Judges 19-21

1. A Levite and His Concubine
In this passage, a Levite from the hill country of Ephraim takes a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.  The concubine is unfaithful to him, though, and she returns to her father's home in Bethlehem.  The Levite goes to Bethlehem and is able to persuade her to return to his home, despite the best efforts of her father.  The Levite, his concubine and his servant spend the night with an old man in Gibeah in Benjamin on their way to Ephraim.  Later, some wicked men in Gibeah surround the old man's house and demand to sleep with the Levite.  After much haggling on the part of the old man, the wicked men of Gibeah consent to being allowed to rape and abuse the Levite's concubine.  She dies as a result of her injuries; the Levite dismembers her and sends her body parts throughout Israel, inciting widespread anger.

I was reminded of the account of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, as homosexuals play a prominent role in both accounts.  Also, I get the sense that God did not approve of the Levite taking a concubine, as that action does not square with his tribe's special relationship with God.  In addition, we see that the old man in Gibeah has a twisted moral compass; allowing the wicked men of his city to rape and abuse the Levite's concubine implies that he lacked a clear conscience.

2. Israelites Fight the Benjamites
In this passage, the Israelites respond to the Levite's grisly deliveries by gathering at Mizpah.  The Levite tells them of the demise of his concubine; they then demand that the Benjamites allow the men of Gibeah to be punished for their actions.  Yet the Benjamites refuse to hand over the men of Gibeah, and they mobilize against the rest of Israel.  The Israelites then go to Bethel and inquire of the Lord on two occasions as to whether they should attack the Benjamites.  In both instances the Lord seemingly allows Israel to attack their brethren, yet they are soundly defeated.  The Israelites then earnestly inquire of the Lord for a third time by weeping, fasting and offering sacrifices; He promises them that the Benjamites will be defeated, and they rout the Benjamites after setting an ambush for them near Gibeah.

Clearly the Israelites were spiritually distant from God at this time, as their desire to punish the men of Gibeah mushroomed into a desire to decimate the Benjamites.  The Benjamites were also spiritually distant from God at this time, as they would not hand over the men of Gibeah to be punished for their evil deeds.  On a side note, the Benjamites, though vastly outnumbered by the Israelites, fought valiantly by defeating them in two battles; yet that was small solace for the survivors after their tribe was crushed in a third engagement.

3. Wives for the Benjamites
In this passage, the Israelites realize that they have committed a grievous error in nearly decimating the Benjamites.  This stems from their taking an oath before the Lord at Mizpah that they would not give any of their daughters in marriage to the Benjamites.  The Benjamites are now on the verge of extinction, so the Israelites initially assist them by finding wives for the survivors among the virgins of Jabesh Gilead (the men of Jabesh Gilead did not join the Israelites in their battles with the Benjamites, so the Israelites sack their city while sparing all virgins).  Yet some of the Benjamites still lack wives, so the Israelites instruct them to go to Shiloh and seize wives for themselves among the girls who will dance in their annual festival of the Lord.

This passage concludes the rather unpleasant book of Judges.  Here, we are reminded of the spiritual poverty that characterized Israel at that time.  The Israelites took rash oaths, sacked one of their own cities (Jabesh Gilead), and sanctioned the kidnapping of innocent girls from Shiloh.  Perhaps the last verse of this passage sums up the book of Judges, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."  Hopefully the book of Ruth will provide some better examples of personal devotion to God...

Judges 16-18

1. Samson and Delilah
In this passage, Samson escapes from a trap that the people of Gaza have laid for him.  Later he falls in love with Delilah, who lives in the Valley of Sorek.  The Philistine leaders bribe Delilah quite handsomely so that she would convince Samson to reveal the secret of his superhuman strength.  Samson initially deceives her by pretending that he can lose his strength by:

• being tied with fresh thongs
• being tied with new ropes
• having his hair weaved into a loom.

Delilah is frustrated by these deceptions, and so she nags Samson until he reveals that he is a Nazirite.  Delilah seizes her opportunity and has Samson's head shaved. The Philistines then capture Samson and lead him to Gaza after gouging out his eyes.

Clearly Samson esteemed the pleasures that he enjoyed with Delilah more than his calling as a Nazirite.  If he had held to his calling as a Nazirite, he would have abandoned Delilah - especially in light of her persistent nagging.  Now I wonder if Samson discovered the Philistines who were hidden in his room after his initial deceptions of Delilah.  If so, did he dispose of them in short order, or did he spare them?

2. The Death of Samson
In this passage, the Philistines have a great celebration at the temple of their god, Dagon, after their capture of Samson; they offer sacrifices to Dagon and praise him. Samson is forced to entertain them at the celebration.  Samson then has a servant place his hands on both of the central pillars that support the temple.  After praying to God for the restoration of his superhuman strength, he shoves the pillars, causing the roof of the temple to collapse - killing himself along with a large number of Philistines.  In fact, it is noted that he killed more Philistines at that time than in all of his other engagements combined.  His family then retrieves his body and buries him in the tomb of his father, Manoah; it is noted that he judged Israel for 20 years.

Most likely the Philistines, including the servant who attended Samson, did not suspect that he could exploit the flaw in the design of their temple.  Now his actions in this case were rather horrifying, as it appears that there were no survivors; how many Philistines died at that time?  Perhaps the Philistines were sufficiently decimated so that Samson's family could come to Gaza and retrieve his body without encountering any resistance.  In any event, God clearly worked through this situation to show His supremacy over Dagon, a false god; the Philistines were engaging in idolatry, and so God worked through Samson to bring the full measure of His wrath on them.

3. Micah's Idols
In this passage, a man named Micah, who lives in the hill country of Ephraim, informs his mother that he took about 28 pounds of silver from her.  She had been concerned about the missing silver, and so she is so relieved that she consecrates her "silver to the Lord for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol."  The image and the idol are placed in Micah's house; he then makes an ephod along with some other idols, and he installs one of his sons as his priest.  Later a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah comes by Micah's house, and Micah convinces him to replace his son as his priest.  Micah remarks that the Lord will now bless him, since he has a Levite priest.

This is a rather bizarre story (on many levels) and it illustrates the utter spiritual poverty that characterized Israel at that time.  Here we have a woman in Ephraim who actually sets aside some of her silver to God so that they can be used to make a carved image and a cast idol.  She clearly lacked a proper understanding of 1) the concept of idolatry and 2) God's wrath toward idolaters, as exemplified by Samson's final act in Gaza.  We also have a man in Ephraim who has a personal shrine and a priest; moreover, he is so spiritually blind that he believes that God will bless him since a Levite is his priest.

4. Danites Settle in Laish
In this passage, the tribe of Dan sends spies into the hill country of Ephraim, since they have not claimed their inheritance in the Promised Land.  Their spies come by Micah's house, and his Levite priest states that God is blessing their journey.  The spies end up in Laish, and they discover that its residents are rather peaceful and unsuspecting.  After they make a report to the rest of their tribe, 600 warriors are sent to capture Laish.  Along the way they stop by Micah's house and convince his Levite priest to become the priest of their tribe.  Micah then rounds up some men to try to stop the Danites, but they are too strong for his small band.  The Danites attack and capture Laish; later, they engage in idolatry using Micah's idols.

This is also a rather bizarre story (on many levels).  Now we first read the story of Dan's capture of Laish in Joshua 19; thus, this passage reminds us of this tribe's failure to honor the Lord and accept his allocation for them in the Promised Land. Thus, the Levite priest displays his spiritual blindness in this case; he should have stated that the Lord was not blessing the Danites' military excursion since they were disobeying him.  In addition, Micah is still spiritually blind as he is determined to stop the Danites from seizing his idols and his priest.  He should have realized that he had been engaging in idolatry; thus, the loss of his idols and his priest was a blessing from God.

Judges 13-15

1. The Birth of Samson
In this passage, it is noted that the Lord allows Israel to be subdued by the Philistines for 40 years (due to their sinfulness).  The Lord then sends an angel to a Danite, Manoah, whose wife is sterile.  The angel tells Manoah's wife that she will give birth to a son who:

• is to be a Nazirite
• will begin delivering Israel from the Philistines.

When Manoah hears this news from his wife, he prays that the angel would visit them again to give them further child-rearing advice.  The angel does pay them a return visit; although he refuses Manoah's offer of food, he does accept a burnt offering which allows him to show his divine power. Manoah's wife later gives birth to a son, Samson.

It is neat to see God working through Manoah's prayer to bring glory to Himself.  Note that in verses 4 and 5, the angel had been fairly explicit in his instructions to Manoah's wife regarding Samson's upbringing.  Thus, God was essentially condescending to Manoah by allowing the angel to pay them a return visit.  Yet the angel worked through Manoah's lack of faith by:

• noting that his name is "wonderful" in verse 18
• rising to heaven in the flames from their burnt offering.

2. Samson's Marriage
In this passage, Samson goes to Timnah and falls in love with a Philistine woman.  Although his parents are unhappy with this move on his part, Samson will not waver in his resolve.  On two of his later visits to Timnah, he kills a young lion by the power of the Holy Spirit and eats honey from the lion's carcass, respectively.  Samson is then married; he presents a riddle to his Philistine groomsmen concerning the lion and the honey.  The groomsmen are unable to solve the riddle, so they threaten Samson's wife; after much cajoling, she convinces Samson to reveal the answer to the riddle.  Having lost a bet that is connected to the riddle, Samson then goes to Ashkelon and kills 30 Philistines, stripping them of their clothes and giving them to the groomsmen.

This is a mind-boggling testimony of Samson's God-given strength.  How did Samson take on a young lion and rip it apart with his bare hands?  Lions are strong enough to kill humans with one paw swipe, so Samson's strength is beyond my comprehension.  Also, how did Samson get away with killing 30 men in Ashkelon?  Ostensibly people in Ashkelon would have discovered the murdered men, yet there is no mention of the Philistines attempting to punish him for these murders.

3. Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines
In this passage, Samson's father-in-law gives his wife to his best man.  When Samson hears this news, he is enraged and captures 300 foxes; after tying torches to their tails, he allows them to burn up the Philistines' grain, vineyards and olive groves.  The Philistines retaliate by burning Samson's wife and father-in-law to death.  Samson then retaliates by killing many Philistines.  He later hides in a cave in the rock of Elam, and the Philistines prepare to capture him.  3000 men of Judah arrange for Samson's handover to the Philistines so that they can be at peace with the Philistines.  Yet when Samson is about to be captured, the Holy Spirit comes upon him and he is able to kill 1000 Philistines with a donkey's jawbone.

I recently skimmed through some notes that our pastor had scanned regarding the hardening of Pharoah's heart when Moses wanted him to free the Israelites.  Now the account of Samson is connected to that story in that God plays a nontrivial role in both passages.  Samson is clearly responsible for his actions in this story; he behaves rather selfishly and will not hesitate to retaliate against those who he feels have wronged him.  Yet God is glorified through Samson's actions as he brings Israel and the Philistines into a state of war, upsetting the status quo where Israel was subservient to the Philistines.  Clearly God is working through Samson's actions to punish the Philistines for their harsh treatment of Israel.

 

Judges 11-12

1. Jephthah
In this passage, the elders of Gilead summon Jephthah to assist them in repelling the Ammonites, who have come to attack Israel.  Jephthah succeeds in persuading the elders to make him their head and commander.  Now the king of the Ammonites wants to defeat the Israelites and reclaim land that allegedly belonged to the Ammonites.  Jephthah, though, tells the Ammonite king the story of Israel's conquest of that territory - in particular, God gave it into their hands.  The Ammonite king, though, refuses to listen to Jephthah's story and the battle is joined; Jephthah leads Israel to a great victory - by the strength of the Lord.  Unfortunately he makes a rash vow to guarantee his success and eventually honors it by sacrificing his daughter.

The account that Jephthah provided regarding Israel's conquest of the disputed territory is rather interesting, as Jephthah implied that God - due to His greatness compared to that of Chemosh, the god of the Ammonites - was able to give them that land.  Perhaps Israel at that time was so spiritually confused that they did not deny the existence of foreign gods such as Chemosh; they simply believed that God was stronger than the foreign gods.  One must wonder how God reacted to Jephthah's account...

2. Jephthah and Ephraim
In this passage, the Ephraimites expresses their displeasure with Jephthah for failing to solicit their assistance in his battle with the Ammonites.  Jephthah, though, notes that they had actually refused to help him; nevertheless, civil war ensues and Jephthah leads the Gileadites in crushing the Ephraimites.  While the Ephraimites are in full retreat, the Gileadites impose a test for everyone who attempts to cross the Jordan: those who can say "Shibboleth" are allowed to cross; unfortunately the Ephraimites can only say "Sibboleth" and so they are killed by the Gileadites.  It is then noted that Jephthah leads Israel for six years before his death.

As expected, Wikipedia has an interesting article on the concept of shibboleth.  One must wonder if God directed the Gileadites to impose this test on the Ephraimites.  Also, did any of the retreating Ephraimites see their fellow tribesmen fail the Gileadites' test, realize their inability to cross the Jordan at that point, and attempt to cross the river at another point?  A larger point that should be made is that this sad story highlights the internal divisions that racked Israel at that time; every tribe had to fend for itself.

3. Ibzan, Elon and Abdon
In this passage, Ibzan of Bethlehem leads Israel for seven years before his death.  He is succeeded by Elon the Zebulunite, who leads Israel for ten years before his death.  He is then succeeded by Abdon son of Hillel, who leads Israel for eight years before his death.

The reigns of these three judges seem to have been rather uneventful, which is noteworthy in Judges.  Now one must wonder why none of them led Israel for more than ten years.  Did they die of natural causes?

Judges 9-10

1. Abimelech
In this passage, Abimelech - the bastard son of Gideon - begins to reign over Israel, including the city of Shechem.  His rise to power is marked by his murder of all but one of his half-brothers in Shechem; the surviving half-brother, Jotham, then delivers an ominous prophecy regarding Abimelech and the people of Shechem.  Abimelech reigns for three years before Jotham's prophecy is fulfilled as God sends an evil spirit between him and the people of Shechem.  In particular, Abimelech eventually destroys Shechem and scatters salt over it; he also burns its survivors to death inside a tower.  Abimelech suffers an untimely demise, though, when a woman drops a millstone on his head during his attack on Thebez.

This is a rather unpleasant account, as both Abimelech and the people of Shechem die without expressing any desire for forgiveness by God.  The violence in this passage is shocking; for example, I had difficulty contemplating verse 5, where Abimelech murders most of his half-brothers on a stone.  This is bolstered by the description of Abimelech scattering salt over the ruins of Shechem, which also highlights his burning desire to assert his authority over Israel.

2. Tola
In this passage, Tola, the son of Puah, becomes the judge of Israel.  An Ephraimite, he leads Israel for 23 years before his death.

It appears that Tola's reign was relatively uneventful; perhaps the writer of Judges penned this passage with great relief after recounting the madness that swirled around Abimelech.

3. Jair
In this passage, Jair of Gilead becomes the judge of Israel.  He has thirty sons, who ride thirty donkeys and control thirty towns in Gilead.  Jair leads Israel for 22 years before his death.

According to the sidebar in my NIV Study Bible, "riding on donkeys was a mark of both prestige and power.  Horses were evidently not present until later when Solomon imported them."

4. Jephthah

In this passage, Israel engages in idolatry after the death of Jair.  The Lord then sells Israel into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who oppress them for 18 years.  Eventually Israel cries out to the Lord for mercy; He reminds them of their idolatry, yet they plead with Him and actually dispose of the idols that they have been worshiping.  So the Lord prepares to deliver them from their oppressors; now they need to defeat the Ammonite forces that have assembled at Gilead.

I found the dialogue between Israel and the Lord in this passage to be intriguing, as He does not immediately acquiesce to their plea for deliverance from their oppressors.  Most likely He wants the Israelites to see their need for Him.  Could His righteous jealousy be on display here?

Judges 7-8

1. Gideon Defeats the Midianites
In this passage, Gideon leads his forces against the Midianites, who are camped in the valley near the hill of Moreh.  The Lord then directs Gideon - twice - to reduce the size of his army.  With a remnant of 300 men, Gideon now faces an opposing force with camels that are more numerous than the grains of sand on a beach.  Yet the Lord enables Gideon to achieve a great victory, as the Midianites begin fighting each other; the Ephraimites join Gideon in pursuing the fleeing Midianites, and they kill Oreb and Zeeb - two Midianite leaders.

It is apparent that God engages in psychological warfare in this passage.  In verse 13, He causes one Midianite to have an ominous dream; in verse 14, He causes another Midianite to interpret that dream by linking it with His impending victory.  Not only this, but He throws the Midianite forces into a panic; possibly He causes them to believe that Gideon has more than 300 men at his disposal.  Indeed, the Lord Himself has numerous weapons at His disposal, including shock and fear.

2. Zebah and Zalmunna
In this passage, the men of Succoth refuse to support Gideon in his pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.  The men of Peniel also rebuff Gideon, and so he vows revenge on Succoth and Peniel.  He then leads a successful ambush of Zebah and Zalmunna, routing their forces.  Next, he exacts his revenge on Succoth and Peniel.  The passage closes by noting that Gideon kills Zebah and Zalmunna, and he takes the ornaments that hang on their camels' necks.

This is a rather brutal and nasty passage that I had trouble reading.  In particular, I definitely did not envy the fate of the men of Succoth; getting beaten with whips made of desert thorns and briers sounds painful and reminds me of a certain Mel Gibson film.  Also, I definitely empathized with Jether, the son of Gideon, who he commanded to kill Zebah and Zalmunna.  If I had been in Jether's shoes, I would have lacked the strength to draw my sword and stab both of these kings to death.

3. Gideon's Ephod
In this passage, the Israelites encourage Gideon to be their king after his great victory over Midian.  Gideon refuses, though, and he states that the Lord will be their king.  Yet he then asks each of them to give him an earring from their plunder of Midian.  With these earrings he makes an ephod and places it in his hometown of Ophrah; the Israelites end up worshiping this ephod.

It is clear that Gideon, in spite of his victory over Midian, did not remove the inherent sinfulness that plagued the Israelites.  They looked to him - instead of God - as their leader, and they were so depraved that they even worshiped the (mere) ephod that he had made.

4. Gideon's Death

In this passage, it is noted that Israel enjoys peace for 40 years after Gideon's victory over Midian.  Gideon ends up having multiple wives who bear him 70 sons; he even has a concubine who bears him a son, Abimelech.  Gideon then dies - which precipitates Israel's return to the worship of false gods.  The passage closes by noting that after Gideon's death, Israel forgets his work in delivering them from Midian; thus, they fail to show kindness to his family.

It should be noted that Abimelech will play a starring role in the next chapter...

Judges 4-6

1. Deborah
In this passage, Israel again does evil in God's sight, and so He sells them into the hands of Jabin, a Canaanite king.  Israel then cries out to God for help; God speaks through the prophetess Deborah to Barak, commanding him to defeat Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army.  After some reluctance on the part of Barak, he and Deborah defeat Sisera's forces.  Sisera escapes the battlefield but is later killed by Jael; she uses a tent peg and a hammer to strike the fatal blow.

Barak's reluctance to lead the forces of Naphtali and Zebulun against Sisera and his troops showed how far Israel had slipped (spiritually) since the time of Shamgar.  Indeed, Israel was spiritually bankrupt, and so they had stopped focusing on God; instead, they focused on what they could see - Sisera and his 900 iron chariots, a fearsome force - and quaked in fear.

2. The Song of Deborah
In this passage, Deborah and Barak sing a song to commemorate the victory that God has given them over the Canaanites.  They praise God for achieving this great victory given Israel's sad state under the rule of Jabin.  They also chastise several tribes - including Reuben, Dan and Asher - for not joining them on the battlefield.  In addition, they praise Jael for her bravery, as she has killed Sisera in her own tent.  The passage closes by noting that Israel subsequently enjoyed a 40-year period of peace.

It is interesting to note that Deborah and Barak's song praises several tribes - including Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali - while other tribes are chastised as noted above.  Clearly, the Israelites - when left to their own devices - would adopt an "every man for himself" mentality.  Only God could truly unify the tribes and induce the Israelites to have empathy for each other.

3. Gideon
In this passage, Israel again does evil in God's sight, and so He gives them into the hands of the Midianites.  Israel then cries out to God for help; God commands Gideon to deliver Israel from the hands of Midian.  Now Gideon is reluctant to follow God's leading, and so He encourages him by 1) burning up a sacrifice that he offers, 2) making a wool fleece wet with dew while keeping the ground around it dry, and 3) keeping the fleece dry while making the ground around it wet with dew.  Between the first and second above-mentioned actions on the part of God, Gideon destroys some pagan altars that his father had built.

Verse 13 of this passage is rather telling, as Gideon asks God's angel, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us...but now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."  Gideon fails to acknowledge the inherent sinfulness of Israel that is the root cause of their being enslaved by the Midianites.  One must wonder what God thought when Gideon made this statement; clearly Gideon was spiritually deficient, yet God resolved that He would be glorified through him.