Judges

1.       First Impressions

·         What do you see in this book that tells you about the original reader?

The people who would originally be reading this book will be the Israelites and possibly the people living among them at the time of the first kings. These are the people and their children who lived in the time of the Judges and who turned from God many times. Around this time there was instability and disunity among the people because of the kingship moving from Saul to David and Samuel is pro-David mentioning the tribe Judah well and that of Benjamin badly in places like Judges 20 & 21.

·         What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?

Although the author of Judges is not known, authorship according to Jewish tradition is ascribed to the prophet Samuel. We see in places like Judges 21:25 he says things like “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Samuel would have wanted to promote the idea of having a king and throughout the book we see that it is written in a manner which portrays David positively which is something Samuel would have wanted to do.

·         What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the “main idea?”

One of the main themes of Judges is God’s justice. Israel’s’ failure to obey and God’s judgment and grace is seen repeatedly. Over and over again we see the cycle of Israel doing evil, God punishing them, then they cry out to God from under oppression , God appoints a judge and they have peace but then they turn away again This reoccurs 7 times!  As we can see from Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, the book is broken up into three parts. Up to Judges 3:5 the author describes how the Israelites are now living WITH the Canaanites, from 3:5 to chapter 17 they are at war with the Canaanites and from 17 onwards they are living LIKE the Israelites.  In one sentence Judges can be described as: the continuous fall and rise of Israel as they disobey and cry out for God then He raises up a judge and there is peace but the people return to doing evil.

·         What is the primary reason this book was written?

The history of the 350 years before the time of the kings and the stories of the hero’s, the judges, must be recorded. It is important to be able to learn from the mistakes of ones ancestors. Over and over again the phrase “In those days Israel had no king” is repeated. One of the reasons this book is written is to show what it was like when Israel had no king and to persuade the readers of the value of a King. Also the tribes of Judah and Benjamin are mentioned quite a bit because the author wants to show that it is a good idea in the current times for David who is from the tribe of Judah to be named king over Israel after Saul who is from the tribe of Benjamin.

2.       Theme Tracing

·         What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

We can see the justice of God in many ways in Judges. In Joshua we saw God bring judgment on nations through having Israel defeat them but in Judges we see several times how God brings judgment on Israel through handing them over to their enemies when they disobey.

In Judges 2:20 to 3:5 we see how God tests His people and responds to their respose, God is an interactive God.   The thing I loved seeing in Judges was almost the softness despite His wrath. In many places God does things or says things which at face value seem to be harsh. However, in Judges, despite all the sad stories and we see how much it pains God to see His people suffer (Judges  10:16).  Over and over again God tries to help the Israelites by raising up Judges but He cannot go against His own character and this cycle showed me such an interesting side to God.

What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

Judges is not a book which clearly shows God’s redemptive plan. However, there are hints of it. One of the main things we see in Judges is man’s desperate need for deliverance.  The story of the angel of the Lord appearing to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:3) reminded me of the story of Mary and Joseph and how they were she was to bear a son. Samson is described as a man who will rescue Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5) and we know that Jesus was the rescuer of not only the Israelites but all mankind.

Application questions

·         Personal application: I learnt many things in Judges but I want to focus on the story of Gideon. I don’t necessarily act the way Gideon does but I often feel the way he does and my heart asks similar questions. I feel as though I am not good enough or qualified enough to do what God has called me to and I want to ‘see’ that it is God (6:17). Then also I want to test God the way Gideon does in Judges 6:36-39. What I love most about this passage is not the fact that Gideon is like this but God’s patience with Him and the way God encourages and guides Him. God knows me and how I feel and yet He wants to use me to co-create with Him despite my weaknesses. In all of chapter 6 God says things like, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you”, “Go with the strength you have…”, “I will be with you...”, “It is all right” and “Do not be afraid”.  He walks with Gideon. What I’ve also seen in this is the fact that I need to trust God in all things even if the task at hand seems impossible.

·         Point of Passion: As in Joshua much of what I saw in Judges regarding education had to do with leadership. The leadership in the form of having judges and the specific judges God raises up shows us that He truly uses anyone despite who they are, for example Samson, God used him even though He was selfish and never thought of the role He was playing in the bigger picture. It is important to teach the youth about the truth because each generation will follow in the footsteps of the previous one to a certain extent, especially if they are learning that evil is alright.