JUDGES CONTINUES

CHAPTERS 1-3

As you may remember, I purposely jumped the gun last week to start us on Judges, as we need more space to cover this book (IMHO).

Chapter 1 tells the story of the Judah tribe, aided by Simeon, continuing the conquest of its territory. Chapter 2 gives the cycle we talked about last week. Chapter 3 brings us the first judge, Othniel, of the tribe of Judah. He is the ideal judge. After him, there is a gradual perception of diminishing quality. Some scholars believe it shows the need for a king, finally concluding, “In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Others say it shows just the opposite, as the Lord led the people through charismatic individuals he raised up when needed. Remember “shopat” can mean leader or even ruler as well as judge.

Othniel, the model shopat or judge. Not that the episode begins when Israel sins by lapsing into idolatry. Apparently, many of the Israelites believed their God, Yahweh, was a local God, one among many. So it was easy for them to be influenced to worship the others, just to keep all their bases covered. When this happened, the Bible says the Lord got angry. Verse 3:8 says he was so mad that the “anger of the Lord burned against Israel.” When the Lord gets hot, we need to pay attention. Many don't like that aspect of God's character. We rightly emphasize that God is love, but – as a theology teacher once put it – wrath is the underside of God's love. He says He is a jealous God. We understand how people can get angry if a loved one, especially a spouse, a fiance, or a steady girl or boyfriend spends too much time with another. So does God. Especially whe you realize the idols are only crafted from wood, metal, and/or jewels. Never assume it doesn't matter how you treat God.

When Israel got into trouble, they cried to God, and He sent a deliverer. Note in verse 10 the Spirit of the Lord came on Othniel. He is the first example of God raising a charismatic leader and equipping him for the occasion. The chief equipment was the presence of God's Spirit, a divine presence within him. Apparently Israel had little trouble dispatching the foreign king and were able to live in peace for 40 years, an entire generation.

Another judge who preteen boys will like - Ehd a left handed man. (All you lefties out there notice a nod to your preference!) When Israel sinned, the Lord allowed Moab to dominate them. Time came for a courier to bring King Eglon his tribute for not destroying Israel. So from the tribe of Benjamin Ehud delivers the tribute. After letting him see the money was all there, Eglon dismissed those around him when Ehud said he had a private message for him. When the room was empty except for those two, and the door was locked, Eglon drove his knife deeply into the king's belly. He then left through the windows while the guards debated why it was taking so long. One even suggested the king must have gone to the bathroom!

Soon after, Ehud blew a trumpet and called Epraim to battle. When the army was assembled they focused their attack on the fords of Jordan, thus blocking access to the Jewish land for the Moabites.

CHAPTER 4 – WHERE'S WALDO...ER...I MEAN...DA JUDGE!

A persistent theme in Judges involves the variety of people God uses in his service. (Watch for an eThought from me on the subject.) People from every tribe, and in this story even a foreigner! Question: who is the judge? Deborah is usually the one decided on, since she does business from under a tree giving her wisdom on various problems. But she doesn't lead Israel into battle like the other judges. Barak (not Obama) does that. But even he doesn't seal the victory by killing the king – Jael, a Kenite did that! Looks like this judge was a triumvirate!

The tale begins when Deborah tells General Barak she has a message from the Lord that he should go fight Sisera, commander of Jabin's army. The general agrees and he routes the army. We find out in the next chapter that God intervened directly by sending rain that made the iron-wheeled chariots useless as they bogged in the mud. Sisera saw how things were going and dismounted his chariot and fled. He came to a tent and was warmly greeted by Jael the Kenite (See v 11). She made him feel welcome and tucked him into bed for his last night's sleep. Then she proceeded to take a tent peg and a hammer and drive that stake through his temple. (Even though he wan't a vampire.)

Chapter 5 is known as the Song of Deborah and is in Hebrew verse. The best translation I've found is the NRSV, but the Holman is pretty good too and easier for most of us to find. It's a stirring song, almost a military march!

The earth trembled,

the heavens poured rain,

and the clouds poured water.

The mountains melted

before the Lord,

even Sinai before the

Lord, the God of

Israel.

It's interesting that verse 5:7 calls Deborah a “mother in Israel.” Judges gives more space to women than any other book in the Bible (except Ruth and Esther). There are 19 women characters who arise in the book.

The rest of the song mentions that some tribes helped in the battle, and some tribes did not. The song blesses those who went to war and curses those who failed. But underneath it all, God fought for Israel, and the Lord won the battle.

Let this remind us that when the Lord calls us into spiritual battle, we never fight alone.

JUDGES CONTINUES

CHAPTERS 1-3

As you may remember, I purposely jumped the gun last week to start us on Judges, as we need more space to cover this book (IMHO).

Chapter 1 tells the story of the Judah tribe, aided by Simeon, continuing the conquest of its territory. Chapter 2 gives the cycle we talked about last week. Chapter 3 brings us the first judge, Othniel, of the tribe of Judah. He is the ideal judge. After him, there is a gradual perception of diminishing quality. Some scholars believe it shows the need for a king, finally concluding, “In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Others say it shows just the opposite, as the Lord led the people through charismatic individuals he raised up when needed. Remember “shopat” can mean leader or even ruler as well as judge.

Othniel, the model shopat or judge. Not that the episode begins when Israel sins by lapsing into idolatry. Apparently, many of the Israelites believed their God, Yahweh, was a local God, one among many. So it was easy for them to be influenced to worship the others, just to keep all their bases covered. When this happened, the Bible says the Lord got angry. Verse 3:8 says he was so mad that the “anger of the Lord burned against Israel.” When the Lord gets hot, we need to pay attention. Many don't like that aspect of God's character. We rightly emphasize that God is love, but – as a theology teacher once put it – wrath is the underside of God's love. He says He is a jealous God. We understand how people can get angry if a loved one, especially a spouse, a fiance, or a steady girl or boyfriend spends too much time with another. So does God. Especially whe you realize the idols are only crafted from wood, metal, and/or jewels. Never assume it doesn't matter how you treat God.

When Israel got into trouble, they cried to God, and He sent a deliverer. Note in verse 10 the Spirit of the Lord came on Othniel. He is the first example of God raising a charismatic leader and equipping him for the occasion. The chief equipment was the presence of God's Spirit, a divine presence within him. Apparently Israel had little trouble dispatching the foreign king and were able to live in peace for 40 years, an entire generation.

Another judge who preteen boys will like - Ehd a left handed man. (All you lefties out there notice a nod to your preference!) When Israel sinned, the Lord allowed Moab to dominate them. Time came for a courier to bring King Eglon his tribute for not destroying Israel. So from the tribe of Benjamin Ehud delivers the tribute. After letting him see the money was all there, Eglon dismissed those around him when Ehud said he had a private message for him. When the room was empty except for those two, and the door was locked, Eglon drove his knife deeply into the king's belly. He then left through the windows while the guards debated why it was taking so long. One even suggested the king must have gone to the bathroom!

Soon after, Ehud blew a trumpet and called Epraim to battle. When the army was assembled they focused their attack on the fords of Jordan, thus blocking access to the Jewish land for the Moabites.

CHAPTER 4 – WHERE'S WALDO...ER...I MEAN...DA JUDGE!

A persistent theme in Judges involves the variety of people God uses in his service. (Watch for an eThought from me on the subject.) People from every tribe, and in this story even a foreigner! Question: who is the judge? Deborah is usually the one decided on, since she does business from under a tree giving her wisdom on various problems. But she doesn't lead Israel into battle like the other judges. Barak (not Obama) does that. But even he doesn't seal the victory by killing the king – Jael, a Kenite did that! Looks like this judge was a triumvirate!

The tale begins when Deborah tells General Barak she has a message from the Lord that he should go fight Sisera, commander of Jabin's army. The general agrees and he routes the army. We find out in the next chapter that God intervened directly by sending rain that made the iron-wheeled chariots useless as they bogged in the mud. Sisera saw how things were going and dismounted his chariot and fled. He came to a tent and was warmly greeted by Jael the Kenite (See v 11). She made him feel welcome and tucked him into bed for his last night's sleep. Then she proceeded to take a tent peg and a hammer and drive that stake through his temple. (Even though he wan't a vampire.)

Chapter 5 is known as the Song of Deborah and is in Hebrew verse. The best translation I've found is the NRSV, but the Holman is pretty good too and easier for most of us to find. It's a stirring song, almost a military march!

The earth trembled,

the heavens poured rain,

and the clouds poured water.

The mountains melted

before the Lord,

even Sinai before the

Lord, the God of

Israel.

It's interesting that verse 5:7 calls Deborah a “mother in Israel.” Judges gives more space to women than any other book in the Bible (except Ruth and Esther). There are 19 women characters who arise in the book.

The rest of the song mentions that some tribes helped in the battle, and some tribes did not. The song blesses those who went to war and curses those who failed. But underneath it all, God fought for Israel, and the Lord won the battle.

Let this remind us that when the Lord calls us into spiritual battle, we never fight alone.

JUDGES CONTINUES

CHAPTERS 1-3

As you may remember, I purposely jumped the gun last week to start us on Judges, as we need more space to cover this book (IMHO).

Chapter 1 tells the story of the Judah tribe, aided by Simeon, continuing the conquest of its territory. Chapter 2 gives the cycle we talked about last week. Chapter 3 brings us the first judge, Othniel, of the tribe of Judah. He is the ideal judge. After him, there is a gradual perception of diminishing quality. Some scholars believe it shows the need for a king, finally concluding, “In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Others say it shows just the opposite, as the Lord led the people through charismatic individuals he raised up when needed. Remember “shopat” can mean leader or even ruler as well as judge.

Othniel, the model shopat or judge. Not that the episode begins when Israel sins by lapsing into idolatry. Apparently, many of the Israelites believed their God, Yahweh, was a local God, one among many. So it was easy for them to be influenced to worship the others, just to keep all their bases covered. When this happened, the Bible says the Lord got angry. Verse 3:8 says he was so mad that the “anger of the Lord burned against Israel.” When the Lord gets hot, we need to pay attention. Many don't like that aspect of God's character. We rightly emphasize that God is love, but – as a theology teacher once put it – wrath is the underside of God's love. He says He is a jealous God. We understand how people can get angry if a loved one, especially a spouse, a fiance, or a steady girl or boyfriend spends too much time with another. So does God. Especially whe you realize the idols are only crafted from wood, metal, and/or jewels. Never assume it doesn't matter how you treat God.

When Israel got into trouble, they cried to God, and He sent a deliverer. Note in verse 10 the Spirit of the Lord came on Othniel. He is the first example of God raising a charismatic leader and equipping him for the occasion. The chief equipment was the presence of God's Spirit, a divine presence within him. Apparently Israel had little trouble dispatching the foreign king and were able to live in peace for 40 years, an entire generation.

Another judge who preteen boys will like - Ehd a left handed man. (All you lefties out there notice a nod to your preference!) When Israel sinned, the Lord allowed Moab to dominate them. Time came for a courier to bring King Eglon his tribute for not destroying Israel. So from the tribe of Benjamin Ehud delivers the tribute. After letting him see the money was all there, Eglon dismissed those around him when Ehud said he had a private message for him. When the room was empty except for those two, and the door was locked, Eglon drove his knife deeply into the king's belly. He then left through the windows while the guards debated why it was taking so long. One even suggested the king must have gone to the bathroom!

Soon after, Ehud blew a trumpet and called Epraim to battle. When the army was assembled they focused their attack on the fords of Jordan, thus blocking access to the Jewish land for the Moabites.

CHAPTER 4 – WHERE'S WALDO...ER...I MEAN...DA JUDGE!

A persistent theme in Judges involves the variety of people God uses in his service. (Watch for an eThought from me on the subject.) People from every tribe, and in this story even a foreigner! Question: who is the judge? Deborah is usually the one decided on, since she does business from under a tree giving her wisdom on various problems. But she doesn't lead Israel into battle like the other judges. Barak (not Obama) does that. But even he doesn't seal the victory by killing the king – Jael, a Kenite did that! Looks like this judge was a triumvirate!

The tale begins when Deborah tells General Barak she has a message from the Lord that he should go fight Sisera, commander of Jabin's army. The general agrees and he routes the army. We find out in the next chapter that God intervened directly by sending rain that made the iron-wheeled chariots useless as they bogged in the mud. Sisera saw how things were going and dismounted his chariot and fled. He came to a tent and was warmly greeted by Jael the Kenite (See v 11). She made him feel welcome and tucked him into bed for his last night's sleep. Then she proceeded to take a tent peg and a hammer and drive that stake through his temple. (Even though he wan't a vampire.)

Chapter 5 is known as the Song of Deborah and is in Hebrew verse. The best translation I've found is the NRSV, but the Holman is pretty good too and easier for most of us to find. It's a stirring song, almost a military march!

The earth trembled,

the heavens poured rain,

and the clouds poured water.

The mountains melted

before the Lord,

even Sinai before the

Lord, the God of

Israel.

It's interesting that verse 5:7 calls Deborah a “mother in Israel.” Judges gives more space to women than any other book in the Bible (except Ruth and Esther). There are 19 women characters who arise in the book.

The rest of the song mentions that some tribes helped in the battle, and some tribes did not. The song blesses those who went to war and curses those who failed. But underneath it all, God fought for Israel, and the Lord won the battle.

Let this remind us that when the Lord calls us into spiritual battle, we never fight alone.