The Book of Judges Chapters 2-3

1. The Book of JudgesChapters 2-3 Old Testament Bible Studies True Love Church of Refuge Prophetess Delisa Lindsey Class April 15, 2009

2. Judges 2:1 • The confusion and defeat indicated in chapter 1 sets the stage for the events to follow. Joshua and his elders were victorious in all of their battles while the subsequent generation yielded to idolatrous practices, intermarriage, and paganism. They tolerated the gods of the Canaanites and followed after their traditions. • The angel of the Lord ascends from Gilgal (Joshua’s military home base to the Bochim, a place of weeping) to deliver a sharpened message of judgment. • How quick does one journey to a place of weeping and defeat from a place of military might and strength? What happened?

3. The Angel of the Lord • The angel of the Lord is used in the Old Testament to denote God Himself in His manifestation to men in the flesh. These appearances are called a “Theophany”. • God appeared to Adam, Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Joshua, etc. in these human forms. • A clue to determine which angel is appearing, a ministering angel will never allow you to bow before him. • The angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Christ. (God in the flesh) • The New Testament gives no reference to the ‘angel of the Lord’. It names Jesus as Lord.

4. Judges 2:1-3 • “I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.” • Since Israel had compromised her loyalty to God by her idolatry, she had forfeited her privileges of God’s covenant. • What privileges have we loss as a result of our disobedience and contrary ways?

5. Judges 2:4-5 • The message was so severe that the children of Israel lifted up their voices and wept. • They named that place, Bochim and made a sacrifice unto the Lord. • There is always a price to be paid for disobedience.

6. Judges 2:6-9 • The prophet Samuel reflects on the victories won under Joshua’s administration as previously recorded in Joshua 24:29-31. • Joshua’s leadership was successful in that the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua. • The elders who labored along with Joshua also observed the great works of the Lord. • Joshua, the servant of the Lord died at the age of 110.

7. Joshua died at 110? • Joshua died at the age of 110. • Joseph died at the age of 110 (Gen. 50:26) • What was significant about 110? • According to Egyptian records, 110 was considered the ideal life span. It indicated divine blessings upon one’s life.

8. Joshua 2:10 • After Joshua’s and the elder’s death, there arose a generation which did not know the Lord. • They did not know all that the Lord had done for Israel on behalf of their forefathers. • Examine this generation today. Will they grow in ignorance to the Lord? Will they know Him as we know Him? What examples are we leaving them to follow? What about our grandchildren? What legacy have we left for them to follow? Will they know the Lord? Are we providing them a stationary place of worship or are we still wandering in our wilderness experiences? Are our houses of worship a place where our children and grandchildren can grow spiritually and cultivate their gifts and talents? What will happen to their relationship with the Lord following our departure? Finding the right church is not so much about us as is it about our children and grandchildren.

9. Joshua 2:11-12 • The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They served the Baals. • Baals (Baalim) is noted in its plural form. He was a fertility god and was looked upon as the chief vegetation god of the Canaanites thought to bring productivity to crops, animals, and men. • He was also associated with weather was depicted as having a lightning bolt in his hand, thus his name, the god of fire. • This is precisely why God allowed Elijah to challenge the demon worshippers to a battle at Mt. Carmel to show whose God answered by fire (I Kings 18). • The Hebrew word for Baal is interpreted ‘master’ or ‘lord’.

10. Judges 2:13 • They served the Ashtoreths. The Hebrew ending –ot, indicates plural gods of this sort. • The Ashtar deities were multibreasted female fertility demons, whose worship included bizarre sexual orgies. The Babylonian form of the Ashtar god was called Ishtar, and the Roman form of this god was called Easter. This is where the Easter egg and rabbit, fertility symbols for Easter derives.

11. Judges 2:14-15 • In His anger, the Lord turned Israel over to her enemies, the raiders (devourers). Because Israel turned their backs on the Lord in the time of their peace and worshipped other idols, He kept the pressure on them by handing them over to their enemies to be invaded upon. • They neglected the covenant, neglected the brotherhood and presented a divided front which was easily overcome by their enemies. • When we are faithful to God even in times of peace and prosperity, He will rebuke the devourer for our sakes. But when we forsake His laws and our covenants with Him, He will forsake us. God is a righteous Judge. If we walk contrary to Him, He will walk contrary to us.

12. Judges 2:16 • When the people repented and returned to the Lord, He raised up judges (deliverers). These judges would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies and lead back into their covenant with the Lord. • The Hebrew word for judge is ‘shopet’, which means ruler. The action of the ‘judges’ was to deliver Israel from oppression. The actual ‘judge’ in Israel was the Lord. The individual judges were called by divine appointment and brought to prominence in the role of a deliverer through whom God used to administer justice as He empowered them by His Holy Spirit.

13. Judges 2:17-18 • After the particular judge would deliver the nation, they would harden their hearts toward them and return to whoring after other gods. • God considered their acts of betrayal as spiritual prostitution and infidelity. • They returned quickly out of the way of the Lord and His judge. • Whenever the Lord raised up such a judge, He empowered them to complete the task He assigned them until their death because the Lord had compassion on His oppressed and afflicted children. Have you ever attempted to use God for His benefits yet never fulfilled your end of the bargain? If so, you have committed spiritual prostitution.

14. Judges 2:19-20 • When the judge died, the people returned to more corrupt ways than the first, by following after other gods, serving them and worshipping them. • They refused to give up their evil and stubborn ways which angered the Lord. • He made the decision that He would no longer strengthen Israel to chase their enemies out of the land. God would use Israel’s enemies to chastise them. He would also use the Canaanites to test Israel’s loyalty to Him. • Deliverance is one thing, walking in deliverance and remaining free is yet another. • If we don’t fight the Lord’s battles the way He dictated, we will be left alone to fight on our own.

15. The Rule of the JudgesJudges 3:1-16:31 First Cycle: Othniel versus Cushan-rishathaim

16. Judges 3:1-4 • The following are the Canaanite nations the Lord allowed to remain to teach second trans-Jordan Israelites the art of warfare. • The five lords of the Philistines include the pentapolis of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Gaza. • The Canaanites, the Sidonians (Phoenicia), the Hivites were the cities left to test Israel’s obedience.

17. Judges 3:5-6 • The Israelites co-habited with the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and Jebusites. • Israel committed the grave sin of intermarrying their neighbors and serving their gods. They forsook the Lord and served Baalim and the groves. • The groves were the worship centers of the pagan gods.

18. Judges 3:7-9 • The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, forsook Him and served other idols. • The Lord became so angry that He allowed them to go into bondage at the hands of Chushan-rishathaim (doubly wicked Cushan), king of Mesopotamia for eight years. • When they cried out to the Lord, He raised up a deliverer, Othniel, Caleb’s nephew, son-in law, who saved them.

19. Joshua 3:10-11 • Othniel is introduced as a savior who delivers his people from the oppression of Cushan. The spirit of the Lord empowered him to do so. This endowment caused him to ‘judge’ Israel, go to war, and deliver the people from their enemy. • The evil king was delivered into his hand and he put him to death. • For the rest of Othniel’s generation, 40 years, the land had rest.

20. Judges 3:12-31 Second Cycle: Ehud versus Eglon, King of Moab

21. Judges 3:12-14 • After Othniel’s death, the nation backslid in the sight of the Lord. This time he allowed Eglon, King of Moab to oppress them. Eglon was able to gather a small army of the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Amalekites to overthrow Israel. These three tribes harassed Israel while in the wilderness and the Amelekites were Israel’s fierce enemies. • They took possession of Jericho, the city of Palm Trees, the same city Joshua overtook. • The Israelites were subject to Eglon for 18 years.

22. Judges 3:15-18 • God raised up a deliverer named, Ehud. He was a left-handed Benjamite selected to bring Eglon the tribute gifts. • Cunningly, Ehud made himself a dagger about 12-14 inches long and hid it underneath his robe strapped to his right thigh. • Eglon was a very fat man and Ehud persuaded him to dismiss his guards for a private conversation. • Ehud stood near the statue of Eglon and pretended as if he were a spy. Eglon, eager to hear the report, issued orders for Ehud to be quiet while his guards left the room.

23. Judges 3:20-24 • Eglon was sitting in the summer parlor (sun room) where Ehud announced he had a message from God. He jumped from his seat, grabbed the dagger with his left hand from his right thigh and thrust it into Eglon’s belly. • The impact was so severe that the blade was fully absorbed into Eglon’s belly. • Ehud locked the doors and escaped from the porch. Eglon’s servants figured Eglon was relieving himself and left him alone until they figured he was done. It was then they discovered Eglon had fallen to the floor dead.

24. Judges 3:26-28 • Ehud escaped and rallied the people from the central mountain range of Ephraim. The Israelites cut off the shallow water fords across the Jordan which could be used as an escape route by the Moabites. They trapped the Moabites on the west side of Jordan and killed 10,000 men, ending the oppression of Moab. • The land had rest for 80 years. This was the longest period of rest throughout the era of judges.

25. Judges 3:31 • After Ehud, Shamgar delivered Israel from six hundred Philistines using an ox goad - long-handled, 10 ft pointed stick with a metal tip used to prod animals. • He was not mentioned as a judge. Further Shamgar’s name is of Hittite origin. Shamgar is also mentioned along with Jael, another warrior, though not a judge, in the song of Deborah. • Shamgar is relatively unknown, but his use of a familiar weapon to spare the Israelites afforded him a Biblical scholarly audience.

26. Judges 4-5 “Deborah” 4/22/09