“THE JUDGES” Lesson 189

After Joshua’s death, the Israelites asked the Lord; “now what”? Joshua was one of the great leaders in the Old Testament, taking the responsibility of bringing the people into the Promised Land. God’s servant Moses, whom He knew face to face, was dead and Joshua was appointed to prepare the people to cross the Jordan. Joshua followed the ways of the Lord and the people followed Joshua and did as he commanded. The book of Judges covers the time following the death of Joshua and the Israelites’ initial conquest of Canaan. Joshua had destroyed the Canaanites in some sections of the land and kept others in subjection. The people were ruled by a series of judges and fell into a cycle of apostasy, judgment, repentance and mercy. As in the wilderness, the people failed to learn their lesson. This cycle is repeated seven times in the book of Judges, emphasizing God’s love and forgiveness and the penalty for lack of faith and their disobedience.

The form of government in Judges was the “Theocracy” meaning God Himself was supposed to be the direct ruler of the nation. But the children of Israel did not take their God seriously and continued to fall into idolatry. The Israelites’ desire to fight the Canaanites came from Joshua’s command for them to occupy their allotted tribal territories (Jos. 18:3, 23:5). They needed to fight and conquer and break away from the Canaanites. They asked God, likely through a high priest, who would go up against the Canaanites? God’s selection of Judah corresponded with the blessings given by Jacob. Judah was one of the most numerous and powerful tribes and was destined for leadership in Israel (Gen. 49:8-12). The names of the sons of Jacob throughout refer to the tribes of the same title. Judah chose Simeon, both being off springs of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:33-35), to go into battle with him. Among the warriors of Canaan was king Adoni-bezek, who fled for his life but to no avail. Upon his capture, Judah’s men cut off his thumbs and big toes. This disabled the king from further military service, since he could no longer carry arms, nor could he flee from capture. Humiliation was suffered by the king since according to the sacrificial laws (Ex. 29:20); he could not be consecrated by the ram of sacrifice with no toes or thumbs. He would be cursed with no hope for sacrificial covering. He would become a king of a nation opposing THE KING and he and his people, not covered by the blood, would be condemned. Adoni-bezek, being a cruel and dangerous enemy, had captured tribal chiefs and mangled them in this very same way (Jud. 1:7). These captives could have included men of Judah. Although horrified at this treatment of captives, Judah followed the ‘eye for an eye’ method of punishment for the captured king. This is the only place this kind of pay-back is mentioned being used by the Judeans. The king not only cut off the body parts but further humiliated them by making them ‘gather their meat’ from under his table. He realized he had gotten his just reward before dying from his injuries.

The generations after Joshua did not know the Lord nor what He had done for Israel (Jud. 2:10). They knew of Him and had heard and believed in His covenant, looked to Him for help, but had not had a miraculous experience with Him. They depended on their forefathers’ knowledge of God to continuously pull them out of the miry sin they fell into. The message to Christians today is that we cannot depend on the blessings of the past or the salvation of our parents and grandparents for our own salvation and forgiveness. The test then and now is to respond to God on an individual and present basis. The new generation of Israel welcomed God at their feasts and sacrifices only! Sound familiar? Do Christians acknowledge and fellowship with God at church and religious gatherings only? They held to the Baal worship and compromised God, keeping obedience to Him in name only and not in actions. Israel was told to drive out the Canaanites, to be separate from them and their idol worship. This reminds us to separate ourselves from anything that will lead us astray. If we find it cools our fervor for God, we should drive it out. Otherwise we may find God’s anger upon us as it was on the children of Israel. I pray we do not have to have our thumbs cut off in order to break the grip of sin over our lives. Do not hold onto what you know is evil in God’s eyes. There is always a price to be paid for sin and we need proper leadership in our lives. This leader and Judge is Jesus Christ! God in His mercy will deliver us when we repent wholeheartedly and obey.

The chronology of the book of Judges is impossible for me to untangle mainly because of the failure to document the length of every reign and the time span between judges. There are detailed accounts of a few judges, namely Deborah, one of the most notable women in the Old Testament. Deborah is identified in Judges 4:4 by two terms; a prophet and as one who was judging Israel at the time of the 20-year period of oppression by the heavily armed Canaanites. Some list Deborah as the wife of Lappidoth because she was called ‘iset lappidot’, however this could also mean ‘woman of torches’ or ‘fiery woman’. The need to have a woman identified in relation to a man rather than standing alone apparently influenced virtually all modern and ancient translations. As a judge she was involved in military activities, same as the male judges. She was unique in the fact that she rendered judgment or legal decisions and the only one called a prophet. She is also referred to as the mother of Israel and is consulted by the Israelites when threatened by the Canaanites. She ordered her general, Barak, to round up troops from two tribes (4:6) or more tribes (5:14-15) but Barak refused to go out, being out-numbered, unless Deborah went also. She taunted him, saying the victory would not belong to him but rather to a woman. Turns out the woman was not Deborah but Kenite Jael who enticed Sisera into her tent and killed him (4:17-22) assuring Israelite’s victory. Deborah, still talked about today, may represent other women in Israel’s history who were left unheralded.

Samson is the last judge mentioned in the book of Judges, although Eli and Samuel carried judgeship on into the book of 1 Samuel until the people asked for a king (1 Sam. 8:5-9). Psalm 11:4-5 could be applied to the people’s situation in Judges; “He sees what people do; He keeps an eye on them. The Lord tests those who do right”. Israel failed over and over when God tested her. What is He testing in us? As He tested Israel, God is testing our loyalty and faithfulness to Him to see if we will keep the covenant in all situations. These tests do not come at a convenient time do they? Do they not always seem to hit when we are in a bind making the choices more difficult? They force us to decide who comes first in our life, God and faithfulness or our desires of the flesh. Always remember the last words of Joshua; “If you do not want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourself TODAY whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.