Joshua Judges Ruth29 Apr
After the book of Deuteronomy is finished, the books of history that flesh out the Law begin. Joshua is about the conquest of the land, and the establishment of obedience to the Law in the land. The narrative portions (that which is not about allotments and borders) are all about fleeing idolatry. Rahab forsaking her gods and siding with Israel, Aachen’s greed that cost others their lives and makes people wonder if the Lord had abandoned them (in the fight against Ai), victories through obedience, deception because of the idolatry of Human Wisdom, and an incredible story of willingness to go to war against brother for the sake of purity of the nation.
Judges is all about the failure of the people, and their inability to follow the Law. If you want to talk about total depravity, Judges is a great support to your argument because it details the human condition of desiring a relationship with God only when we need to be bailed out of a jam. See the cycle:
It’s pretty pathetic and authentic to our own walk with God sometimes.
At the same time, there are some awesome people in the book of Judges, who allowed the Lord to raise them up for powerful battle and effective leadership. The book reads a whole lot like the line-up from the Bad News Bears movie (or Mighty Ducks for the next generation).
1. THE TALENTED KID WHO IS AMONG MISFITS- Othniel (3:7-11)
a. brother of Caleb
b. defeated the Arameans; the spirit of the Lord was on him
2. THE SOUTHPAW-Ehud (3:12-30)
a. left-handed
b. killed Eglon, king of Moab, by trickery
3. OK MINOR CHARACTER ON THE TEAM- Shamgar (3:31, 5:6)
a. fought against the Philistines
4. THE GIRL ON THE TEAM WHO IS BETTER THAN THE BOYS- Deborah (4-5)
a. woman tribal leader, both military and legal
b. campaigned against Sisera, Canaanite general under Jabin, the King of Hazor
c. Barak was military leader under Deborah
d. Jael, a Kenite woman, killed Sisera as he fled
5. THE GEEKY WIMP- Gideon (6-8)
a. came from a family of Baal worshippers
b. afraid to trust God, portrayed as an arrogant coward
c. God gave him a plan to defeat the Midianites
d. ended up worshipping Baal
6. THE CAPABLE KID WHO LEADS THE TEAM ASTRAY THRU THE MIDDLE OF THE MOVIE- Abimelech (9)
a. not a judge, attempted to make himself king but failed
7. Minor Judges: Tola and Jair (10:1-5)
8. THE BAD BOY WITH THE GOOD HEART (AND GREAT ABILITY)- Jephthah (10:6-12:7)
a. illegitimate child and an outcast
b. fought against the Ammonites
c. made a rash vow that led to the sacrifice of his only child
9. MINOR TEAMMATES: Ibzan, Elon, Abdon (12:8-15)
10. BAD BOY/LOVER BOY WHO IS IN IT FOR HIMSELF THE WHOLE TIME, BUT REDEEMS HIMSELF AT THE END OF THE MOVIE- Samson (13-16)
a. born to a barren woman by promise
b. was a Nazarite, but broke his vows
c. was a womanizer and a drunk
d. God helped him bring relief from the Philistines
e. his fatal attraction to Delilah
And then there is Ruth,set in the period of the judges, but stands out as against it. Interesting that great faith is found outside Israel, with a Moabitess. This strain will be seen over and over in the books of history. See if you can count how many non-Israelites have greater faith than the chosen people themselves.
13 Responses to “Joshua Judges Ruth”
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The book of Jasher is mentioned 2x in the bible Joshua 10:13 and 2Sam. 1:18.(is it not written in the book of Jasher)? Was this a historical book?
Yeah. Maybe someone will find it someday. Don’t be fooled by Internet Editions of the book. The real one has never been found.
Is the book of Jasher a reliable source of the history of the Hebrews?
I love Gideon! I tend to be afraid of a lot of things and I find Gideon so encouraging. God used him despite his fears and was patient with his fears and brought him along. I love that he tore the false gods’ altars down at night because he was afraid and God was ok with that. God is so good. God let him hear an interpretation of a dream in the enemy camp about how he would defeat them. God had Gideon’s own enemies encourage him! God is awesome. He can help us overcome our sins. He can use us even when we’re struggling.
I don’t like chapter 6. How can a guy who is so led by the Lord be so flawed when the battle is over. Frankly, I get as discouraged by chapter 6 as i get encouraged by Chapter 5. The bottom line is to learn from both that GREATNESS is a quality of the Lord, and we are never to assume that HIS greatness in us is something that we possess. Gideon got full of himself and thought that he was more than the geeky boy from Ophrah. His son follows in that assumption and damages the nation all the more. Lessons:
1. Do not be afraid when God is with you.
2. Do not be prideful when God is at work in you.
3. Do not accumulate enough wives to produce 70 sons…they won’t turn out very well.
one son of a concubine murders 69 sons of Gideons wives. I am wondering if this is another example of how sin is so disproportionate. it seems it was not enough to have all those wives he had to have other women as well. Gideon seemed to spend most of his time having children instead of raising them.
Good point! Look at Jephthah with just one daughter…she seems like a quality girl too.
Hi Steve – Could you clarify for me if you get a chance? I am thinking maybe you mean chapter 8, not 6? I am not sure Gideon did anything ungodly(beside a lack of faith/fear) in chapter 6. Could you show me what you meant when you said Gideon was full of himself? Are you talking about him killing his fellow Israelites because they wouldn’t feed his army? It’s not immediately clear to me whether that was wrong or not. It reminded me of when David came against Nabal because he wouldn’t feed David’s men, maybe that was wrong too because Abigal did stop him. Or about his making the sacred ephod? Were those things prideful? 8:27 Were those things definitely displeasing to God? He didn’t want to be king, but said the Lord is our king/ the Lord will rule over you 8:23 which seems humble to me. I wonder if he intended for the ephod to be worshipped. It says it became a trap for Gideon and his family. The too many wives thing definitely got lots of OT guys into trouble. Thanks in advance for any additional insights! – Audra
Yes, I meant chapter 8. I see a bad combination of things happening later in life that seems to resonate with a self-centered pride. The accumulation of wives and children, together with the ephod are what I point to. You are right that he refused to be king, and in that way he demonstrates clear thinking and humility. The issue of idolatry is so prevalent in the law and history that it is hard to escape this sin. It doesn’t say that Gideon participated in the worship of the ephod directly, but that it was a snare to Gideon and his family. To me that says idolatry. Even when it says “all Israel played the harlot with it there” shows that people flocked to it to worship it, and honor Gideon perhaps? Overall, the book of Judges looks favorably on him.
Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there.
“How are your eyes, guys?”
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Steve!
I was waiting to see if anyone would comment on yesterday’s reading in Judges, very gory! I can’t let that one go by with no notice. All I can say is this is the kind of thing that happens when people don’t realize that the Lord is their King and instead do what is right in their own eyes. If this was revolting to you check out love146.org. You can help stop things like this from happening today. My hubby Dave always says there’s a reason the Bible is a book and not a DVD.
We had a great conversation about this section in our prayer meeting on Wednesday. What a vivid picture of the destructive power of sin and lawlessness. O, that we would be a church that does not allow sin to rule our lives.