The book traces the line of judges that ruled for about 200 years until the advent of the monarchic period of Israel. It is tempting to downplay it as a period of stagnation.
The book of judges has
no known author, but may have been assembled from various accounts by Samuel,
although there are some post-dated references.
The book is regarded
as the earliest known record of the post-Wilderness era. It is a record of the
judges or governors that ruled over Israel in the pre-monarchic years.
To contemporary
thinkers, it seems to have been a failed experiment, for they did not bring the
progress that kings later brought.
God anticipated a
monarchic era and advised that he would select the kings, but cautioned that
choosing a king amounted to a rejection of divine rule (Deut 17).
He implied that what
doesn’t look like much to a modern thinker was more than it seemed. They regressed under the kings, but only had ups and
downs under the Judges.
The judges, like African Pride Lions, patrolled the borders to facilitate a safe realization of tribal character and self-determination, which is more consistent with constitutional models than the long-invalidated ways of kings and their assumption of divine rule.
Don’t assume that the
church can only work with modern trappings, like buildings, systems,
organization and liturgy. The incursion of human ideas into church governance, corrupted the church of the dark ages and will do so again if men have their
way.
It is of Satan to
build a system of “barons” that prop up a “king”. He wants to sit on top of a heap and rule over humanity and
will use our organizations to entrench his power base.
Divine
progress is rarely synonymous with human advancement. As such, the greatest
triumph of God happened in his ‘seemingly’ weakest moment.
The struggle continued (Chapter 1)
Judah took the lead,
with Simeon as his wing-man, in subduing 70 Canaanite kings. That already speaks
of the dilemma of a monarchic world.
In that world,
everyone assumed to be a king. Everyone wanted a piece of the action. Egos
reigned supreme. It was chaotic and oppressive, with no obvious center.
Therein lay the
advantage of the Jews. They had a center. They were not internally divided, for
a house divided against itself will fall.
In all that we see a
repeat of Othniel’s defeat of Debir and his claim to Achsah, Caleb’s feisty
daughter. Her demand for land with springs, confirmed her character.
Othniel then became
the first judge of Israel. The bible hints that it was not just the man that
made that possible, but the woman behind the man.
She played a big part
in inspiring her man to stand his ground and take the fight to the Canaanites.
Like her crusty old father, she would not be cowed by their foes.
If one will put a
thousand to flight and two will drive out ten thousands, so a couple that stands
together will achieve more than those who stand alone.
Sadly though, the land
was not tamed. The occupying nations held their ground and became a great
bother to the Jews. Life was harder than they expected.
Loss of vigilance (Chapter 2)
An angel came from
Gilgal to Bochim. That is from a place of closure, which is what Gilgal
implies, to Bochim, so named because it was a place of weeping and comeuppance.
That was because the
angel confirmed that the land would not be fully subdued in their time (verse
3). The reason was soon apparent, for after Joshua and his generation passed,
the next generation did not know the Lord and turned to Baal and Ashteroth.
Whenever they
regressed, they also lost ground to their enemies until God heard their cries
and sent a deliverer or Judge, to restore them and reclaim lost ground.
It’s a powerful lesson. If we keep close to God, our spiritual immunity will
rise, but lapse in that and soon the enemy will return like cockroaches or ants.
Indeed, once Jerusalem
was established, if
the center held, the borders held, else their borders would succumb and the enemy would perceive an advantage.
In the same way, a poor
diet soon reveals itself in our eyes, skin, health and courage.
I will not drive them all out (Chapter 3)
That meant that they
would not see the fall of the coastal nations: the 5 kings of the Philistines,
the sub-nation called “the Canaanites”, the Sidonians and the Hivites in
Lebanon.
A practical reason is
given in verse 2. God used it all to keep Israel on her toes, to teach
them how to make war and to prevent them from becoming indifferent or lazy.
The Philistines, who
were only uprooted in David’s time, had advanced technology that was revealed
to David in his own exile, so allowing the coexistence of nations also
facilitated the technological transfer that brought Israel into the iron age (see Verse 4:3).
Othniel stepped up to the plate when Israel fell under the rule of Eglon, the obese Moabite
king. After 8 years of his oppressive rule, Othniel took a 2 foot dagger, lured
Eglon into his chambers and plunged that knife deep into him.
That resulted in a
surge against their enemies and a tilting of the balance of power back into
Israel’s favor, which only held until the death of Othniel.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
