Introduction to the Book of Judges

1 of 6 Sermons on Judges  -  Miracles of Faith & Leadership

January 16, 2005
Judges 2:8-19
1st Sunday after the Epiphany
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson

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Judges 2:18-19

18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

MIRACLES OF FAITH & LEADERSHIP

The book of Judges is all about
miracles of faith and leadership.

Last week I said that a miracle
is a victory in the battlefield of spiritual warfare.

All 12 Judges would agree.
These seven Judges, I am going to skip.

Othniel
Shamgar
Tola
Jair
Ibzan
Elon
Abdon
 

These five Judges I want to preach about.

Ehud

Deborah

Gideon

Jephthah

Samson

Some Bible scholars count the number of judges at 13.
In my opinion, Abimelech, the son of Gideon, was an anti-judge.
He was a great example of what NOT to do.
I'm going to skip Abimelech for now.


The Judges fought battles.
They weren’t the kind of judges we think about today.
They didn’t wear black robes.
They didn’t have a courtroom.

The book of Judges is about men and women
who were raised up by God
to be military and spiritual leaders.

They put their lives on the line
and God made them victorious.

The scholar William Ramsay said this about the Book of Judges.

“Judges is not edifying reading. It tells quite frankly stories of mass murder, seduction, idolatry, civil war, deceit, and rape. It describes two hundred years of near anarchy.”

Mr. Ramsay is right.
This is not an easy book to read
and the time of the Judges
was not an easy time to live through.

 

TIME - when did the Judges judge?

Let’s put this book in perspective.
Let’s use a time line.

Now I want you to memorize this Bible time line in detail.
 

Just kidding!


Here is the time line I want to use. It isn’t that hard.

From Abraham to Moses
2200 - 1500 (700 yrs)


From Moses to the Monarchy
1500 - 1000 (500 yrs)


The United Kingdom
1000 - 900 (100 yrs)


The Divided Kingdom
900 - 587 (313 yrs)


The Exile
587 - 545 (42 yrs)


The Restoration
545 - 400 (145 yrs)


Time between the Testaments
400 - 0 (400 yrs)


New Testament
0 - 100 (100 yrs)


Why is a time line useful?

It emphasizes that the events recorded in the Bible
are true and really happened.
they have dates
they took place in history


It is an easy way to visualize
the timing and order of the stories and major events in the Bible.
they are connected
they are part of a long story


It is a good tool for teaching adults and children
the general content of the New and the Old Testament.
to understand the NT we need to understand the OT

 

PLACE - where did the Judges judge?

Show the general features of Palestine.
 

After the Exodus
Israel was a confederation
of tribes.

The Judges more local leaders
and not truly not national leaders.


 

Know your opponent - Baal & Asherah


Israel was surrounded by cultures
that worshiped other gods:

Phoenicians - Tyre
Philistines - Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath
Moab
and Edom


The story of Judges will not make sense
unless you understand
the dynamic of tension between
two opposing religious systems.

The Israelites were surrounded by neighbors
who worshiped

Baal,
the god of thunderstorms, agriculture and fertility,

and Baal’s mom, Asherah,
the goddess of fertility.

There were several other gods and goddesses,
but Baal and Asherah were the main ones.




People who worshiped Baal and Asherah
didn’t have the 10 commandments.
They didn’t recognize the same moral standards
that the children of Israel did.

If a farmer wanted to have more crops
he might go to the neighborhood shrine
and have sex with a priestess-prostitute.

The idea was sympathetic magic.
By doing something on earth,
then the gods up in heaven would do something similar.
The gods would have sex too
and then it would rain
and the crops would grow
and farmers would get wealthy and successful.

Sometimes, in order to persuade the gods,
farmers would sacrifice their children
as an offering.

That was something the God of the children of Israel
were forbidden to do.

As you read the book of Judges
it becomes clear
that the Jewish people
were constantly tempted to forget who they were.

 

Judges 2

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD , the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.

16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD 's commands. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
 

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