Israel's Disobedience and the First Judges of Israel

Judah

When Joshua died, God told the Israelites that Judah would continue the fight against the Canaanites. Judah went with Simeon, his brother, to fight the Canaanites. Judah went into battle, and God gave him the land allotted to him. He and his men fought against the Canaanites who lived in Jerusalem, Negeb, Hebron, Debir, and Zephath. They captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. Hebron was given to Caleb. Judah captured the hill country but could not force the people that lived on the plains out because they had iron chariots. Benjamin's people could not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem. The Jebusites continued to live with the Israelites.

The house of Joseph went to Bethel. There they met a man that lived in that place, and he took them into the city, where they defeated the people there but spared the man and his family that had helped them. The Israelites did not complete the conquest of the Promised Land. There were many places the Canaanites still lived, and some were forced into labor by the Israelites.

Disobedience and Consequences

The angel of the Lord went from Gilgal to Bochim and reminded the Israelites that God had brought them into the Promised Land from Egypt. The Israelites had been told not to make covenants with the people that lived there but rather to drive them out. The angel said that God would not do so in return because they had not obeyed and had not driven the people out. These people would become a problem for the Israelites, and the gods of these people would draw the Israelites to them. The Israelites then cried out to God and made sacrifices to Him.

Eventually falling back into sin, the Israelites did evil and worshipped the Baals and the Ashtaroth (two Canaanite gods). This made God angry. God allowed plunderers to come and sell the Israelites to their enemies. When the Israelites went to war, God was against them. God then raised judges among the Israelites. These judges saved the people from the ones that had enslaved them. The Israelites did not listen to the judges and still worshipped false gods. When a judge died, the people became worse than their fathers before them and bowed down to false gods. This made God angry again. God said that because the people had sinned, He would not drive out their enemies before them.

Othniel, the First Judge

God left several enemy nations alone and did not drive them out. He did this to test the Israelites. The Israelites intermarried with these people and worshipped their gods. Consequently, God wanted the Israelites that had not known war to learn about war. He gave the Israelites over to the king of Mesopotamia. They then cried out to God, and He raised a deliverer, Othniel, who judged Israel. Othniel went to war with the king of Mesopotamia, and Othniel defeated him. The Israelites were at peace for forty years before Othniel died.

Ehud, the Second Judge

The Israelites soon did evil again, and God made Eglon, the king of Moab, strong. Eglon defeated Israel. The Israelites served Eglon for eighteen years. The people of Israel cried out to God again. God heard them and made Ehud their deliverer this time. The Israelites created a tribute for Ehud to take to Eglon. Secretly, Ehud was armed with a sword.

Now Eglon was very fat. Ehud told Eglon that he had a message from God. Ehud then plunged the sword into Eglon. Ehud pushed the blade into his belly until it went so far that the sword could not be seen. Eglon ran into a room and locked himself in. Eglon's men thought that he was using the toilet. They did not know until they finally broke the door that Eglon had been killed. In confusion, Ehud escaped. Ehud went back to the Israelites and gathered them together, and they defeated the Moabites. This gave the Israelites rest for eighty years.

Shamgar, the Third Judge

Shamgar replaced Ehud. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad (a long wooden stick with a pointed end used to drive oxen).

Deborah, the Fourth Judge, and Barak

When Ehud died, the Israelites did evil again, and God gave them over to Jabin, king of Canaan. The commander of Jabin's army was Sisera. He was cruel and had nine hundred chariots of iron. The Israelites cried out to God again. Deborah was a judge of Israel during that time. She sat under a palm tree, and the people would come to her for judgment. She sent for Barak, Israel's military commander. She told Barak to gather an army of ten thousand men, and she would draw out Sisera and give him over to them.

Barak told Deborah that she had to come with him. Sisera and all of his chariots and men came out to battle Barak. Sisera's army was destroyed, along with all his men and chariots. Sisera ran away and went to the tent of Jael and hid there. Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and drove it into Sisera's brain while he was sleeping. When Barak and Deborah arrived at the tent, Jael showed them the body of Sisera with a tent peg in his head. Israel rested for forty years.

Gideon, the Fifth Judge

Continuing their sinful pattern, the Israelites did evil again, so God gave them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Israelites would plant crops, and the Midianites and the Amalekites would take what they had grown. Yet again, the Israelites cried out to God for help. God sent an angel to Gideon and told him he would strike the Midianites as one man. Gideon asked the angel to stay, and he went to his house and gathered an offering to God. He brought the offering back, and the angel struck the offering with a staff. The offering burned on the rock that Gideon had placed it upon. God told Gideon to pull down his father's altar to Baal using his father's bull and a second, seven-year-old bull. Gideon took ten men and the bulls and pulled down the altar.

The next day, the village men found the altar to Baal destroyed. They searched for who had torn down the altar. They discovered that it was Gideon. They went to his father's house to kill him. Joash, Gideon's father, asked the men if they would contend for Baal. If Baal were indeed a god, he could defend himself.

Gideon and the Fleece

Gideon wanted to know if God intended to save Israel by his hand. Gideon laid a fleece of wool on the ground and told God that if in the morning there was dew on the fleece and it was dry on the ground, then he would know that this was what God wanted him to do. When he awoke, the fleece was wet from dew, and the land was dry. Gideon begged God for mercy and asked Him to do this once more, but this time if the fleece was dry and the ground was wet, Gideon would know that God wanted him to save Israel. When he awoke, the fleece was dry, and the ground was wet. Gideon had his answer.

The Three Hundred

The Midianites were camped to the north. God told Gideon that he had too many men. If Gideon used a large army, the Israelites would say they had conquered the enemy and would not give God credit. God instructed Gideon to send the men who were afraid home. This left ten thousand men. God then told Gideon to take the men down to the river and set aside the men that lapped up the water like a dog. When Gideon saw the men drink, three hundred men lapped up the water like a dog. God told Gideon to use these three hundred men and attack the Midianites.

That night, God told Gideon to go down with his servant, Purah, to the Midian camp and listen to what they were saying. When they went down to the camp, they heard one of the soldiers telling another soldier about a dream he had had. He said that he had dreamed that barley bread had come into the camp, struck it, and made the tents lay flat. His comrade told him that this was the sword of Gideon and that God had given Midian and the camp to Gideon. When Gideon heard this, he worshipped God and returned to his camp.

He divided the three hundred men into companies and gave them trumpets and empty jars with torches inside. He told the men to do as he did when they approached the enemy camp. Gideon said that when he blew his trumpet, all of the men with trumpets should blow their trumpets on all sides of the camp. They would then shout, "For the Lord and Gideon" (Judges 7:18, ESV®).

When the three hundred men led by Gideon approached the camp, they blew their trumpets and smashed the jars. They cried out, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" (Judges 7:20). When Gideon's army blew the three hundred trumpets again, God caused the enemy to turn their swords on each other. The rest ran away, and the Israelites were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh. The Israelites then pursued Midian. Gideon sent out messengers and told the Israelites to capture the waters against the Midianites. The Israelites captured Oreb and Zeeb, two Midianite princes. They killed them and brought their heads to Gideon.

Summary

At this point, Joshua was dead, and Judah rose to fight for the Israelites. Judah took several areas, including Jerusalem. During this time, the Israelites worshipped false gods. This made God angry and allowed the Israelites to be enslaved. The Israelites cried out to God, and God raised judges from the Israelites. The Israelites did well under the judges. The first judge was Othniel. Othniel went to war with the king of Mesopotamia, and Othniel defeated him.

Ehud became the second judge. The Israelites had been under Eglon, the king of Moab. Ehud stabbed Eglon to death and fled. He raised an army and freed the Israelites from the Moabites. Shamgar became the third judge. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.

Deborah became the fourth judge.  Barak was the commander of Israel's military. The Israelites did evil yet another time, and God gave them over to Jabin, king of Canaan. Sisera led Jabin's army. Barak went to Deborah, and she told him that he would defeat Sisera. Barak said that Deborah would have to come with him. She responded that a woman would kill Sisera because of this. Sisera's army was destroyed, along with all his men and chariots. Sisera fled and hid in the tent of Jael. Jael killed Sisera with a tent peg.

Gideon became the fifth judge. God called him, and he used sheep wool to ensure God wanted him to serve. Gideon raised an army, and God told him to send home the afraid men. God then told him to send home the men that did not lap up the water when they drank. This left the three hundred men that defeated the Midianites.

Application and Reflection

Application

The book of Judges can be a study of the consequences of sin. God also shows that He will forgive and deliver His people when they repent.

Reflection

When you sin, do you go to God and ask for forgiveness? God wants you to be forgiven and to prosper in your redemption.