judges were not military leaders like Jephthah or Gideon. Instead, based on the scant details given here, we can presume they were administrative governors, overseeing the nation in what seems to have been a relatively peaceful period of twenty-five years.
0 Comments
Judge #5: Gideon (Manasseh)
Verses 1-6: The Midianites are the descendants of Abraham through his handmaid Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2), and the Amalekites (v.3) are the offspring of Esau (Genesis 36:12). Both nations are used by God to once again punish Israel for their disobedience. (v.1) It’s clear from this passage that not all the Midianites were killed and/or conquered by Israel in their first encounter several generations earlier. (Numbers 31) Many of them must have escaped and fled into neighboring countries, eventually coming back together to form their own nation by the time Israel begins their conquest of the promised land. The Midianites raid the fields and towns of Israel, plundering their crops and livestock, until there is almost nothing left for the Israelites to sustain themselves. (v.3-4) This, too, makes sense in that the descendants of those survivors from the first encounter with Israel are motivated by vengeance, and God uses that to chasten His people. The armies of the Midianites and the Amalekites combined are so great in number that the author compares them to the multitude of grasshoppers, and their invasion of Israel’s land is sudden and swift. (v.5) (This is also further proof of God’s initial promise to Abraham. It was not only by Sarah that Abraham’s seed was as great in number as the stars in the sky, but also by Hagar and Keturah as well.) The resulting devastation is so great that all of Israel is left utterly destitute. (v.6) They are forced to flee into the mountains, hiding themselves in caves. (v.2) As always, Israel cries out to the LORD, repenting of their sin and begging Him for deliverance from their enemies. (v.6) Verses 7-10: As with Deborah, God uses a prophet to deliver a message to His people, and the prophet begins the message with a reminder to Israel of their fathers’ deliverance from Egypt by His hand. Keep in mind that the whole reason for Israel’s constant apostasy and idolatry is because each generation is neglecting to pass on to their children who God is and what He did for the descendants of Jacob in Egypt. Therefore, God Himself must now remind the new generation of who He is and what He’s done for their fathers. (v.8-9) God reminds Israel of the covenant He made with their fathers at Mount Sinai, how He delivered them from all their enemies – not just the Egyptians – and that it was He who gave them the promised land. (v.9-10) God had warned His people about turning away from Him to worship the false gods of the Amorites, but Israel didn’t listen and disobeyed the Lord’s commandments, thus breaking His covenant with them. (v.10) Verses 11-24: Gideon, son of Joash the Abiezrite, is threshing wheat in a winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. (v.11) Gideon is of the tribe of Manasseh, from Ophrah, which in the north, in the Jezreel valley. Threshing wheat is a process whereby the grain is separated from the stalks by having people or oxen tread over them in a wide, flat, open area, typically in the fields and preferably on high ground. Then, once the grain has been separated, the next step is called winnowing, where the wheat and chaff are separated by tossing them into the air. The kernels of wheat, which are heavier than the chaff, fall to the ground while the chaff is blown away in the wind. All of this is typically done in a large, open communal area that is easily visible to anyone passing by. But the threat and the oppression of the Midianites is so great at this time that Gideon is forced to thresh the wheat in a winepress. The winepress, however, is usually tucked away in the middle of a garden or a vineyard, away from public view. The angel of the LORD, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, surprises Gideon in the midst of his threshing wheat and greets him with the salutation “thou mighty man of valour.” (v.12) The angel also informs Gideon that “…The LORD is with thee…”, but Gideon is skeptical of this statement. He asks the angel why, if God is truly with Israel, has all this recent misery befallen them? Gideon references the accounts of their fathers, of their miraculous deliverance from Egypt and all the other signs and wonders that God had displayed for His people afterwards. (v.13) Gideon, like many of his generation, believes that God has abandoned Israel, leaving them at the mercy of the Midianites. This statement is also proof that in every generation of Israel not all had failed in teaching their children about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There is always a remnant that remembers the Law of Moses and has taught their children about the one true God. Verse 14 is further proof that Gideon is speaking directly with Christ Himself (“And the LORD looked upon him…”). God tells Gideon that he has been chosen to be the next leader of Israel, to save them from the Midianites, and that he is being sent by God. In other words, Gideon should take courage and strength from the certainty that God is with him and will give him all that he needs to defeat the Midianites. But Gideon, like Moses, is fearful and timid, and lacks faith in God’s promises. He’s also understandably bewildered by the LORD’s choice of him, a poor farmer from an insignificant house of one of the lesser tribes of Israel. (v.15) In the ANE, as well as the nation of Israel, rank is everything. One’s status is derived from one’s birth order, house, and clan or tribal name, and Gideon is understandably skeptical about his chances of gaining a large enough following of the armies of Israel in order to defeat an enemy so great as the Midianites. It’s also very likely that he is the youngest son of his family (“…I am least in my father’s house.”) As with David several generations later, God chooses the youngest and the lowliest to lead His people. The LORD graciously reassures Gideon that He will be with him, and he “…shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” (v.16) In other words, Gideon, with the supernatural aid of God, will be successful in commanding the army of Israel. But Gideon is still skeptical, and he asks the LORD for a sign that He is indeed the God of Israel. (v.17) The way this verse is phrased (“…shew me a sign that thou talkest with me”) suggests that Gideon is not entirely certain that he’s actually speaking with God. He desires proof that it’s truly the LORD Himself that is standing before him. Gideon asks the angel to wait while he prepares a gift in the form of a sacrifice, and the LORD agrees. (v.18) This is even further proof that the angel is the preincarnate Christ, for only God would accept worship from mankind. Abraham did something similar when he was visited by the angel of the LORD. (Genesis 18:3-5) Gideon prepares a young goat and unleavened cakes made from an ephah of flour which the angel of God commands him to lay upon the altar. (v.19-20) The angel then holds out his staff, touching the altar, and fire from heaven consumes the offering, but the fire comes up from the altar itself instead of raining from heaven. Following this the angel disappears. (v.21) Gideon then realizes that he has seen God Himself in the flesh, face to face, and he is filled with awe and fear. (v.22) But God commands him, “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” (v.23) Gideon then builds another altar in the same spot as the previous one that had been consumed. (v.24) He names it Jehovah-shalom, which means “The LORD is peace”. Verses 25-32: Now that Gideon has accepted God’s calling for him, the LORD assigns him a specific task. He commands Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and the grove that is around it. (v.25) Using the wood from those trees, Gideon is to then offer up a blood sacrifice on a new altar that he will build in its place. (v.26) Before Gideon can lead all of Israel to victory, he needs to clean up his own house first. Not only that, God needs to build up Gideon’s courage and his faith in preparation for national leadership. As with Moses, God summons His chosen man first and then qualifies him for the task He assigns him. Gideon obeys God, but he completes the assignment by night out of fear of reprisal from both his father and the elders of the city. (v.27) When the elders discover the vandalism the next morning, it doesn’t take them long to search out the culprit. It was most likely one of the ten servants that Gideon used to assist him the night before that gave him up to the city elders. (v.28-29) When they confront Joash at his house, demanding that he surrender Gideon to them for execution, Joash challenges the men to let Baal plead for himself. (v.30-31) If he’s a real god he will be the one to punish Gideon, not the men of the city. As mentioned earlier, the fact that Gideon knows of God and of the Mosaic Law, combined with Joash’s response to the city elders in verse 31, indicate that Joash taught Gideon of the one true God of Israel. However, it also stands to reason that Joash had built the altar to Baal, as well as practicing the pagan rituals associated with that heathen worship, in order to appease the elders and protect his house. But now that Gideon has courageously stood up to the men and done what’s right in the eyes of God, Joash is also willing to take a stand. Perhaps his youngest son persuaded Him of God’s calling, and Joash, too, has experienced renewed faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He and all his house no longer fear the men of the city as they once did. Joash also gives Gideon another name, Jerubbaal, because of his actions. (v.32) News of Gideon’s act and his calling by God naturally spreads throughout Ophrah and the surrounding region, as indicated by the rest of this chapter. Verses 33-40: The armies of the Midianites and the Amalekites set up camp in the valley of Jezreel in preparation for another battle. (v.33) As with the previous judges, the Holy Spirit indwells Gideon (v.34), and he sends messengers to not only his own tribe of Manasseh, but also Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. (v.35) Their armies readily join together under Gideon’s leadership, but Gideon’s faith is still weak. This account of the fleece and Gideon’s testing of God’s calling is not to be taken by believers today as a good example. Gideon already knew what God had called him to do, and God had already promised Gideon that He would deliver the Midianites and Amalekites into Israel’s hands. There was no need for Gideon to seek another sign from the Lord as assurance of His promise of victory. Nevertheless, rather than rebuke His servant, God patiently allows Gideon to test His word and gives Gideon the two signs that he asks for. |
Click here to get back to the chapter links on the Bible study homepage.
Archives
June 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed