Judges 1 - 3: The Beginning of the Era of the Judges
INTRODUCTION.
A. When we finished our study through Joshua, we saw Israel enjoying the rewards of their faithfulness. Before Joshua died, he warned Israel about the need to worship only God. (Joshua 24:18-25)
B. The book of Samuel begins just after the death of Joshua.
C. The book begins with Israel trying to complete the task of taking the land of Canaan. Their failure in this endeavor is just the first in a long line of departures from God’s word. Were as in the book of Joshua we saw Israel being rewarded, in Judges, we will see Israel being oppressed.
D. Regarding the author of Judges, the evidence points to Samuel. The evidence further suggests that this book was written sometime between the reign of king Saul and the time when David captured Jerusalem.
E. Let us begin this look into the decline of Israel and the era of judges.
I. THE ISRAELITES FAIL TO TAKES THE LAND OF CANAAN. (1:1 - 1:36)
A. The tribe of Judah had successes and failures in driving out the inhabitants of the land. (1:1-20)
1. The tribes of Judah and Simeon went up against the Canaanites and the Perizzites. The Lord gave Judah and Simeon victory. (vs 1-7)
2. Judah fought against the city of Jerusalem and the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowlands. (vs 8-9)
3. Judah fought against the Canaanites in Hebron and the inhabitants of Debir. (vs 10-11)
4. Caleb promised his daughter to whomever would attack Kirjath Sepher and take the city. Othniel, the future judge, took Kirjath Sepher. (vs 12-15)
5. Judah and Simeon attacked the Canaanites in Zephath. They took Gaza and Ekron. Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland. (vs 16-20)
B. The tribe of Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites who dwelt in Jerusalem. (1:21)
C. The family of Joseph had successes and failures in driving out the inhabitants of the land. (1:22-29)
1. The family of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) defeated the city of Bethel. (vs 22-26)
2. The tribe of Manasseh “did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages.” (vs 27-28, NKJV)
3. The tribe of Ephraim did not “drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer.” (vs 29, NKJV)
D. The tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol. (1:30)
E. The tribe of Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. (1:31-32)
F. The tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. (1:33)
G. The tribe of Dan was forced into the mountains by the Amorites. (1:34-36)
II. GOD JUDGES ISRAEL. (2:1 - 23)
A. An angel of the Lord pronounced judgment against Israel for disobedience. It is apparent from chapter 1 that the Israelites did make covenants with the inhabitants of the land and they did not tear down all the altars of the land. (2:1-5)
B. The righteous generation which Joshua lead into the land of Canaan passed on in death. There arose a new generation which did not know the Lord nor did they know what He had done for Israel. (2:6-10)
C. This new generation of Israelites who did not know God began to serve the false gods of the land of Canaan. (2:11-15)
1. The Israelites followed the gods of the people of the land. The Israelites served Baal and Ashtoreth. (vs 11-13)
2. Just as the Lord had promised, since the Israelites turned to false gods, the Lord would turn against them. (vs 14-15)
D. The writer gives an overview of the judges sent by the Lord. Israel would not remain in the path established by the judges. (2:16-19)
E. Because of Israel’s disobedience, the Lord left certain nations in Canaan to test Israel. (2:20-23)
F. The Lord left the following nations to test Israel. (3:1-4)
1. Five lords of the Philistines.
2. All the Canaanites.
3. The Sidonians.
4. The Hivites.
III. THE ERA OF THE JUDGES BEGINS.
A. The Lord raised up Othniel to be a judge over Israel. (3:5-11)
1. The Israelites intermarried with the heathen nations of the land of Canaan. As a result, the Israelites forgot the Lord. (vs 5-7)
2. The Lord sold Israel into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mosopotamia. (vs 8)
3. The Israelites cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Othniel to judge and deliver Israel. This is the same Othniel to whom Caleb gave his daughter as a reward for taking the city of Kirjath Sepher (cf. 1:12-15). (vs 9-11)
4. Israel had rest for forty years. (vs 11)
B. The Lord raised up Ehud to be a judge over Israel. (3:12-30)
1. The Israelites did evil and the Lord made Eglon, king of Moab, strong against Israel. Israel served Eglon for 18 years. (vs 12-14)
2. The Israelites cried to the Lord and the Lord raised up Ehud, the son of Gera to deliver the Israelites. Ehud was a left-handed judge. (vs 15)
3. Ehud made an opportunity that allowed him to get close enough to Eglon to kill him. (vs 16-25)
4. After escaping, Ehud led Israel to a victory against the men of Moab. Then thousand men of Moab were killed. (vs 26-30)
5. Israel had rest for 80 years. (vs 3)
C. The Lord raised up Shamgar to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. He killed six hundred men with an ox goad. (3:31)
IV. LESSONS LEARNED.
A. God wants His followers to drive sin out of their lives.
1. The Israelites did not obey the Lord. They did not drive all the inhabitants our of the land. They did not tear down all of the altars. (2:1-5)
2. As followers of God, Christians must drive sin and wicked influences out of their live lives.
a. Although we cannot leave the world, we must remember evil company corrupts good morals. (I Corinthians 15:33)
b. Christians are to put off the evil practices of the world. (Colossians 3:1-11; I Peter 4:1-4)
c. If we do not drive the sin out of our lives, then we, too, will be punished. (II Peter 2:18-22)
B. We must not let future generations forget about God.
1. A generation of Israel arose who did not know God. (2:6-10)
2. God had given Israel the means and the method to insure the faithfulness of future generations. The nation of Israel had apparently neglected to follow God’s instructions. (Deuteronomy 6:1-15)
3. As Christians we have a responsibility to do what we can to insure the faithfulness of future generations.
a. Parents must apply Ephesians 6:4 and the principles of Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
b. Parents must teach their children by word and by example.
c. Parents should faithfully attend the services of the local church with their children.
d. Israel failed to show their children how to walk in the steps of the Lord. We must not make the same mistakes.
C. We must remember our change from sin to righteousness.
1. We saw in this lesson 3 different occasions when the Israelites forgot their change from sin. They forgot the consequences of their sins.
2. Christians must never forget the fact that they were saved from sin and from the consequences of sin. We must always strive to remember, so as not to drift back into a sinful life. Consider the following passages.
a. Hebrews 2:1-4
b. II Timothy 1:13 reads, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (NKJV)
c. Revelation 3:1-6 - the words of warning issued to the church in Sardis
CONCLUSION.
A. We have just seen how Israel wandered from the Lord. We also saw that the Lord would punish His people to get them to change.
B. In future lessons we will examine the history of Israel under the guidance and leadership of judges.
C As we close this lesson, let us remember the lessons learned from our study.
1. God wants His followers to drive sin out of their lives.
2. We must not let future generations forget about God.
3. We must never forget the fact that we have been led from sin to freedom in the Lord. We must not forget the lessons we learned when we turned from Sin to Jesus Christ.
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Judges 1 - 3: The Beginning of the Era of the Judges -- June 17, 2001 -- File # 670
by John M. Duvall – Lawton, OK