Chronological Bible Study – April 5
What I Noticed Today (Judges 16-18)
Judges 16
In verses 1-3, Samson traveled deep into the Philistine territory to Gaza (about 35 miles from his hometown of Zorah), where he slept with a prostitute who deceived him (much like his fiancé).
- Sampson stayed in bed until midnight and realizing he was surrounded by men who wanted to kill him at the city gate. He took the doors of the city gate and pulled them out of the ground, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.
Note: Scholars disagree whether Sampson carried the city gates of Gaza all the way to a mountain overlooking Hebron which was 37 miles away. The alternative explanation (that makes more sense to me) is that Sampson carried the gate to a nearby mountain east of Gaza (El Montar) that faced Hebron.
In verses 4-20, sometime later, Sampson fell in love with a third Philistine woman, Delilah.
- Delilah was approached by 5 Philistine leaders (1 Samuel 6:17-18) who offered her 1,100 pieces of silver each if she would betray him.
Note: 5,500 pieces of silver was an enormous amount of money when you realize that an ordinary slave could be purchased for 30 pieces of silver.
- Delilah tried three separate times to get Sampson to tell her the secret of his great strength.
- Delilah nagged him day and night until she wore him out (v. 16). Samson eventually told her the truth about the source of his strength – his uncut hair.
- She cut it while he was sleeping, and the Lord left him.
In verses 21-31, the Philistines captured Sampson and put him in prison.
- The Philistines gouged out his eyes, placed him in bronze shackles, and took him to prison in Gaza.
- They forced Sampson to grind out the grain in prison.
- His final act as is hair grew out was to pray to God to restore his strength so he could take his revenge on the Philistines.
- God did restore his strength, and Samson pulled down the pillars of the temple to Dagon while the Philistines were celebrating.
- Samson died that day, along with 3,000 men and women who were in the temple.
- His brothers and father came and carried his body back to Zorah and buried him in his father’s tomb.
Note: Samson had everything going for him. He had the spirit of the Lord in him, yet he kept violating the Nazarite vow, especially with regard to foreign women. This attraction to women who worshiped foreign gods proved to be a snare for him all his life.
Note: There are some interesting parallels between Samson and Jesus:
- Both births were foretold by an angel
- Both were separated to God from the womb.
- Both were Nazarites.
- Both went in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Both came to save their people.
- Both were rejected by their people.
- Both destroyed (or will destroy) their enemies.
Judges 17-21
Judges 17-21 represent an epilogue to the book. They describe the moral and spiritual decline of the people of Israel. From a historical standpoint, the events of Judges 17-21 occurred earlier. Given the mention of Moses’ grandson and the ark at Bethel, the events of Judges 17-18 probably took place during the days of Othniel, the first judge of Israel.
Judges 17
Judges 17 relates the story of Micah from Ephraim.
Note: Micah means, “Who is like Yahweh?”
- Micah stole 1,100 pieces of silver (almost 28–lbs.) from his mother but admitted to the theft when he heard about his mother’s curse.
- Then she said her son was “blessed by the Lord”! The mother said the money was dedicated to the Lord, yet took some of the silver and had a silversmith make an idol.
Note: The 200 shekels of silver (about 5 pounds) was the equivalent of several thousand dollars since the price of a household slave was 30 pieces of silver. Such household idols were outlawed in Deuteronomy 12.
In verses 7-13, in addition to making a shrine and having household idols, Micah ordained one of his own sons to be the household priest.
- Then, when a young Levite came along, Micah hired the young Levite to be his household priest, thinking that the Lord would bless him because he had his own priest.
- The priest was from Bethlehem – the far end of the country.
Note: In all likelihood, the description that he was “young” indicates that he was under 30 years old and not yet eligible to serve in the temple. In Judges 18:30, we learn that the young priest’s name is Jonathon, and he is Moses’ grandson!
Note: Judges 17:6 says, “in those days…everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” This was so true in both in the case of Sampson chasing after foreign women who worshiped false gods, and Micah who thought he could build his own religious shrines and make idols and secure God’s blessing by hiring a young man to be his personal priest.
Some thoughts for further consideration:
- It is so easy for us to be led into sin! As we see with Samson, one sin led to another, and another until it cost him his eyes and his life. Yes, he accomplished much for God and his people, but how much more might he have accomplished had he remained true to God. How much more might we accomplish if we remain true to God?
- How are we doing today? Does the phrase “everyone does what is right in their own eyes still ring true”? I think it does. Especially here in America, we are experiencing a wave of moral relativism where people think whatever is true for them is perfectly ok, with no thought to God, and His best for us!
Judges 18
Judges 18 opens with the Danite tribe looking for territory to occupy. They had already been granted land by God (Joshua 19:40-48). Yet they had failed to take over all the land and had even been run out of some of the cities they had occupied.
Note: Rather than seeking God’s help in taking the land they had been promised they sent scouts out looking for another land to conquer.
In verses 2-8, the Danites selected five men and told them to look for new land for them to occupy.
- The five men journeyed to Ephraim and ended up at Micah’s house, where they met his Levite priest.
- They asked the priest to inquire of God (using the word Elohim) about their journey, and the priest answers that the Lord (using the name Yahweh) says they will be successful.
Note: Since the Danites already have land, the Lord had assigned them the priest is speaking against God’s original intent but is saying what he thought the men wanted to hear.
- The men went to Laish (aka Leshem, Joshua 19:47) and saw the land was good, lacking nothing, and the unsuspecting people had no allies.
In verses 9-28, the men returned to their clans at Zorah and Eshtaol to report:
- They encouraged their brothers to invade the land immediately because it was a good land.
- 600 Danites left and traveled as far as Ephraim arriving at Micah’s house.
- While the 600 men were stationed outside, the five spies entered Micah’s house to steal the idols, carved images, and ephods.
- They convinced Jonathan, the Levite priest, to go with them to be their priest.
- Micah chased after them and accused them of stealing his property and taking his priest, but they threatened to kill him and his family, so he returned home.
- The Danites went to Laish, killed the people, and burned down the city.
- They then rebuilt the city and named it Dan.
In verses 30-31, the Danites set up their idols and carved images. Jonathan, son of Gershom (Exodus 2:22), son of Moses, was their priest. Jonathan’s sons succeeded him as priests to the Danites until the time of the exile (722 B.C.).
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.