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Wednesday 11/11/26
Thru the Bible: Old Testament Review – Judges Part 1
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Thru the Bible: Old Testament Review – Judges Part 1
Judges Part 1
This week we are beginning the book of Judges. Both Joshua and Judges are transitional books. Joshua captures a liberated Israel in their wilderness wanderings crossing over into the land Promised to their forefathers. It was the 2nd generation of Israelites from Egypt who Joshua – no less than 3 times – had them renew their covenant with God.
Now, Joshua is dead as are the leaders who were alive at that same time and another generation of Israelites are taking the lead – only they aren’t going in the right direction.
They are not remaining faithful to God. They are NOT being diligent to take the land allotted to them. When they do, they compromise by not exercising the judgment of God on Canaan by destroying them but often settle for co-existence. Part of this may be due to unbelief, though most of it is almost certainly their affinity for worshipping other Gods. Assuming this 3rd generation of Israelites are no different than many that follow, another factor might be their desire to not be different – to blend in and be like all the other nations.
The lessons of this book are many, but they are mostly very simple and relatable. Israel possesses only a fleeting love for God which is shallow at best and are easily influenced towards unfaithfulness by the customs and standards of the nations around them. When they allow their hearts to succumb to the temptation to be like the other nations and not be separate, God turns them over (as He said He would) into the hands of these nations, all of which hate them. Then they cry out to God in their despair and He raises up a judge to deliver them. Sound familiar?
So one of the first lessons we learn before we ever even crack open the book of Judges is that the fear (or respect) of man is a snare and that faith is only possible in the heart who seeks the honor of God, rather than the esteem of man.
Another lesson is that of 2nd generation faith. Each generation must have their own encounter with God and THAT is made possible when the previous generation are light and salt. Meaning they light the way to Life and they encourage thirst for a pursuit of God by living devoted and winsome lives before their children.
Now we are going to read the first 2¼ chapters, which catches us up on the story from where it left off with Joshua.
Then we will have to define the terms the Bible uses for judges because there are many and they are not all the same.
Finally we will have to identify the responsibilities and scopes of authority for each and do our best with the counsel of the rest of scripture to fill in the blanks where the text is less than verbose.
Judges 1:1-21,
“(1) After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD,
(2) The LORD answered,
“Judah is to go. I have handed the land over to him.”
(3) Judah said to his brother Simeon,
“Come with me to my territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your territory.”
So Simeon went with him.
(4) When Judah attacked, the LORD handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down 10,000 men in Bezek. (5) They found Adoni–bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
(6) When Adoni–bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
(7) Adoni–bezek said,
“Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.”
They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
(8) The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
(9) Afterwards, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills. (10) Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath–arba). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
(11) From there they marched against the residents of Debir (Debir was formerly named Kiriath–sepher).
(12) Caleb said,
“Whoever strikes down and captures Kiriath–sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah to him as a wife.”
(13) So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.
(14) When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field.
As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her,
“What do you want?”
(15) She answered him,
“Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water also.”
So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
(16) The descendants of the Kenite, Moses‘ father-in-law, had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad. They went to live among the people.
(17) Judah went with his brother Simeon, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and completely destroyed the town. So they named the town Hormah.
(18) Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.
(19) The LORD was with Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots.
(20) Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised.
Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak who lived there.
(21) At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.
As you recall, we do not know for certain whether this book was written or compiled from multiple historical records. Neither do we know WHEN this took place – only that it had to happen AFTER the time of the kings began, which as several statements of this time period of the judges was before the time of the kings saying, “in those days there was no king in Israel“. [See Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25]
So when we read statements like this one in verse 21
“The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.” It clearly does not mean until 2026, nor does it mean until the time of the Babylonian exile, but all the way from the time being reported until the time of this book being written or compiled.
Judges 1:22-29,
“(22) The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
(23) They sent spies to Bethel (the town was formerly named Luz). (24) The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him,
“Please show us how to get into town, and we will treat you well.”
(25) When he showed them the way into the town, they put the town to the sword but released the man and his entire family. (26) Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name to this day.
(27) At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth–shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the residents of Dor and its villages, or the residents of Ibleam and its villages, or the residents of Megiddo and its villages. But the Canaanites refused to leave this land.
(28) When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.
(29) At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.”
Now we are about to read about the failures of the tribes of Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali. I want you to pay attention and make some notes, mental or otherwise, regarding Zebulun and Naphtali in particular. Not because Asher and all the other tribes are not important – they are – but the facts surrounding the failure of these two tribes will give us some important insight when we get to Deborah the Prophetess and Judge in chapters 4-5.
Judges 1:30-33,
“(30) Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.
(31) Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.
(32) The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.
(33) Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth–shemesh or the residents of Beth–anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth–shemesh and Beth–anath served as their forced labor.”
In Judges chapter 4, Naphtali and Zebulun will fight against these very lands which they failed to conquer when they should have. This offers us some clarity as to what Barak was being called on the carpet for as well as some insight into the narrative that has a potentially profound impact on the way things played out.
Judges 1:34-36,
“(34) The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley. (35) The Amorites refused to leave Har–heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim.
When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor. (36) The territory of the Amorites extended from the ascent of Akrabbim, that is from Sela upward.”
Judges 2:1-9,
“(1) The Angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said,
“I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. I also said: I will never break My covenant with you.
(2) You are not to make a covenant with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done?
(3) Therefore, I now say:
I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a trap to you.”
(4) When the Angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. (5) So they named that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
(6) Joshua sent the people away, and the Israelites went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. (7) The people worshiped the LORD throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua.
They had seen all the LORD’s great works He had done for Israel.
(8) Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
(9) They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath–heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.”
3rd Generation Faith
Judges 2:10
“(10) That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors.
AFTER THEM another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works He had done for Israel.”
We’ve talked about 2nd and 3rd generation faith before and this is a great example of it. While technically this is the 3rd generation from Egypt, they are the 2nd generation from hands-on experience with encounters with God.
We will see in a few verses, none of this generation had fought against the Canaanites and so they had no 1st hand experience with God as their Deliverer – and this wasn’t because they had not been taught, nor was it because there was no land left to conquer. They just didn’t bother!
The lesson of 2nd generation faith is that it isn’t real faith at all – it is truth assumed to be true based on the testimony of others, but which has never been tested or experienced for themselves.
- It is an encounterless faith.
- It is mental assent.
- It is theoretical and hypothetical.
- It is dead!
Each generation is to have their own encounter with God. Relational trust comes from experiencing God for oneself. That is why nearly all the words about knowing God and His Word that surround the topic of faith mean “experiential knowledge”. We will read God’s testimony to this truth in a few moments in Deuteronomy 4:29.
Jesus addressed this in a famous and much cited statement to the religious leaders of His day when He said,
“(37) The Father Who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have not heard His voice at any time, and you haven’t seen His form. (38) You don’t have His word living in you, because you don’t believe the One He sent.
(39) You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. (40) And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” – John 5:37-40
It is no wonder that out of all the accounts of Jesus’ life this is only recorded by John – the one who identified himself constantly throughout his gospel as the one whom Jesus loved! None of this was theory to John, it was a living reality. He had truly met Jesus and it was that encounter that defined John’s person as being the one Jesus’ loves.
There can be no substitute for this and any claim to relationship with God that is devoid of it, is nothing but the mere shadow of another person’s faith, but is not faith itself as possessed in the heart of a true worshipper of God.
Not surprisingly…
Judges 2:11-15,
“(11) The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD’s sight.
They worshiped the Baals (12) and abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, Who had brought them out of Egypt.
They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They infuriated the LORD, (13) for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.
(14) The LORD’s anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, so that they could no longer resist their enemies.
(15) Whenever the Israelites went out, the LORD was against them and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.”
The first time God promised He would hand them over to their enemies if they turn away from Him to idols was in Leviticus 26:25,
“And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.” – Leviticus 26:25
The second time was again by Moses as he reiterated and expanded upon this warning years later to the 2nd generation in the plains of Moab just before his death.
Deuteronomy 4:25–31
“(25) When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, provoking Him to anger, (26) I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.
You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed.
(27) The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the LORD your God will drive you.
(28) There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell.
(29) But from there, you will search for the LORD your God, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul. (30) When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, you will return to the LORD your God in later days and obey Him. (31) He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them by oath, because the LORD your God is a compassionate God.”
And Deuteronomy 28:25,
“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.”
Of course the next time was through Joshua as a farewell warning – Joshua 23:12–16 and Joshua 24:19–20.
In his final charge to the elders, judges, and leaders of Israel, Joshua warns them not to intermarry with or worship the gods of the remaining Canaanite nations.
- The Warning: He tells them that if they turn away, God will no longer drive out these nations, and they will become “snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land“ (Joshua 23:13).
- The Consequence: He concludes in Joshua 23:16 that breaking the covenant will cause God’s anger to burn against them, and they “will quickly perish from the good land He has given you.“
Then during the final assembly of all the tribes at Shechem, the people declare they will serve the Lord. Joshua responds by warning them how serious that commitment is.
- The Warning: “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after He has been good to you.” (Joshua 24:20)
Finally, IMMEDIATELY following the death of Joshua, the Angel of the Lord repeating this exact warning to the Israelites at Bokim because they had already begun disobeying, which sets up the recurring cycle of Israel being handed over to enemies throughout the rest of the book (Judges 2:1-3, 14).
The Time of the Judges
Judges 2:16-23,
“(16) The LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, (17) BUT THEY DID NOT LISTEN TO THEIR JUDGES. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them.”
Like prophets, these judges (at least many of them) did not carry enforceable authority. Theirs was an authority to distinguish between right and wrong. To go to war in deliverance of Israel against their enemies. But even those judges who may have at times commanded obedience to God’s law, had no authority to enforce punishment upon those who disobeyed.
They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did.
(18) Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, the LORD was with him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive.
The LORD was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them.
(19) Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways.”
(20) The LORD’s anger burned against Israel, and He declared,
“Because this nation has violated My covenant that I made with their fathers and disobeyed Me, (21) I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
(22) I did this to test Israel and to see whether they would keep the LORD’s way by walking in it, as their fathers had.”
(23) The LORD left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.”
Judges 3:1-6,
“(1) These are the nations the LORD left in order to test Israel, since none of these Israelites had fought in any of the wars with Canaan.
(2) THIS WAS TO TEACH THE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF THE ISRAELITES HOW TO FIGHT IN BATTLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAD NOT FOUGHT BEFORE.
(3) These nations included:
the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal–hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.
(4) The LORD left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the LORD’s commands He had given their fathers through Moses.
(5) But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
(6) The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.”
About Judges and the time of the judges
There are several Hebrew and Greek words which are often all translated by the single word “judge” in English.
Some judges simply dealt with basic domestic issues which could be settled “outside of court” so to speak, others dealt with various grades of civil, religious and legal matters, some had authority to punish some did not.
Israel had a supreme court that convened at the temple and included priests, while others were Elders who met at the gate.
Still others were more like military leaders who acted as deliverers of the Jewish people from various forms of oppression or captivity upon their repentance. Though there are a few examples of these judges enacting judgment on Israel WITH FORCE, they seem to follow no established pattern. I will attempt to offer a few examples as we move forward into the book of Judges.
Obtaining a clear picture of the words for “judge”, the scope of their meaning and authority and how these may or may not express themselves within very specific locations like – the city gate or like Samuel who was a circuit judge or like Eli who sat on a seat by the temple doorpost (1 Samuel 1:9) or someone who like Deborah simply made judgments out in an open field.
Truth is, while we do have definitions and clear pathways of judicial authority, there is MUCH that is situational and undefined making the time of the judges far more ad hoc and unpredictable than things were in the wilderness under Moses or even as they were settling the promised land under Joshua.
