Saturday, May 30, 2009

Old Testament survey (07): Judges

Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. (Judges 2:16-19)

And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. (Judges 10:15)

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

Overview

[1] Judges, from Thru The Bible Radio with Dr. J. Vernon McGee ©, with free downloads Notes & Outlines (PDF), Complete 5-Year Study (MP3)

The Book of Judges is a philosophy of history. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34).

1. Historically it records the history of the nation from the death of Joshua to Samuel, who was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. It bridges the gap between Joshua and the rise of the monarchy. There was no leader to take Joshua’s place in the way he had taken Moses’ place. This was the trial period of the theocracy after they entered the land.

2. Morally it is the time of the deep declension of the people as they turned from God, the unseen Leader, and descended to the low level of “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (compare Jud. 1:1 with 20:18). This should have been an era of glowing progress, but it was a dark day of repeated failure. (Read the complete article)
[2] Book of Judges, from gotquestions.org (this website is also available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese-Myanmar, Cebuano, Chinese - Simplified, Chinese – Traditional, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malaysian, Persian-Farsi, Portuguese, Quechua, Sesotho, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, Zulu, and 70 other languages)
The Book of Judges can be divided into two sections: 1) Verses 1-16 which gives an account of the wars of deliverance beginning with the Israelites defeat of the Canaanites and ending with the defeat of the Philistines and the death of Samson; 2) Verses 17-21 which is referred to as an appendix and does not relate to the previous chapters. These chapters are noted as a time “when there was no king in Israel (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).” (Read the complete article)
[3] Judges, from Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)
This book takes its name from the thirteen men raised up to deliver Israel in the declension and disunion which followed the death of Joshua. Through these men Jehovah continued His personal government of Israel. The key-verse to the condition of Israel is (Judges 17:6), “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Two facts stand out--the utter failure of Israel; the persistent grace of Jehovah. In the choice of the Judges is illustrated Zechariah’s great word (Zechariah 4:6), “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord”; and Paul’s word (1 Corinthians 1:25), “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”

The book records seven apostasies, seven servitudes to seven heathen nations, seven deliverances. The spiritual parallel is found in the history of the professing church since the Apostles, in the rise of sects and the lost sense of the unity of the one body (1 Corinthians 12:12,13).

Judges is in two parts:

1. 1-16 inclusive; key-verse, Judges2:18.
2. 17-21; key-verse, Judges21:25.

The events recorded in Judges cover a period of 305 years (Ussher).
[4] Judges and Ruth (with chart Fighting Without & Within), from Uplook Ministries


Further study
(Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Israel’s Dark Ages, by Bob Deffinbaugh

[2] The Role of Women in the Book of Judges, by Hampton Keathley IV (download Word doc)

[3] Materials by David Malick
Sermons on Judges (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Sermons from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee AR
[2] Sermons from Fayetteville Baptist Church, Fayetteville, WV
[3] Returning to God, Judges 4:1-7, by Rev. Chris Harbin, Central Baptist Church—Lowesville, VA

[4] Confronting the Nations Disaster EBC, by James Huffman

[5] Judges 2:8-19, Series on Leadership 1 - Why We Need Leaders - Revised, by Gary Stevens

[6] Judges 2:6-23, The Cycle Of Misery, by Peter L. Dorn

[7] Defeat And Deliverance (Judges [2]6-23), by Brian Thiessen

[8] Judges 3:12–30, A Left-Handed Leader, by Brent M. Bryant, Sr.

Judges 21:25

[9] Judges 1 and Introduction, by Ken Lang

[10] The Need for Biblical Authority, by Kenneth W. Burton

For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.

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