The history of the nation of Israel can be divided into four periods each period being approximately 400 years in duration.

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1 ROUTE Destination: Judges Tonight we are embarking on the 9 th leg of our road trip through the 66 books of the Bible. Our destination tonight is the book of Judges. Judges is the 7 th book of the Old Testament. It is the 2 nd book of the 2 nd section of the Bible. The first section of the Bible is the Pentateuch, the 5 books written by Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The second section of the Bible is the Historical Books; twelve books that span Joshua Esther. The historical books are primarily a divinely inspired narrative that tell the history of the nation of Israel. The history of the nation of Israel can be divided into four periods each period being approximately 400 years in duration. 1. Approximately 400 years from the Calling of Abraham to the Death of Joseph 2. Approximately 400 years from the Death of Joseph to the Exodus the outgoing of the Israelites from Egypt 3. Approximately 400 years from the Exodus from Egypt to the Close of the book of Judges and the beginning of the Monarchy. 4. Approximately 400 years from the Monarchy to the time Judah is led into Captivity by the Babylonians. The book of Judges begins around 1050 years before Jesus. The Twenty-One chapters of the book of Judges Covers nearly 350 years from the death of Joshua to the time of Samuel the prophet (1 Samuel). In this stretch of Route 66 we are introduced to some of the most well-known and celebrated heroes of the Bible; Deborah, Gideon and Samson to name a few. Tradition holds that the book of Judges was compiled and penned by the prophet Samuel. Samuel is one of the most stellar characters in all of Scripture. Lord 1

2 willing we will meet Samuel in a couple of weeks when we study the book bearing his name (1 Samuel). There are two important time stamps in the book that help us understand the time frame of the book. In several places we find this time stamp: in those days Israel had no king (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Whoever wrote those words was obviously writing in a time when there was a king in Israel. Then there s another time stamp within the book of Judges: to this day the Jebusites live there (1:21). So the guy writing those words was living in a time when there was king in Israel but at that time the Jebusites were still inhabiting Jerusalem. We know from 2 Samuel 5:6 7 that the Israelites were not able to dislodge the Jebusites from Jerusalem until David became king. So the book of Judges was written after the coronation of Israel s first king, Saul, and before the coronation of Israel s second king, David. The man who was the link between Saul and David is the prophet Samuel! As we drive through this book, and when you reference and read this book on your own, we need to understand that Judges is not a series of consecutive events along a time line involving specific individuals. Some of the events are overlapping on a time line, taking place at in different geographical locations. The book of Judges is not the definitive chronology of events over a span of 350 years. It is a divinely inspired selective history of those 350 years that best communicate crucial spiritual lessons. SAMUEL S POINT is not to construct a time line. Samuel s point is to tell us a story the point of that story is to show us the disastrous nature of compromise and sin. THAT is why this is such a critical radically relevant stretch of road along Route 66. The 350 years of history covered in this book is one of the darkest in Israel s history. Here s a few headlines drawn from the book of Judges! FAMILY FEUD LEAVES 69 BROTHERS DEAD! (Ch. 9) POWERFUL GOVERNMENT LEADER CAPTURED IN LOVER S HOUSE! (Ch.16) GANG RAPE LEADS TO VICTIM S DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT! (Ch.19) 2

3 GIRLS AT PARTY KIDNAPPED - FORCED TO MARRY STRANGERS! (Ch. 21) WOMAN JUDGE SAYS TRAVELERS NO LONGER SAFE ON HIGHWAYS. (Ch. 5:6) KEY VERSES Remember, Samuel s point is to tell us a story the point of that story is to show us the disastrous nature of compromise and sin. There are two key verses in the book of Judges that reveal to us the very core of everything broken in the nation during the period of the Judges. The first of them is actually the last verse of the last chapter. Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. We find these exact same words in Judges 17:6. Those words explain EVERYTHING dark, wrecked and broken thing in those 350 years. Israel had a King long before the period of the Monarchy that would begin in 1 Samuel. They had an invisible King The One, True and Living God; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God who delivered them from bondage and death in Egypt; the God who led them and cared for them 40 years in the wilderness; the God who went before them and led them and led them to possess the Promised Land. But in those days they had no king! The people refused to be ruled by God. They rejected God, His Word and His rule. They took the place of God and substituted their wisdom for God s wisdom. They refused to be informed, defined and directed by the Word of God. They set up their own standard. They set up themselves as the final arbiters of right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies. That is at the core of the story line of the book of Judges! It s the story of what happens when individuals, cultures and nations reject the authority of God, and everyman does what is right in their own eyes. That story NEVER ends well. That s what our first parents did in the Garden of Eden. That story always and only ends in moral chaos, bondage and death! Those words explain EVERYTHING about the bondage and oppression they suffered and so desperately needed to be delivered from. This 7 th book of the Bible gets its very title from that need! That 350 year stretch of time was referred to as the Period of the Judges. This book talks about 12 people raised up by God 3

4 as judges from the time following the death of Joshua to the beginning of the monarchy. The Hebrew title of the book is Shophatim; Judges, plural. We can t think of these judges as guys in black robes in a courtroom, presiding over legal decisions, bringing down a gavel. Neither were they a succession of leaders and rulers over the nation. They were individuals raised up by God at different times dark and desperate times to be deliverers, to rescue Israel in a very real sense, rescue Israel from themselves; rescue them in a literal sense from various oppressors that came against the Israelites. Those oppressors came against the Israelites as instruments of God s loving correction. That is so huge for us to see. God was more interested in their spiritual well being than their temporary comfort. Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. WHY IS JUDGES SO IMPORTANT / RELEVANT TO US TODAY? This book of Judges is an incredible wealth of truth that explains and light that exposes EVERYTHING that is so wrecked, so dark and so broken in every individual, culture and nation. Judges 21:25 explains and exposes relativism and existentialism. Relativism ˈrelətəˌvizəm the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute. Existentialism egziˈstenchəˌlizəm a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. Men like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche in the late 18 th century and Jean-Paul Sartre in the 20 th century, were advocating for Judges 21:25 denying the existence of objective values and stressing instead the reality and significance of human freedom and experience. 4

5 If you were to ask the average man and woman today what life is all about, they might not explain and define life with the formal definition of relativism or existentialism, but they will say that they re trying to find themselves, trying figure life out; or that they ve come to their own conclusion on the meaning of life and they ve formulated for themselves the way they should live. Fallen culture has abandoned the idea that God has given to us in His Word the Origin of life, the nature of life, the purpose of life, how we should live and who we should live for. Christians relativism and existentialism are not new propositions. They are nothing more than a re-birth and regurgitation of a 3,000-year-old philosophy that undid the nation of Israel and led them into one of the darkest periods of their history and is undoing people, cultures and nations today. If you re wondering why Humanity doesn't look so humane in the 21 st century, it s because the greater part of humanity is living below the line of what it means to be human. Man was made to be informed, defined, and directed by his Creator. To be self-informed, self-defined and self-directed is to be less than human. When you put yourself in the place of God and do what is right in your own eyes, the outcome will be the same as we see in Judges moral chaos, bondage and death. QUOTE: Randy Stonehill We are all like foolish puppets who desiring to be kings / Now lie pitifully crippled after cutting our own strings THE FLOW OF THE BOOK Judges divides into 3 sections 1. Judges 1-2 The prologue The prologue of the book of Judges is in a sense the epilogue of the book of Joshua. 2. Judges 3-16 The Story of the Judges 13 Judges, 12 of them raised up by God. 5

6 3. Judges The Story of the People These chapters are not a continuation of the narrative they are an overlay of a collection of the sordid details of the moral chaos, compromise and sin taking place as a result of Judges 21:25 and that were the cause of the bondage and oppression that the nation experienced. 1. Judges 1-2 The prologue Judges 1 1 After the death of Joshua, The opening words are a time stamp for all that follows. They make the first section of the book the prologue of the book of Judges at the same time serve as the epilogue of the book of Joshua. In the margins of your Bible next to Judges 1:1 write Joshua 24:29 29 After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. Check this out The book of Joshua began with the words, After the death of Moses. The book of Joshua is the story of the people of God under the leadership of the successor of Moses, Joshua. The story in the book of Judges is about what happened after the death of the man who succeeded Moses. As we drive through the book of Judges we don't want to miss the faithfulness of God and the persistence of God to move forward in His redeeming plans and purposes in spite of how flawed His human instruments are! We read the last verse of the last chapter of the book There was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes It s not like wide open seas and the sails are full! The view on the horizon is bleak. Will the Messiah ever come? How can He come out of that? 6

7 QUOTE: R.C. Sproul The book of Judges provides us with a great gallery to view how God s mercy is sure, the implications of He will never leave us or forsake us. 1 There is a recurring theme that we have seen in these first seven books of the Bible that is going to continue all along Route 66. After the death of the servant of God the work of God is carried on! Why? Because God is behind HIS work. God is in HIS work. But we must never lose sight of the other side of that truth. God chooses to carry on His work through human instruments. On the human side of God s work, Moses, his life and ministry, made possible the work of Joshua. And the life of Joshua should have fueled and moved the work forward by way of anyone who followed him. QUESTION Whom has God placed in your life that will carry on the work of God when you re gone whatever that work is that God has placed you in? That is such a huge question in light of the second key verse in this book that we will come to in very moments. QUOTE: The church is always just one generation from extinction! I don't have a retirement plan. I m planning on doing this until I can t do it anymore or He takes me home. I d love to be like George Whitefield who was on his way to bed, candle in hand, when someone knocked at his door. There were people there asking him to preach to them. So he put the candle at the foot of the staircase and preached to them until the candle burned out. He went upstairs to bed, went to bed and woke up in heaven! The Lord might move me on before He takes me home. But there needs to be someone to carry on the work. That s why I am passionate to teach the Word of God so that all of you will be equipped to do the work that God has called you to do. 1 Sproul, R. C.; Wolgemuth, Robert ( ). What's In the Bible: A Tour of Scripture from the Dust of Creation to the Glory of Revelation (p. 71). Thomas Nelson. 7

8 The words After the death of Joshua challenge us to the realities of succession. The business of the church is not about you and me! It's about the mission of God moving forward until the day of Christ s return. This Monday night study was never intended to be a trend in the region, the next thing that people came to and then after time move on. It has always been intended to be a time when Jesus would be exalted in the praises of His people and the Word of God would be proclaimed and explained so men and women would know the Lord mark those words; we re going to see them in a few minutes know the Lord and be a part of God s story advancing for His glory! DON'T MISS THIS That same phrase, After the death of Joshua, introduces a disastrous decline in the spiritual health of the nation. Follow me! The book of Joshua is a book of conquest. The book of Judges is a long, sad story of defeat. The book of Joshua is a book of faith and obedience. Judges is a book of unbelief and disobedience. The book of Joshua is the story of people united in following God s man into the inheritance and abundance promised by God. Judges is a book of division and anarchy leading to bondage and death and oppression. In the book of Joshua the Word of God is central and the nation submitted to the authority of God. In Judges Scripture is not just neglected, it s rejected because they rejected the authority of God. HERE S THE DEAL To do what is right in your own eyes requires that your throw out the Bible, because this book tells us what s right in God s eyes. The psalmist said, Order my steps in Your Word! In the book of Joshua we re told that the people said, We will not forget the Lord, while the book of Judges tells us that the people forgot the Lord. On the human side it s a story of disobedience and disaster. But praise the Lord, as we go through this book we find that God never gave up on His people, never 8

9 gave up on His plans and purposes through them. I cannot tell you how man people have come into Metro limping, wounded, dying on the vine. Many who serve in other churches coming in on Monday nights starving for the Word of God, craving a time of intimate worship and times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord. Others came in damaged and burned out from life on the treadmill of what s the next new trend and strategy for church growth. But God is faithful. Metro, this Monday night study, doesn't exist because I m a clever guy. It exists because God loves you, because God is always going to be faithful to you, because the steadfast of love of the Lord never ceases. God wants to feed you, refresh you, encourage you He wants you to leave this place knowing Him, leave here equipped to live on mission with Him and for Him. Here in Judges when the people were without direction and oppressed, we see God provide direction and deliverance. Isn't that so awesome. No matter how horribly man fails, trust in the Lord who never fails. The psalmist said, Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart. Man will tear your heart to shreds, you will tear your own heart to shreds, but God never will. The period of the Judges proves that. THAT is why the book of Judges is so powerful, so relevant for us today. 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them? This is the last time we read of the Israelites collectively seeking the Lord for guidance. God responded! Big side note here God gives wisdom to those who ask. This is a great Old testament picture of the New Testament truth in James 1 James 1:5 NLT If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. Judges 1:2-3 The Lord said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand. 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into the 9

10 territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you. So Simeon went with him. So we could paraphrase the opening words of Judges as This is what happened after Joshua died! Joshua had led the nation collectively in great victories over the major enemies. In military terms, under the leadership of Joshua the Israelites had broken the back of the Canaanite armies. Of the 12 tribes of Israel, 9 ½ of them were now in the land. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and ½ the tribe of Manasseh chose to settle on the east side of the Jordan putting distance between them and the people of God, in most importantly, distance between them and all that God had intended for them to have in the land. It was left to the individual tribes to go in by faith and claim the allotted inheritance. Judah believed God s promise, obeyed God s counsel, and invited the tribe of Simeon to go to battle with them. Judah and Simeon were blood brothers. Both were the sons of Jacob by Leah (Gen. 35:23). Judah and Simeon actually had adjoining lots in the land (Josh. 19:1). The remainder of the first section follows the stories of the remaining 7 ½ tribes as they attempt to possess the land that was allocated to them. What we discover is that they all failed to comply with the command of God to drive out the crippled remnant of the Canaanites and possess the land. God made it very clear that they were to drive the Canaanite peoples out of the land because if they failed to do that those pagan cultures would eventually become the spiritual downfall of Israel. DON'T MISS THIS The first 2 chapters are the story of how the remaining tribes failed to comply with that command of God. They made compromise after compromise. Judges 1:19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 10

11 Isn't that interesting We just couldn't do it! Why not? Because they had tanks! Did you not read your history? When were chariots of iron a problem for God? The bottom of the Red Sea is littered with them! They compromised! They were content to settle with doing part of what God asked. Judges 1:21; But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.. 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling (NKJV -were determined to dwell) in that land. The first compromise was because it was too much work. If you asked them why they compromised this time they would say, They re determined to stay. We want them out, but they re determined to stay. What a graphic picture of compromise in the Christian life! I want this stuff out of my life (lust pornography pride), but it s not easy, they re dug in and holding their ground. So they compromised. Chapter one is the story of how 8 of the 9 ½ tribes failed to comply with the clear command of God and compromised. In fact, the book of Judges stands in stark contrast to the book of Joshua. The story of the book of Joshua is marked by 7 years of consecration and conquest. Judges is 350 years of compromise leading to being conquered by their enemies Check out the effects of compromise! Underline it, circle it, highlight it, asterisk it, draw arrows pointing (really please take the time to do that) Judges 1:28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Samuel makes it a point to record this. And as we ve referenced time and again, these things are written for our instruction! If they did that when they were strong, if we knew nothing about the rest of the book, what do we think is going to happen when they were weak? When the 11

12 Israelites became weak, their servant would become their master. And THAT is exactly what happened! Rather than comply with the clearly revealed will of God, they compromised thinking, Wow isn't this great! These guys serve us! But the people they thought served them became their masters and their oppressors. HERE S THE PICTURE THAT is exactly the way it is with compromise and sin. Think about it. Israel s strength was never in their numbers, their military might or their own wisdom. Their strength was always in the Lord. Their commitment to the Lord and to His revealed will was always the source of their strength and victory. But when they compromised in their relationship with the Lord they became weak and their servant became their master! That's what happens with sin. When we compromise with the thing God commands us to drive out, the sin we think serves us becomes our master! There is zero exception to that! Z DON T MISS THIS That compromise led to the second key verse of this book. JUDGES 2 Judges 2:10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. As long as Joshua was alive and the leaders that served along side of Joshua were alive, living faith was passed on to the people. But when they died it was only a mater of time before there arose a generation that did not know the Lord. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? A generation grew up that never saw their parents trust the Lord, love the Lord, or serve the Lord. As a result, a generation arose that didn't embrace the rule of God, the Word of God and the will of God; never went out and possessed all that God had for them! PARENTS that makes this stretch along Route 66 so important for you. You and I ought to know what this book has to say and we 12

13 ought to be desperately dependent upon the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to live in such a way that our children will know the Lord and know about the work that he has done in our lives! I am so very concerned for the generation we call Millennials. They are growing up in a church culture that essentially is seeking to shape their Christianity from the outside in. They are the most educated, most technologically advanced generation in church history. And yet that generation is tragically unfamiliar with the Scriptures and incredibly free to ignore the Word and do life, and do church by what is right in their own eyes. They are attaching value to things that fallen culture values over and above that which is clearly defined in the Word of God (abortion, sexuality). Listen the way to shape a generation is for those going before them to live for the Lord, love the Lord, love His Word and be transformed by the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit! This is not just true in the chronological sense of a generation. It is also be true of those Millennials who have come to know and love Jesus influencing other Millennials. Are you going to leave your generational peers in the mire of compromise, doing what is right in their own eyes? Please remember the church is always one generation from death. It s up to those that are going before them to model living faith, communicate Gospel truth and equip those coming after us. Compromise also led to what happens in Judges 2: God has planted eternity in the human heart (Eccl. 3:11)! We have been hard wired for worship! We were made to know him! When you forsake the True and Living God you won't worship nothing you will worship anything! Thus we re told Judges 2:11-13 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 1 13

14 This introduces us to the cyclical pattern of Judges. 1. Sin (Judges 2:1) 2. Suffering (Judges 2:14) 3. Supplication (Judges 2:18) 4. Salvation (Judges 2:16) 1. Sin (Judges 2:1) They reject God. He's too narrow; surely there s plenty of options; let's be open-minded and they follow after the false gods of the Canaanites. The essence of sin is walking from God. God allows them to walk away from Him. That never ends well. Sin leads to 2. Suffering (Judges 2:14) The New Testament declares that the wages of sin is death. Sin always results in separation from God. They end up on their own, no match for their adversary that only wants to oppress them, rip them off and crush them. After some length of time (some times as long as 40 years) they figure out that they are far from the life God had for them. HERE S THE POINT Sin always results in suffering. It promises you the exact opposite. It does give pleasure for a season but the end of it is always the same. Suffering leads to 3. Supplication (Judges 2:18) In their suffering they cry out to God. Supplication always leads to 4. Salvation (Judges 2:16) God raises up a Judge a deliverer who rescues them from the consequences of their sin. HERE S THE POINT Supplication (joined with repentance) always leads to salvation because that is who our God is. The name of Jesus means God has become salvation! We will see this cycle 6 times in the book of Judges. We will see how those cycles relate to the Judges. 14

15 1. Judges 1-2 The prologue 2. Judges 3-16 The Story of the Judges This is the main body of the book. It deals with the Judges raised up by God when the people were suffering because of their compromise and sin. Remember these were leaders, appointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to deliver Israel from their enemies and to exercise priestly duties (Samuel), military leadership (Samson), and prophetic gifting (Deborah). When you read their stories you will find that they are no different from other notable individuals in Scripture they run the gamut from great (Gideon) to seriously flawed (Samson). One of the most successful judges of all was Deborah, a prophetess who served with such authority that they begged her to lead their troops into battle. Even when good judges reigned, the people s character and conduct were contemptible. When you read this book you will find that six of those divinely appointed judges are given passing mention (sometimes just a verse). But there are six judges who are really targeted by the Holy Spirit. Those six judges are the ones raised up by God during the six cycles of sin > suffering > supplication > salvation. HERE S ANOTHER REASON WHY the book of Judges is such an important landmark along Route 66 It was during the one of the darkest periods of time in the history of Israel that some of it s most stellar heroes were raised up! That makes this book so relevant for the 21 st century. You have to have your head in the sand to not see the parallels between the spiritual and moral darkness in Israel at the period of judges and the spiritual and moral darkness of fallen culture today. Christians God is looking for men and women to raise up who will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to deliver men and women out of bondage and into relationship with God. God is not done raising up heroes! The heroes of Christianity are not all in our past! I m looking around this room and it is filled with potential heroes! God wants to do stuff NOW! I believe that the Holy Spirit wants to challenge men and women to turn their backs on the culture of 15

16 churchy and be radically available to God to be a part of His mission to rescue men and women from the utter hopelessness of life without God. Until Jesus returns to this earth we are still the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and He still wants to reach people for His Kingdom. Let s highlight a few of these judges. We find the first of these judges in Chapter 3 JUDGES 3 The first Judge was a man named Othniel. Let s read about him and as we do we ll see the cycle we talked about. Judges 3:7-9 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (SIN). They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years (Suffering). They sinned and they went into bondage. For how long? 8 years! Where s bottom for you? It took them EIGHT YEARS! It took them eight years of bondage under a pagan king to cry out to the Lord. The suffering part of that cycle lasted as long as 40 years during the period of Judges. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord (Supplication), the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, (Salvation) The Holy Spirit gives us a real important bit of background information concerning Othniel Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb s younger brother. This first judge was the younger brother of one of the most heroic men in the bible Caleb. This is not the first mention of Othniel in the Bible. He s mentioned in Judges 15:17 for conquering Kiriath-sepher, and that victory is recounted in Judges 1:13. Othniel was a man in motion. He didn't retire. He was still available 16

17 to the Lord. Here s something I want us to take away tonight: Just because he was Caleb s younger brother does not mean that Othniel was a young man. His older brother Caleb was around 92 years old when he finally took his portion in the land. DON T MISS THIS The nation has been in bondage for 8 years to the king of Mesopotamia. The Lord is looking for a man to raise up as a deliver in response to the cry of His people. Who does He find? An old man! I am huge on ministering to teens and young adult (Monday nights, Metro Gathering I am pumped!) But listen to me If you re not a young adult, you re not dead! I hope you know that! If you have a pulse, God wants to use you. One of the Patriarchs of Israel, Isaac, short-sold himself because of his age. We remember in the book of Genesis how he called his son in to bless him. The reason Isaac called his son in to bless him was because Isaac thought he was old and ready to die. Check this out: 25 years later Jacob comes back and Isaac s still around! Isaac lived his life as though he was dying instead of simply living his life. Othniel challenges everyone that isn't a young adult (under the age of 30) or a young married (under the age of 40) to never live like your dying and to start living as someone available to God. Another judge is found later in chapter 3. His name was Ehud. Judges 3: And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, Same cycle Sin > Suffering > Supplication > Salvation The Holy Spirit gives to us a very small but hugely important bit of information about Ehud 17

18 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. God was looking for a left-handed man! How man lefties here? It s not easy being a lefty in a right handed world. It used to be way worse. I remember nuns forcing left handed kids to write with their right hand. Every desk was right handed. Long ago you were considered cursed to be left-handed. Right-handedness was a godly thing and left-handedness was ungodly. Do you know what ambidextrous means? It means having two right hands! It s from from a late Latin word ambidexter ambi- on both sides + dexter right-handed ). Things are dark. EIGHTEEN YEARS of oppression! God hears the supplication of His rebellious people and He looks for a man to raise up specifically a left-handed man. Left-handedness was crucial to the delivering of His people. Ehud was responsible for bringing the tribute, the tax, to the coalition of the Ammonites and Amalekites who were oppressing Israel. But Ehud has a special gift to bring to the king. Judges 3:16 16 So Ehud made a double-edged dagger that was about a footlong, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing. Before Ehud goes in to present the tax to the king they searched him. But they were used to searching right-handed men. That meant patting down the left leg because that was where right-handed men kept their weapons. Ehud s sword was strapped to his right thigh! So he gets through to the king. I love this Judges 3:20-22 NLT 20 Ehud walked over to Eglon, who was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God for you! As King Eglon rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king s belly. 22 The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king s fat. Whenever I read this I picture Eglon as Jabba the Hutt. (pic for ppt) 18

19 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. Ehud escapes he rallies the men of Israel and they route the Ammonites and the Amalekites and they had rest for 80 years! The book of Judges is really important because it teaches us that God uses unlikely people to rescue men and women from life without God. We re going to skip to the fourth judge a woman named Deborah. Her story is found in Judges 4-5. JUDGES 4 Judges 4:1-1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. You would think that that segment of the cycle would have gotten shorter but they actually get longer! 8 years to 18 years to 20 years! 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. The Holy Spirit wants us to know that when God is looking to do a work He s not just looking to men. Here we see that God raised up a woman to be one of the great heroes of the Bible. Deborah was BOTH prophetess and judge in Israel. I believe that ONLY Samuel is the only other person in the Bible to be both a prophet and a judge in Israel. 19

20 This woman selected by God to act as a judge / deliverer in Israel was opened to God; she was be led by the Holy Spirit. Part of her role was to speak to a man named Barak. Judges 4:6 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedeshnaphtali and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, Didn t God tell you to do something? What had God told Barak to do? Go, Hasn't God told you to go? Then she says specifically, Hasn't God told you to Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. Judges speaks to us today! Hasn't God told us to do something? God has given us a commission, hasn't He? In fact, there s an adjective we use to describe that commission, isn't there? It s the GREAT Commission. What s the first word of the Great Commission? GO! Deborah not only spoke to Barak she speaks to us. The great commission is to tell people about Jesus and make disciples. That doesn t require a plane ticket or a passport. Barak said I m not going unless you go. Before we jump to conclusions, when we get to Hebrews 11 God calls Barak a man of faith. We re told in Judges 5 that there was not a shield or a spear among 40,000 Israelites. Barak was commanded to go and recruit 10,000 men who have no metal weapons to fight against a guy named Cisera who had the Old Testament equivalent of 900 tanks! And their natural response would be - RIGHT!! I don t think Barak was a wimp I think that he wanted to be able to tell his men that Deborah the prophetess was going to be right in the battle with them. Deborah said I ll go with you. It was AT LEAST a week s journey from Mt. Ephraim to Mt. Tabor. Judges 5 tells us that the highways in that day were OVER RUN with thieves and robbers. No one wanted to travel them for fear of their 20

21 lives! GUYS Imagine your wife telling you, The Lord told me to go to Afghanistan. with no weapons. Or, imagine your wife telling you, The Lord told me to go to some seedy area and witness to prostitutes. You would say, Honey, Sit down and take 2 of these. (Valerie - In Costa Mesa / Lumm Lane in Bradford) Deborah was a woman of great faith!! Because of Deborah s influence and example we read in Judges 5 the Lord will record concerning these men from Zebulun and Naphtali that they risked their lives for the things of the Lord. Judges 5 tells us that that is what happens when leaders lead! The Israelites had a radical victory on that day and Cisera was killed by a woman named Jael Judges 4:21 Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. Judges 5 contains the Song of Deborah in which she exalts God for all that He did to deliver His people. We will look at two more Judges and we re done. The first is Gideon. We find him in JUDGES 6-8 In Judges 6:1-10 we find the cycle again. This time they were oppressed by the Midianites for 7 years. The Midiantes were so intimidating that the men of Israel became moles; moving out of the plains into the hills, hiding in caves, holing up in dens, TOTALLY humiliated. And by Judges 6 they were TOTALLY impoverished. 21

22 The story of Gideon is one of the most well known in the Bible. If you don't know his story, please read it tonight before you go to bed in Judges 6-8. I want to focus on ONE thing concerning this guy. Judges 6:1-2; The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.. 11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Gideon was HIDING. Wheat was always threshed on the high places, out in the open, so they could use the winds to separate the wheat from the chaff. The wine presses were in the low places, dark cool places. Gideon is hiding but check out what the Lord calls him. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor. God sees who Gideon who will become if Gideon will respond to the Lord. That is how the Lord works because that s what the Lord has to work with. That s what he did with Peter He called Peter ROCK! That would be Peter who would deny Jesus 3 times in the dark hours of the morning before Jesus was crucified. But by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit Peter became a pillar of the church in the 1 st century. SO God looks at Gideon and says, YOU are the hero! Judges 6:13 13 And Gideon said to him, Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? The answer to that question is a three letter word starts with an S and ends with an N. The middle letter is I. 22

23 In the opening of Judges 6 God sends a prophet to the people to let them know that the Midianites were NOT their problem; they were merely the SYMPTOM of their problem. The prophet told them that Israel s real problem was Israel! The Midianites were the result of their compromise and their sin. 13 And where are all his wonderful deeds (miracles) that our fathers recounted to us.? This is awesome! God answers him by saying Gideon, YOU are the next miracle! Gideon s story is so amazing so relevant to you and me in the 21 st century. The vastly outnumbered Israelites would NEVER AGAIN be oppressed by the Midianites because ONE MAN hiding in a cave responded to the call of God! Where are the miracles of today? Where are the heroes of 2013? YOU are, if you respond to the call of God. The last judge occupies the largest piece of real estate in this section Samson. We find Samson in JUDGES When my pastor taught on the life of Samson he titled his message: Could Have Been, Should Have Been, Never was! Samson is for sure one of the most well known figures of the Bible. If you haven't really studied his life you probably think of him as a great guy who did great things for God. The problem is that Samson never did any great things for God. He was one of the most gifted men in the Bible yet he used them on himself. Read his story and you find that he don't serve the Lord first and foremost. Every time he uses his great strength it was to get him self out of trouble that he brought upon himself by his own desires. Samson is the poster child for Proverbs 25:28 Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a citybroken down, without walls (NKJV). 23

24 The story of Samson is a really important off ramp in the book of Judges because his life instructs us, reminds us, we should use our gifts for God; that God wants us to be set apart for Him; that God wants to work in us not just through us. Samson s life teaches us one other great truth and we learn it at the very end of his life. The man who was raised in a godly home, called and empowered to be a mighty deliverer ended up a humiliated slave of the arch nemesis of Israel the Philistines. His own lusts had left him literally blind, and bound. But God forgave Samson and restored his strength. He was willing to lose his own life to vanquish the Philistines with his restored strength he pulled down the pillars of the temple of the philistine god Dagon, and the house fell upon the lords (of the Philistines) and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. The end of Samson s life teaches us that on this side of eternity it is never too late to make a decision to serve the Lord. He teaches us that our past does not have to define our present. 1. Judges 1-2 The prologue 2. Judges 3-16 The Story of the Judges 3. Judges The Story of the People This is an incredibly dark bit of Scripture. Again These chapters are not a continuation of the narrative they a collection of the sordid details of the moral chaos, compromise and sin taking place as a result of Judges 21:25 they contain the details of all that was happening in the nation at the front end of those 6 cycles the details of the sin that led to the suffering. Those chapters are like an overlay on the middle section of the book (Judges 3-16). In the last section we have the account of prophets for hire. We read of hybrid religions being formed, syncretism. We read of Idolatry. We read of robbery. We 24

25 read of heterosexual sexual sin. We read of homosexual sexual sin. We read of rape and murder. We read of civil war. ALL of those things were owing to the fact that In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). CLOSE Where s Jesus in Judges? Jesus is the Angel of the Lord who appears to Gideon and calls him to ministry and to Samson s parents, promising them a son. 25