OVERVIEW: Early victories and incomplete possession of the land by Israel; the forsaking of God to serve Baal and Ashtaroth; God raises up Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, and Barak as judges to deliver Israel from the oppression of their enemies four different times.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
To understand the Book of Judges we must understand the last sentence in the entire Book: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Mark those words! They are not only the key to this book, they are also the key to human nature. Notice that it says that every man did that which was “RIGHT” in his own eyes, not that which was “WRONG”! The tragedy is that man’s idea of what is right is often the exact opposite of what God says it is. (Pro. 14:12) This will become evident as we read the Book of Judges and find the following recurring expression: “And the children of Israel did EVIL in the sight of the Lord.” (2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1)
The Book of Judges gives us incredible insight into how it is that the lives of once “sold out” believers can so spiral downward that they actually become, as Paul talked about in 2 Timothy 2:20, “vessels unto DISHONOR,” or as Peter talked about in 2 Peter 1:9, how they can actually “forget that they were purged from their old sins.” How unbelievably tragic! God forbid that it would ever be true of us! But the biblical reality is, we all have that potential. It is vital that we learn the practical spiritual lessons in the Book of Judges! (Rom. 15:4)
There are four key words that summarize the repeated pattern of God’s people in the Book of Judges:
1. Commitment
2. Complacency
3. Compromise
4. Corruption
It went like this:
The very first chapter lets us know that when Israel was strong (COMMITTED), they put their enemies to tribute. In other words, rather than “utterly drive them out” as God had clearly commanded (1:28), they made them subservient to them (as in, they made them pay taxes to them). What had happened to them, is the children of Israel went from being COMMITTED, to COMPLACENT! And that COMPLACENCY is what led to their “incomplete obedience,” or their COMPROMISE. (Jud. 1–3) That COMPROMISE, then led to their “complete disobedience” (Jud. 3–16), which, of course, is what led to their CORRUPTION, expressed in their utter rebellion and depraved behavior. (Jud. 17–21)
As we try to remind you so often, the nation of Israel is a picture of an individual New Testament believer. The Book of Judges details for us that we must constantly be on guard to avoid this deadly downward cycle that spirals God’s people away from HIM and His WORD! It is interesting to note that the previous Book in the Bible, the Book of Joshua, starts with an exhortation to meditate in God’s Word day and night. (Jos. 1:8) By the time we get to the Book of Judges, however, the words “book,” “law,” “commandments, “statutes,” or “judgments” do not appear even once! This downward spiral of complacency, compromise, and corruption is clearly linked to NEGLECTING GOD’S WORD, and the refusal of His people to OBEY IT. Oh, my brothers and sisters, may we HEAR and HEED this graphic spiritual warning!
But there’s another pretty scary pattern that we see repeated throughout the record of the Old Testament, that is also introduced to us in today’s reading (Jud. 2:7–10).
A believer’s life with a “1st generation” encounter with God (meaning they didn’t grow up in a Christian home and were, therefore, saved out of the clutches of Satan and his world’s system) is typically marked by COMMITMENT. Their children’s lives, however, with a “2nd generation” encounter with God, tend to be marked by COMPROMISE. And then, the lives of their children, the 3rd generation, tend to have NO encounter with God, and live lives characterized by CONFLICT.
It happens like this:
The 1st generation, knows GOD and knows His WORKS. (Jos. 24:14–17, 31) They live lives of COMMITMENT.
The 2nd generation, knows GOD and knows ABOUT His works. (Jud. 2:7) They live lives of COMPROMISE.
The 3rd generation, DOESN’T know GOD and DOESN’T know about His WORKS. (Jud. 2:10) They live lives of CONFLICT.
So much COULD be said about this pattern (and SHOULD be said about it!), but maybe our biggest take-away today is simply this: though our children and grandchildren will never have the dramatic rescue some of us “1st generation Christians” had from the clutches of Satan and his world’s system, we must be certain that they are continuously witnessing and experiencing the mighty WORKS of GOD in OUR lives and in their OWN lives! Judges 2:7 says it this way: “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.” Oh, may we lead our children and grandchildren to experience “1st generation” encounters with our God!
Chapter 3 records somewhat of a bizarre story. It is certainly historically accurate, but like most of the Old Testament, was recorded in such a way so that it pictures New Testament truth, so we can read it and be admonished by it. (1 Cor. 10:6, 11) The story is of “a very fat man” (3:17) by the name of Eglon who was the king of Moab. He is a picture of a believer who has allowed their FLESH to overtake them regardless of their actual physical girth. I think you are aware, our flesh has an appetite for a whole lot more than food! Again, Eglon simply pictures a believer that has been overtaken by their flesh.
Notice how God deals with him. He sends a “judge” by the name of Ehud to deliver Israel from King Eglon and the Moabites. As you might could predict, the way Ehud overcame this “very fat man” was with a dagger (“sword”) that he had strategically “hidden” on his right side. A “sword,” by the way, that just happened to have “two edges!” (Jud. 3:16–17/Heb. 4:12) Ehud thrust the sword into Eglon’s belly and the passage says that the “dirt came out,” and killed him. (Jud. 3:21–22)
So, did you catch all of that? God, the Master Teacher and Artist is teaching us that the way we are to deal with (“judge”) the self-consumption of our “flesh” that continuously seeks to rule us is by “hiding” a “two-edged sword” on our right side (Psa. 119:8; Heb. 4:12) and thrusting it right into the “belly” of our flesh to reveal the “dirt” in our life, in the process of “mortifying” it (Col. 3:5 or putting it death! What an incredible Book the Bible is!
Chapter 4 records another rather “bizarre” story. God uses a woman named Jael to defeat a man by the name Sisera, who was another oppressor of Israel. Jael was initially aligned with Sisera against Israel, but God changed her heart. In short, she got some “milk,” took a “hammer” and a “nail,” and killed Sisera, while he was sleeping, by putting the nail through his temple! Wow! Quite a story! Likewise, if we allow the “milk” (2 Pet. 2:2) and “hammer” (Jer. 23:29) of the Word of God to pierce our lives and renew our minds (Rom. 12:2), we, too, can “nail” our enemies (the world, the flesh and the devil) and be free from their oppression! (Isa. 23:22; Ezra 9:8)
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
The ANGEL OF THE LORD – Judges 2:1–4
Through OTHNIEL – Judges 3:1–11 (His name means “Lion from the Tribe of Judah.” He delivered Israel from an oppressive enemy—Rev. 5:5)
Through EHUD – Judges 3:15–16 (The Judge with a two-edged sword—Heb. 4:12; Rev. 2:12)