Agere Sequitur Esse

Judges

Book of Judges

Notes.. .

. ..Introduction. By Samuel to show that God’s judgement against sin is certain and His forgiveness of sin and restoration of relationship is just as certain for those who repent. People include Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, Samson, and Delilah.
. ..Themes. Decline and Compromise, Decay and Apostasy, Defeat and Oppression, Repentance, and Deliverance and Heroes.
. ..Outline. “The days of the judges only brought a litany of apostasy, failure, and defeat. So, what went wrong? God’s promise and blessing carried a condition. If Israel remained faithful and obedient to the covenant given at Sinai, God would give them victory. Israel disobeyed and therefore, forfeited victory (William Seay 2019, L4 28:09–28:40).
. ..Application. “Judges presents a graphic illustration of the nature and character of Yahweh. He is personal, transcendent, righteous, purposeful, and faithful. He is the Creator of the universe and people of faith. He alone is God” (Seay 2019, L4 32:40–33:01).
. ..Timeline. Time of Judges began in 1390. Stories of Othniel in 1390, Ehud in 1332, Deborah in 1225, Gideon in 1150, Abimelech in 115, Jephthah in 110, and Samson in 1100 to 1075.

Introduction. 23:10 – The purpose of Judges is to show that God’s judgement against sin is certain and His forgiveness of sin and restoration of relationship is just as certain for those who repent. The author of Judges was probably Samuel. The key people in Judges are Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, Samson, and Delilah.

Themes. 24:05 – There are five major theological themes. (i) Decline and Compromise. Whenever a judge died, the people decline and failure because they compromised their high spiritual purpose in many ways. They abandoned their mission to drive all the people out of the land. The adopted the customs of the people living around them. (ii) Decay and Apostasy. Israel’s spiritual downfall had its roots in the fierce independence that each tribe cherished. It led to everyone doing whatever seemed good in their own eyes. There was no unity in government or in worship. Law and order broke down. Idol worship and man-made religion led to the complete abandoning of faith in God. (iii) Defeat and Oppression. God used evil oppressors to punish the Israelites for their sin, to bring them to the point of repentance and to test their allegiance to Him. (iv) Repentance. Decline, decay, and defeat caused the people to cry out to God for help. They bowed to Him from idolatry to turn to God’s mercy and deliverance. When they repented, God delivered them. (v) Deliverance and Heroes. Because Israel repented, God raised up heroes to deliver His people from their path of sin and the oppression it brought. He used many kinds of people to accomplish this purpose by filling them with His holy Spirit.

Outline. 26:28 – In Exodus, God fulfilled His promises to Abraham; both, the promise of the people and land. At Sinai, He established His covenant. That covenant held Israel’s tribes together during the time of Judges. Israel made the difficult transition from wandering as displaced persons to settled people with structures and organization and institutions. Still, Israel remained a loosely organized group of tribes. On feast days, the tribes would gather at Shiloh to seek Yahweh’s presence and renew their covenant and allegiance to Him.

Serious military threats from Israel’s enemies were the only stimuli to break down their fierce independence. In times of danger, a judge would appear, led by the Spirit of the Lord, who would rally the clan and lead the warriors into battle and repel the foe. This leader’s authority was temporary and rested entirely in personal charismatic qualities bestowed by the presence of Yahweh’s Spirit but as soon as the danger passed the warriors returned to their tribe. The tribes returned to normal daily life including worship of Canaanite gods in place of or alongside of the worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 28:09 – The days of the judges only brought a litany of apostasy, failure, and defeat. So, what went wrong?

God’s promise and blessing carried a condition. If Israel remained faithful and obedient to the covenant given at Sinai, God would give them victory. Israel disobeyed and therefore, forfeited victory. Israel tried to worship Yahweh and the gods of the Canaanites. In attempting this, Israel violated the basic premise of the covenant. Yahweh alone was responsible for Israel’s existence. Therefore, He along, deserved Israel’s worship, adoration, and obedience. When Israel repented and returned to Yahweh with obedience, He forgave their disobedience and raised up a deliverer.

Writing no longer under Judges but Kings, the inspired writer did not find the situation to be significantly different. Israel still tried to accommodate worship of Yahweh and worship of the gods of the people. Chaos and failure to experience the promised blessings of God were again the results. If Israel and her kings had any hope of deliverance from chaos and destruction they must confess disobedience and return to Yahweh in faithfulness to the covenant; then, Yahweh would forgive them and endow the king with His Spirit and deliver them from their enemy. Otherwise destruction and ejection from the land and captivity in a foreign land would be the result.

The book of Judges adds new insight into the nature of Israel’s covenant obligations to Yahweh. Accepting the covenant, Israel voluntarily accepted Yahweh’s rule, His lordship, His, sovereignty. Here, the bible entered a central theological concept: God’s kingdom is God’s rule over His chosen people. The covenant was not an agreement between equals but rather an inferior who is Israel accepting the terms of a superior who is Yahweh. Israel’s election was not deserved. Israel was a helpless people who would be delivered by an act of unmerited grace. The covenant relationship with Yahweh could only be maintained if Israel kept the stipulated terms. Primary among those terms was the land on which Israel was to worship Yahweh exclusively and recognize no other things or persons as divine. Disobedience prevented Israel from receiving the blessing promised by God in the covenant. But the God who created the covenant is characterized by covenant keeping love. When Israel recognized disobedience as the cause of their difficulties they turned to God and confessed their rebellion. The God acted again with unmerited grace providing a deliverer that led Israel to promised blessing. The covenant people learned that they needed a God directed leader to ensure their loyalty to God. Without such leadership, they would and do as they saw fit. God’s people would set themselves on the road to self-destruction.

Application. 32:35 – Judges presents a graphic illustration of the nature and character of Yahweh. He is personal, transcendent, righteous, purposeful, and faithful. He is the Creator of the universe and people of faith. He alone is God. Therefore, He demands and expects exclusive worship and service from us, His creatures. Yahweh is the Lord of history. What He has promised, He will perform. We are to believe in Him and accept the conditions of His covenant and become like Him in character and attitude. This is righteousness. Anything else is disobedience and unrighteousness and sin which cuts us off from God’s promise and blessing and plunges us into confusion and chaos. Confession of sin results in forgiveness by God and His provision of a deliverer in both the OT and new NT Who is able to provide what we truly need in this life.

Something about how His Spirit works can also be learned from Judges. The primer mover in God’s deliverance is God’s Spirit. This rule is first presented in the period of the Judges but becomes a major motif throughout the bible. Gospel narratives of Jesus’ life also attribute His role to the Spirit of God. When God’s power is acting on our behalf, it is God’s Spirit in action. The Spirit empowers individuals with the necessary skills to accomplish God’s assigned task. This endowment enhances the personality of His recipient and it does not displace that personality.

Judges also provides significant insight into the nature of God’s kingdom. The rule of God’s people is the only way God’s people to accomplish God’s will. Whatever political systems believers live under the kingdom of God would come in their life only if they submit to the rule of God. Jesus strongly argued this same position. “You call me teacher and Lord” He said, “and rightly so because this is what I AM.” It is the goal and purpose of the body, the church, to do the will of its head; which, of course, is Christ. When the will of God controls the life and mind of the believer, the kingdom of God is at hand.

Timeline. 35:55 – The time of the judges began in c. 1390 BC. The story of Othniel was in c. 1390 BC. The story of Ehud was in c. 1332 BC. The story of Deborah was in c. 1225 BC. The story of Gideon was in c. 1150 BC. The story of Abimelech was in c. 1115 BC. The story of Jephthah was in c. 1110 BC. The story of Samson was in c. 1100–1075 BC.

Ref.

Seay, William. 2019. Old Testament Theology [MP3]. Andersonville Theological Seminary (ATS). Camilla, GA: ATS