Judges 1-2

Key Themes (Judges)

The book of Judges is a historical narrative that recounts the period between the death of Joshua and the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. This time is marked by a cycle of disobedience, oppression, deliverance, and relapse, highlighting the moral and spiritual decline of the Israelites as they repeatedly turn away from God. The key themes include:

1. The Cycle of Sin and Deliverance: A central theme in Judges is the repeated cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. The Israelites repeatedly fall into idolatry and sin, leading to their oppression by surrounding nations. In response to their cries for help, God raises up judges to deliver them, only for the cycle to begin again. This theme emphasizes the consequences of disobedience and the merciful intervention of God despite the people’s recurring failures.
2. The Role of the Judges: Judges were leaders raised by God to deliver Israel from their enemies and to provide temporary leadership. These judges, who include figures like Deborah, Gideon, and Samson, are often flawed and imperfect but are used by God to accomplish His purposes. This theme highlights God’s ability to use unlikely and flawed individuals to achieve His plans and the importance of leadership in guiding the people back to God.
3. Moral and Spiritual Decline: The book of Judges depicts a time of increasing moral and spiritual decay in Israel. The phrase "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25) encapsulates the lawlessness and moral relativism that characterized this period. This theme illustrates the dangers of abandoning God’s laws and the resulting chaos and degeneration that ensue when people live without divine guidance.
4. The Need for God’s Kingship: The recurring failures of the judges and the moral decline of the people highlight the need for a centralized and godly leadership, ultimately pointing to the need for a king. The book sets the stage for the later establishment of the monarchy in Israel, suggesting that without strong, God-fearing leadership, the people cannot maintain faithfulness. This theme foreshadows the need for a righteous king who would lead Israel in covenant obedience.
5. God’s Faithfulness and Patience: Despite the repeated unfaithfulness of the Israelites, God remains patient and faithful, continually raising up deliverers to rescue them from their oppression. This theme underscores God’s enduring mercy and commitment to His covenant people, even when they repeatedly turn away from Him.
6. The Consequences of Disobedience: Judges vividly portrays the consequences of Israel’s disobedience to God’s commands, especially their failure to fully drive out the Canaanite nations as instructed. The lingering influence of these nations leads to idolatry and corruption among the Israelites. This theme emphasizes that disobedience to God’s commands leads to severe consequences, including oppression and spiritual decay.
7. The Role of Women: The book of Judges includes notable stories involving women, such as Deborah, Jael, and the tragic story of Jephthah’s daughter. These stories reflect the complex roles of women in this period and highlight both their contributions and the challenges they faced in a society marked by increasing violence and disorder. This theme explores the varied and sometimes difficult positions of women in the narrative of Israel’s history.
8. The Impact of Idolatry: Idolatry is a recurring issue in Judges, as the Israelites repeatedly turn to the worship of foreign gods, leading to their downfall. The theme of idolatry underscores the spiritual infidelity of the people and the destructive impact that turning away from the one true God has on their society.

The book of Judges is a sobering account of Israel’s repeated failures and God’s persistent grace. It illustrates the dangers of moral relativism, the importance of faithful leadership, and the consequences of disobedience to God’s commands. Through its themes of sin, deliverance, and the need for godly leadership, Judges highlights the ongoing struggle between faithfulness and rebellion in the life of God’s people and sets the stage for the eventual establishment of the monarchy in Israel.

What I Noticed Today (Judges 1-2)

In Joshua, God was with the whole nation. In Judges, God was with individuals.

Judges 1:1-3:6

This section serves as an introduction to the accounts of Israel’s judges: 1) the Israelites do not completely possess the land (Judges 1), and 2) the Israelites fall into a pattern of sin and judgment (Judges 2).

Judges 1

In Judges 1, the Israelites begin the process of conquering the Promised Land.

In verses 1-21, after Joshua’s death, the tribes were to conquer their own territories. Rather than fighting as a nation, they were now fighting as individual tribes, and they were not effective in claiming their territory. The people allowed remnants of the foreign populations to remain in their midst.

• Judah and Simeon banded together to fight against the Canaanites and Perizzites. God gave them victory, and they took possession of the hill country, the Negev, and the western foothills. But they failed to drive out the people who lived in the valley because they had iron chariots.
• At the same time, the Benjamites battled the Jebusites living in Jerusalem but failed to drive them out.

In verses 22-25, The people of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) attacked Bethel. A man came out of the city and told the Israelites how to get into the city. They attacked and conquered the city, and let the man and his family go.

In verses 27-36, other Israelite tribes failed to conquer their land:

• Manasseh failed to conquer their land and drive out the Canaanites. They subjected the Canaanites to forced labor allowing them to live among the Israelites.
• Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer and lived among them.
• Zebulun failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron and Nahalol. They subjected the Canaanites to forced labor and lived among them.
• Asher failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.
• Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Beth-shemesh and Bethanath. They subjected the Canaanites to forced labor and lived among them.
• The Danites failed to drive out the Amorites living in Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. They subjected the Amorites to forced labor and lived among them.

Judges 2

In Judges 2, the Angel of the Lord specifically called out Israel for not driving out the inhabitants of the land.

In verses 1-3, the Lord reminded the people, He brought them out of Egypt and made a covenant with them on the condition that they do not make covenants with the people living in the land. They were to drive the people out completely and tear down their altars, but they failed to do so.

As a result, He said he would no longer drive them out because the Israelites had broken their covenant with Him. The people would be a thorn in the sides of the Israelites, and their gods a snare to them.

In verses 4-5, the people wept bitterly, named the place Bokim (“weeping”), and offered sacrifices to the Lord.

In verses 6-10, we jump back in time to recount the death of Joshua (Joshua 24:29-31):

• The people worshipped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime.
• Joshua died at 100 years old and was buried in the hill country of Ephraim.
• Joshua had specifically told the people to be sure that they taught their children about God, but in Judges 2:10, we see that once the children of the Exodus generation died the next generation did not know God, or what He had done for Israel.

In verses 11-13, the result of not knowing God was that this generation turned away from God, seeking the gods of the people who were around them, even serving Baal and Ashtoreth.

In verses 14-15, the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites. He handed them over to their enemies, and they suffered greatly.

In verses 16-19, the Lord then raised up judges. The people didn’t even listen to the judges but continued to whore after other gods, becoming more and more corrupt over time.

• Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the people of Israel, the Lord saved them from their enemies while the judge was alive.
• As soon as the judge died, they became more corrupt than before.

In verses 20-23, the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites because they had broken their covenant with Him. He would no longer drive out the nations for the Israelites because the Israelites had rebelled against Him.

• The Lord left the Canaanites in the land to test the Israelites to see if they would be faithful to Him.

Some thoughts for further consideration:

• In these two chapters of Judges, we see the effects of not remaining true to God. The first thing they were to do when entering the Promised Land was to conquer the land and take possession of it by driving out the inhabitants. But they did not do that and even allowed some of the people to live amongst them as forced laborers.
• Moses and Joshua both warned the people to be diligent in teaching their children about the wonders of God, yet they raised a generation of children who didn’t know God. Not knowing God this generation sought after other gods, and ultimately became corrupt worshipping foreign gods.
• The combination of the corrupting influence of the pagans living among them and the fact that they did not take care to teach their children about God resulted in the people turning away from God in a single generation!
• We are so much like this today! We have the corrupting influence of the “world” entering into our churches, and statistics show fewer and fewer people are going to church teaching their children about God. Is there any reason at all to think things will turn out better for us when we reject God as a people than when the nation of Israel rejected God?

What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.

Tomorrow: Judges 3-5