Introduction Outline

Transcription

1 Introduction Judges The title Judges is a translation of the Hebrew word shopetim, which is used in Judges 2:16 and serves as the Hebrew title for the book. Unfortunately, the translation judges is somewhat misleading since this English word is used mainly in a judicial sense. It refers to people who spend most of their time in court handling legal disputes or overseeing criminal cases. But those who served as judges in this book did not seem to function in these ways. The Hebrew word here is flexible and can be used for those who lead in a nation s external affairs as well as its internal affairs. In reality the judges in this book are deliverers whom God raised up to save his people from their enemies (2:16). In English Bibles the book of Judges follows Joshua, and they are usually considered to be the first two in a section of historical books. Judges follows Joshua in the Hebrew Bible as well, but there they serve as the first two books in the Prophets, the second of three sections in the Hebrew canon. In Luke 24:44 Jesus referred to these three divisions, which are called the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, except that he substituted Psalms for Writings since it s the first book in that section. The point here is that Judges should not be viewed simply as a history book. It presents God s evaluation of the Israelites based on the covenant that he made with them at Mount Sinai. The human author of Judges is unknown, but according to Jewish tradition, Samuel was the writer. This option makes good sense since he lived shortly after the time period of several hundred years covered in the book. As a prominent leader in Israel, he would have been in prime position to gather the needed material from various sources. He probably did not finish the book until about 1025 b.c. after Saul became king. After all, several statements in the book seem to assume that Israel had a king when it was written (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Even if Samuel didn t write the book, it must have been completed before David captured Jerusalem (1:21; 2 Samuel 5:6 7). However, the mention of the exile from the land was almost certainly added several hundred years later by another prophet (18:30). Outline The book of Judges can be divided into three sections: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction and the conclusion cover the same basic topic: troubles faced by the Israelites. At the beginning of the book trouble came from outside the nation, but by the end of the book trouble came from inside the nation. The body of the book shows how Israel s situation deteriorated during this time period. Over and over the people disobeyed God and came under his judgment. He did raise up deliverers for the people when they cried out for help, but these leaders became worse and worse until the nation was virtually in a state of ruin by the end of the book. 1. Foreign Trouble (1:1 3:6) The book begins with the Israelites facing trouble from outside the nation. This section can be divided into two parts: warfare and idolatry. The people had already defeated the Canaanites on a large scale, but some of them remained and were scattered across the land. The Israelites needed to finish the job and destroy the rest of their enemies as God had commanded (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). The longer the Ca- 1

2 naanites remained in the land, the more their practices would rub off on God s people. This section ends by showing that before long the Israelites began to worship Canaanite gods and intermarry with the Canaanites. This disobedience sets the tone for the rest of the book. 1.1 Warfare (1:1 2:5) The book of Judges opens the same way that the book of Joshua did: with a report about the recent death of an important leader. In the book of Joshua, Moses had just died; here in the book of Judges, Joshua has just died. In both places the crucial issue is what would happen to the nation of Israel at such a strategic time. After Moses died Joshua became Israel s main leader in accordance with God s command (Numbers 27:12 22). Just like the people needed someone to lead them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, they also needed someone to lead them into Canaan. But by the time of Joshua s death, the Israelites had conquered most of the land and no longer needed a single leader. Joshua did not appoint a replacement for himself, and no evidence exists that God wanted him to do so. The church similarly is not to be ruled by one leader but by a group of men called elders (Acts 20:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14). The New Testament equivalent for Moses and Joshua is Jesus, who is the head and chief shepherd of the church (Colossians 1:18; 1 Peter 5:4). Thankfully the Israelites understood that they were still under God s authority, even though they were no longer under Joshua s authority. After his death they paused to inquire of the Lord (1:1). Like most English translations the Christian Standard Bible represents God s name using all capital letters, usually with the word Lord and rarely with the word God. But this approach leads to difficulties when people are listening to the Bible being read to them since they cannot distinguish between the words that are in all caps and the words that aren t. God s name was most likely pronounced as Yahweh, and his people should not be afraid to use it. It is derived from a Hebrew statement translated I am who I am or simply I am for short (Exodus 3:14 15). It communicates that God is self-sufficient and does not depend on anyone or anything for his existence. It also indicates that he is eternal and unchanging. Jesus used this shortened statement to proclaim his deity on multiple occasions (John 8:58; 18:4 6). How did the Israelites inquire of Yahweh? No explanation is given, but most likely the high priest consulted Yahweh for them. The high priest at that time was either Aaron s son Eleazar, if he was still alive (Joshua 24:29 33), or his son Phinehas. Some of the Israelites were probably still gathered at Shechem where Joshua had died (Joshua 24:1). Earlier Moses inquired of God for the people (Exodus 18:15; 33:7), but after his death the Israelites, including Joshua, would need to consult Yahweh through Eleazar (Numbers 27:21). Christians do not need to go through a human priest today to find God s will for them. Jesus fulfilled the role of high priest, and his commands have been preserved in the New Testament through his apostles and prophets. He also gave the Holy Spirit to help his children live in obedience to him. The Israelites asked Yahweh which tribe he wanted to fight against the Canaanites first. He answered by picking Judah (1:2), which is not a surprise since this tribe was the largest and most prominent one (Genesis 49:8 12; Numbers 26:22). Judah s three older brothers had forfeited the firstborn status through disobedience (Genesis 49:3 7), but Judah had shown spiritual maturity by offering himself as a slave in Benjamin s place (Genesis 44:18 34). Jacob pronounced great blessing on Judah s descendants and even implied that kings would come from this tribe (Genesis 49:8 12). Here God promised military success to 2

3 Judah by stating that he had handed the land over to this tribe s inhabitants. God already made this promise to Joshua on multiple occasions (Joshua 6:2; 8:1; 10:8), and he always kept it as long as the Israelites were obedient to him. The Israelites should be commended for consulting Yahweh and their willingness to fight the remaining Canaanites, but their question to God betrayed a lack of spiritual maturity. Why did one of the tribes need to go first? Did they think that God couldn t help all of them fight the Canaanites scattered in the land at the same time? Perhaps they were testing God to see if he would help one of the tribes before the rest of them went into battle. At any rate, God was patient with them in their weakness and reminded them that he would help them. In fact, this attribute of God is on display throughout the book. And today God continues to show his patience toward sinners who deserve judgment but receive mercy from him instead (1 Timothy 1:16; 2 Peter 3:9, 15). The inhabitants of Judah responded positively to God s instructions and fought against the Canaanites. They invited the Simeonites to join them and proposed that they help each other in their allotted territories (1:3). This course of action was natural since the Simeonites actually lived within Judah s territory (Joshua 19:1, 9). Jacob told both Simeon and Levi that their descendants would be scattered in Israel because of their wickedness (Genesis 49:5 7). Indeed, neither tribe received a region of its own as a tribal inheritance. Simeon is mentioned only one other time in this passage (1:17), while Judah is mentioned eight more times (1:4 19). This disparity stresses Judah s leadership role in the partnership. In addition, Judah probably acted alone during some of the events described in this passage. When Judah attacked the Canaanites and Perizzites, God gave his people victory (1:4 5), just as he had promised to do (1:2). The author mentioned one particular battle at the city of Bezek where the Israelites killed about ten thousand men. When their leader fled the city, Judah s soldiers pursued and caught him (1:6). He is called Adoni-bezek here, which was probably not his name but simply a title that means lord of Bezek. The Hebrew word adonai means lord or master; it often refers to Yahweh in the Old Testament but can be used to refer to anyone in a position of authority. For example, Sarah referred to her husband using this word (Genesis 18:12), and Joseph is described on multiple occasions with it (Genesis 42:10, 30, 33; 44:5, 7 9, 16, 18 20, 22, 24, 33; 45:8 9). After Judah s soldiers captured Adoni-bezek, they cut off his thumbs and big toes (1:6). The author used Adoni-bezek s words to interpret this action. He reflected on the fact that he had done the same thing to seventy kings (1:7). As with the number ten thousand used earlier (1:4), most likely this number is rounded, and the presence of the number seven here probably indicates completion. Apparently Adonibezek had conquered all the rulers in his local area. The punishment that he inflicted on them was common in the ancient world and was used to incapacitate and humiliate someone. He even had these kings eat the scraps that fell under his table like dogs (Mark 7:28), which were despised creatures during biblical times (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15). He wanted them in his sight regularly so that he could gloat over them. But now that Adoni-bezek had suffered the same fate, he acknowledged that God had repaid him for what he did to those other rulers (1:7). The Hebrew word for God here is elohim; it is not a name but simply a noun that indicates deity. It usually refers to Yahweh in the Old Testament, but sometimes it is used 3

4 to describe false gods (Joshua 24:15; 1 Kings 11:5). This word is grammatically plural but can be used to refer to one or more gods. Therefore Adoni-bezek was probably talking about the gods of the kings whom he had incapacitated. But most likely the author was capitalizing on the ambiguity here to show that Yahweh was ultimately responsible for his defeat. However, God did not command the soldiers of Judah to take this specific action against Adoni-bezek. They may have thought that they should follow the principle in the law of eye for eye and tooth for tooth (Exodus 21:23 25; Leviticus 24:19 20; Deuteronomy 19:21). But this law was intended to govern incidents that took place among the people of Israel. They had been given a different law that more specifically addressed this particular situation with Adoni-bezek. They were commanded to completely destroy all the people living in Canaan (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). Instead of obeying Yahweh here, they adopted a Canaanite practice. God s people are always confronted with the danger of copying the actions of wicked people around them. Christians must remember that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33) and be careful not to be conformed to this age (Romans 12:2). After the soldiers of Judah captured and incapacitated Adoni-bezek, they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died (1:7). No indication is given whether he died right away from his wounds or died of more natural causes much later. But the fact that the seventy kings ate under his table for some time suggests that he did not die anytime soon. The loss of one s thumbs and big toes would not usually be serious enough to result in death. The mention of Jerusalem leads to some further details about the city in verse 8. The author records that the men of Judah fought against the city and captured it. Then they killed its inhabitants in obedience to God s command and set it on fire. At first glance this report seems to contradict Joshua 15:63, which states that the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. Another problem here is that the men of Judah apparently took Adoni-bezek to a city that they hadn t captured yet, and when they did capture it, they burned it. How could Adoni-bezek live in a city that was completely destroyed? The best solution here is to see verse 8 as a flashback to something that had already happened. The author paused to give some more details about the background of Jerusalem. The men of Judah had already destroyed the city in the more distant past (1:8), but apparently it had been rebuilt and inhabited by the Jebusites in the meantime, and the descendants of Judah were unable to dislodge them (Joshua 15:63). Judah s soldiers probably brought Adoni-bezek to Jerusalem simply because it was fairly close to the city of Bezek. Apparently they didn t want to deal with him anymore; most likely they were happy to turn him over to the Jebusites in Jerusalem and let him live the rest of his days in humiliation and disgrace. The flashback continues in verses After the men of Judah initially destroyed Jerusalem, they turned south to fight the Canaanites there (1:9). Specifically, they marched against the city of Hebron, which was originally called Kiriath-arba (1:10). There they killed three rulers named Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. The book of Joshua shows that this city had been given to Caleb (Joshua 14:13), and he was the one who led the attack against it and defeated these three descendants of Anak (Joshua 15:13 14). These facts are confirmed in verse 20. No contradiction is present here because Caleb was a leading member of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 13:6; 34:19). Hebron has held an important place in Israel s history. Abraham and Isaac both used to live in Hebron (Genesis 13:18; 35:27), and Sarah was buried there (Genesis 23:2, 19). 4

5 Later David reigned as king in Hebron over the tribe of Judah (2 Samuel 2:1 4, 11), and eventually he was anointed there to rule over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:1 3). After the men of Judah conquered Hebron, they marched against Debir, which used to be called Kiriathsepher (1:11). The book of Joshua confirms that Caleb led this phase of the military campaign as well (Joshua 15:15). At this point the two books match each other almost perfectly; verses are nearly identical to Joshua 15: Both passages show that Caleb did not capture the city of Debir himself; instead he challenged one of his men to do it and offered his daughter Achsah in marriage as a reward (15:16). His nephew Othniel accepted his challenge, captured Debir, and took Achsah as his wife (15:17). This marriage between cousins was not considered to be incest in the law of Moses (Leviticus 18:6 16). During ancient times a marriage was usually arranged by the parents with special focus on the woman s father. Even in modern times a man often seeks the approval of a woman s father before asking her to marry him. The text does not say that Caleb consulted Achsah before offering her in marriage to whoever would conquer Debir, but he may have done so. After all, Rebekah s family asked for her opinion before sending her away to marry Isaac (Genesis 24:57 58). At any rate, arranged marriage is not commanded in Scripture; Christians have freedom about how they enter into marriage. But certainly young people should listen to the wisdom and instruction of their parents (Proverbs 1:8; 6:20; 23:22). Marriage is a serious commitment that should not treated lightly. Anyone pursuing marriage should seek counsel from many advisers (Proverbs 15:22), including one s parents. In verse 14 Achsah persuaded her husband to ask her father for a field. But this passage does not state clearly whether he did so or not. Instead the text proceeds to explain that she approached her father to ask for some springs (1:14 15). Did Othniel refuse to ask for the field? Did she decide to ask Caleb for the field herself? If so, then why did she ask for springs instead? Most likely Othniel did ask Caleb for the field, and this request was approved. Achsah mentioned to her father that he had already given her land in the Negev. This land was probably the fulfillment of Othniel s request on her behalf. Then she decided to make another request on her own for springs, and Caleb granted this request as well; he gave her the upper and lower springs. Caleb was generous toward his daughter, but God is even more generous toward his children (Matthew 7:9 11). They will receive an inheritance in heaven that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (1 Peter 1:4). Why did the author of Judges choose to repeat this material from the book of Joshua? At least two strong reasons can be given. First, this story emphasizes the transition in leadership from one generation to the next. Caleb was a godly man who lived through the wilderness journey and helped the Israelites conquer the land of Canaan. Now he is handing off the baton to a new leader, who showed bravery by capturing a city and would end up serving as the first judge in the book (3:7 11). Second, this story previews the prominence of women in the book. Achsah is the first of many women to be highlighted, and she sets a high bar. She took the initiative to obtain additional land from her father while treating him respectfully. Verse 16 makes a reference to Moses s father-in-law and calls him a Kenite. The Kenites were one of the groups of people living in Canaan during the time of Abraham (Genesis 15:19). Moses actually had at least two wives (Exodus 2:21; Numbers 12:1). But the first one s father, who was known as both Reuel and Jethro, was the priest of Midian, and the second one was a Cushite. However, Jethro may not have been a 5

6 descendant of Midian; he is called the priest of Midian three times (Exodus 2:16; 3:1; 18:1) but a Midianite only once later in his life (Numbers 10:29). Most likely he was actually a Kenite, and either he or one of his ancestors moved to the land of Midian. Therefore in a sense Jethro was a Midianite, just like anyone who immigrates to the United States can be called an American. Jethro is parallel to Caleb, whose father was a Kenizzite (Numbers 32:12; Joshua 14:6, 14). The name of Caleb s younger brother, Kenaz, may reflect this background. The Kenizzites are listed alongside the Kenites in Genesis 15:19. Confirmation for this conclusion about Jethro is found later in the book, where the sons of Hobab are called Kenites (4:11). Most translations refer to Hobab as Moses s father-in-law there (CSB; ESV; NASB; NKJV), but the Hebrew word is flexible and can refer to other types of relatives. In Numbers 10:29 Hobab is called the son of Reuel or Jethro; therefore he was Moses s brother-in-law (NIV; NLT). At Mount Sinai Moses had asked Hobab to go with the Israelites to serve as their guide through the wilderness (Numbers 10:29 32), and the book of Judges confirms that he and his family did so. Jethro s descendants entered the land of Canaan with the Israelites, and at some point they moved from the City of Palms to a wilderness in Judah s territory (1:16). Their decision to live in the territory of Israel s most prominent tribe was wise. The City of Palms may be a reference to Jericho (CSB footnote), which is identified with this phrase in other passages (Deuteronomy 34:3; 2 Chronicles 28:15). But Jericho had been completely destroyed by the Israelites recently, and Joshua pronounced a curse on anyone who would rebuild it (Joshua 6:21, 24, 26; 1 Kings 16:34). The book of Judges refers to the City of Palms on one other occasion (3:13), and in both places it is not connected specifically to Jericho. Therefore a different city in the region probably began to be called by this phrase after Jericho was destroyed. When Jethro s descendants moved from this city to Judah s territory, they lived among the people (1:16). This statement might be a reference to the Canaanites and point to the failure of Jethro s descendants to fight against them. But more likely it is referring to the men of Judah mentioned earlier in the verse. The migration is mentioned here because of the connection with Judah and because the reference to Moses serves as another tie to the past. The mention of Simeon in verse 17 points back to the previous reference to this tribe in verse 3. It seems to indicate that the flashback in verses 8 16 has concluded. After the men of Judah brought Adoni-bezek to Jerusalem (1:7), they and the Simeonites killed the Canaanites in the town of Zephath and completely destroyed it (1:17). They renamed the town Hormah, which was an appropriate name since this word means destruction. The men of Judah and Simeon obeyed Yahweh here and completely destroyed these Canaanites (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). Then the men of Judah captured three regions: Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. Most likely they completely destroyed the Canaanites in these places as well. Yahweh told Joshua earlier that these three regions still needed to be possessed (Joshua 13:3), but here the men of Judah were checking them off the list. The reason the men of Judah had military success in verses is that Yahweh was with them and enabled them to take possession of the hill country in their territory (1:19). But their success was only partial; they could not drive out the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots (1:19). In hilly areas chariots were not very helpful, but in flatter regions they were more effective. The fact that the chariots were made of iron shows that these Canaanites were on the cutting edge of technology; the Iron Age would not begin until a few generations later. But even with this advanced 6

7 technology the Canaanites did not stand a chance against Yahweh, who could make city walls collapse and throw down hailstones from the sky (Joshua 6:20; 10:11). Because he was on Israel s side, Joshua expressed confidence earlier that the descendants of Joseph could drive out the Canaanites in their territory, even though some of them had iron chariots (Joshua 17:18). Why then were the men of Judah here defeated by the Canaanites living in the valley? The answer must be that God wasn t helping his people on this occasion. In the beginning of verse 19 Yahweh is stated to be the reason for Judah s military success, but in the end of verse 19 he is not mentioned at all in connection with Judah s defeat. This contrast seems to indicate that God did not participate in the fight against the Canaanites in the valley. Most likely the people of Judah were not trusting him or living in obedience to him at this point. When the Israelites sinned during the battle of Jericho, God was not with them during their next battle at Ai, and as a result they were defeated (Joshua 7:11 12). God s help is available for Christians today in the fight against temptation if they will just rely on him (1 Corinthians 10:13). In the rest of chapter 1, the focus turns to the remaining Israelite tribes (1:21 36). They are covered only briefly; the tribe of Judah got as much attention as the rest of them combined because it was the most prominent one. The order here is almost the same as what is found in Joshua with the distribution of the land. The only changes are that Simeon is covered with Judah and that Benjamin is mentioned before Ephraim and Manasseh. Benjamin was probably moved forward to follow Judah because they were neighbors. The two and a half tribes that settled on the east side of the Jordan River are not mentioned here, and neither is Issachar. Most likely they are absent because the author did not have anything negative to report about them. After all, the focus with each of the remaining seven tribes is failure. The tribe of Benjamin is covered in verse 21. In the Christian Standard Bible this verse opens with the phrase at the same time, but a better translation of the original Hebrew would be but (ESV; NASB; NKJV) or however (NIV; NLT). The writer is giving a contrast between the success of Caleb in verse 20 and the failure of the Benjaminites in verse 21. They did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. This city was given to Benjamin (Joshua 18:28), but it was near the border shared with Judah (Joshua 15:8). This fact explains why both Judah and Benjamin attacked it at various times (1:8, 21; Joshua 15:63); it was a threat to both tribes. Apparently Jerusalem was destroyed by Judah at some early stage (1:8), but then it was rebuilt and inhabited by the Jebusites, who were one of the groups of people living in Canaan (Joshua 3:10). Later on the men of Judah were unable to reconquer it (Joshua 15:63), and then the Benjaminites failed as well (1:21). The Jebusites were still living in Jerusalem when the book was written, which was before David captured the city and made it his capital (2 Samuel 5:6 9). The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are covered together in verses 22 25; they are called the house of Joseph since they were named after his sons. The focus here is on Bethel, which was previously called Luz. This city was on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin (Joshua 16:1 2; 18:13), but it actually belonged to Benjamin (Joshua 18:22). Earlier Bethel s soldiers joined Ai s soldiers in a battle against the Israelites (Joshua 8:17), and at some point the king of Bethel and presumably the city itself were defeated (Joshua 12:16). Abraham lived between Ai and Bethel on multiple occasions (Genesis 12:8; 13:3). The name Bethel means house of God ; it was given by Jacob after he slept there on his way to visit his uncle Laban and had a dream about angels walking back and forth on a stairway to heaven (Genesis 28:10 19). 7

8 He returned here later with his family to build an altar to God (Genesis 35:1 7), who gave Jacob the name Israel on that occasion (Genesis 35:10). Apparently sometime after the Israelites originally conquered Bethel, some Canaanites moved back into the city, and it needed to be defeated again. Even though it technically belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, the descendants of Joseph attacked it since it was near the border shared by Ephraim and Benjamin and therefore was a threat to both tribes. Earlier Judah and Simeon fought together since they lived in the same territory, and here Ephraim and Manasseh fought together since they were neighbors and descendants of Joseph. Yahweh was with them and helped them defeat the city (1:22). Verses give more details about the human side of the equation. The descendants of Joseph sent spies to Bethel (1:23), just like Joshua earlier sent spies to both Jericho and Ai (Joshua 2:1; 7:2). This action did not imply a lack of trust in God but showed wisdom from a military perspective. A balance must be maintained between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. However, the spies themselves made an error in judgment during their mission. When they saw a man coming out of the town, they offered to treat him with kindness if he would show them the way inside (1:24). The term kindness is a translation of the Hebrew word hesed; the same word is used in the story of Rahab. When she protected the two Israelites spies who were sent to Jericho, she asked that they treat her with kindness, and they agreed (Joshua 2:12, 14). But these events have several major differences. The spies at Jericho required defensive help; they needed to escape from the city. The spies at Bethel requested offensive help; they wanted to get into the city. Undoubtedly they were not asking for the location of the city gate, which would have been obvious. Most likely they were asking to be shown a secondary entrance or to be escorted into the city. But the descendants of Joseph did not really need this kind of assistance; with God s help they would have defeated the city by attacking the main gate. The most important difference between these two events is that the spies at Jericho did not promise to show kindness to Rahab until after she had already converted to the worship of Yahweh. She acknowledged to them that he was the true God who ruled in heaven above and on earth below (Joshua 2:11). She essentially became an Israelite and apparently lived the rest of her life in Israel (Joshua 6:25). But the spies at Bethel did not ask for a commitment to Israel s God from the man they asked to help them. When they made their request, he agreed to assist them and led them into the town (1:25). Then they killed all its inhabitants except for the man and his entire family. But instead of living with the Israelites, this man moved to a new location and lived among the Hittites (1:26), who were one of the groups of people living in Canaan (Joshua 3:10). He even built a new town and named it Luz after his previous city. The Israelites had captured one Luz, but then another one appeared in its place. Ultimately their situation had not really improved. This problem would not have occurred if they had followed God s instructions and killed this man and his family with the other Canaanites who lived in the city (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). God was patient with the Israelites and gave them victory despite their disobedience, but he didn t prevent the natural consequences of their sin. God s people must obey him fully and not compromise in the smallest way. The focus turns specifically to the tribe of Manasseh in verses Its members failed to take possession of several cities and their surrounding villages. The names of these cities are Beth-shean, Taanach, 8

9 Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo. All five of them were mentioned together in Joshua 17:11, and three of them apparently had been captured temporarily by the Israelites at some earlier point (Joshua 12:21, 23). The previous book already revealed that the descendants of Manasseh were unable to possess these five cities (Joshua 17:12). The reason given in both places is that the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land (1:27; Joshua 17:12). Apparently the Canaanites in this area were more resistant than those in other regions. Their stubborn resistance did not last once the Israelites grew stronger, but even then God s people failed to drive out the Canaanites from the land completely (1:28; Joshua 17:13). Instead the Israelites made them forced laborers in contradiction with God s instructions (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). The Gibeonites had tricked the Israelites into making them forced laborers (Joshua 9:21), but even that poor excuse couldn t be used here! In verse 29 the other tribe of Joseph, Ephraim, takes center stage. Often Ephraim is listed before Manasseh even though he was the younger brother (Numbers 1:10, 32 35; Joshua 16 17). After all, he had received a greater blessing from Jacob (Genesis 48:13 20). Perhaps the writer wanted to put more emphasis here on the drastic failure of Manasseh. But the descendants of Ephraim also failed to obey God; they did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, as already reported in Joshua 16:10. The previous book seems to report that the Israelites captured this city earlier (Joshua 10:33; 12:12), but they may have defeated only its king and his army. If they did conquer the city, then obviously it was retaken by the Canaanites in the meantime. As a result of this failure by the descendants of Ephraim, the Canaanites continued to live among them, as with Jerusalem and the tribe of Benjamin (1:21). Joshua 16:10 records that eventually the Canaanites in Gezer became forced laborers, as with the five cities of Manasseh just mentioned (1:27 28). God allowed the Israelites to treat the cities outside their land in this way (Deuteronomy 20:10 15), but they were supposed to destroy the Canaanite nations completely so that they wouldn t teach the Israelites their detestable practices (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). Christians are not authorized to destroy the wicked people around them, but they must remember that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33) and be careful not to be conformed to this age (Romans 12:2). Unfortunately the Israelites never got around to the job of destroying the Canaanites in Gezer. Ironically this task ended up being completed by the king of Egypt, who captured the city and gave it to his daughter, Solomon s wife (1 Kings 9:16). In verse 30 the focus turns to Zebulun, who was the tenth son of Jacob and his sixth and final son with Leah (Genesis 30:19 20). His descendants failed to drive out the residents of two cities: Kitron and Nahalol. Neither place is mentioned anywhere else in Scripture with these spellings. But Nahalol was probably the same city as Nahalal, which belonged to Zebulun and was one of the cities that the Levites could inhabit (Joshua 19:15; 21:35). In Joshua 19:15 the city listed right before Nahalal is Kattath, and in Joshua 21:34 a city listed shortly before Nahalal is Kartah. Perhaps Kattath, Kartah, and Kitron are different names for the same city. As a result of this failure by the descendants of Zebulun, the Canaanites continued to live among them, though they did serve as forced laborers. The situation with this tribe was similar to what happened with Manasseh and Ephraim. In verses Asher takes center stage; he was the eighth son of Jacob and his second and final son with Zilpah, Leah s slave (Genesis 30:12 13). His descendants failed to drive out the residents of seven cities: 9

10 Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. Acco, Ahlab, Helbah, and Aphik are mentioned only here in Scripture, though Acco was a prominent city on the Mediterranean Sea according to other sources, and Ahlab may be a reference to Mahalab that was misspelled by someone copying this passage (Joshua 19:29). Achzib and Rehob were already known as cities that belonged to Asher; in fact, apparently two different cities named Rehob were in Asher s territory (Joshua 19:28 30). One of them could be inhabited by the Levites (Joshua 21:31). Sidon is the most well-known city mentioned here; it was located near the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was probably named after the firstborn son of Canaan, Ham s son (Genesis 10:15, 19). It is often mentioned alongside another major city in that region: Tyre (Joshua 19:28 29; Isaiah 23:2 3; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; 47:4; Ezekiel 27:8; Joel 3:4; Zechariah 9:2; Matthew 11:21 22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 7:24, 31; Luke 6:17; 10:13 14; Acts 12:20). Because the descendants of Asher failed to drive the Canaanites out of their cities, they lived among their enemies. This situation is similar to what happened with Benjamin (1:21), Ephraim (1:29), and Zebulun (1:30), but while the Canaanites lived among the people of those tribes, the descendants of Asher lived among the Canaanites. This reversal suggests that the people of Asher were outnumbered by the Canaanites living in their territory. In verse 33 the focus turns to Naphtali, who was the sixth son of Jacob and his second and final son with Bilhah, Rachel s slave (Genesis 30:7 8). His descendants failed to drive out the residents of two cities: Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. Both of them were mentioned in the previous book (Joshua 19:39); the first one was a city that the Levites could inhabit (Joshua 21:16). They were apparently associated with Canaanite idols, and a pagan temple may have been located in each city. Beth-shemesh means house of the sun, most likely a reference to the Canaanite sun god. Beth-anath means house of Anath, the name of a Canaanite goddess. As a result of this failure by the descendants of Naphtali, they lived among the Canaanites, just like the descendants of Asher (1:32). However, the Canaanite residents in these two cities did serve them as forced laborers. This situation was identical to what happened with Manasseh (1:28), Ephraim (Joshua 16:10), and Zebulun (1:30). Finally, in verses Dan takes center stage; he was the fifth son of Jacob and his first son with Bilhah, Rachel s slave (Genesis 30:4 6). His descendants didn t just fail to drive out the Amorites from their territory; they were forced to stay out of the valley and live in the hill country (1:34). The Amorites were one of the groups of people living in Canaan (Joshua 3:10); they were determined to stay in the best part of Dan s territory (1:35), just like the Canaanites were determined to stay in some of Manasseh s cities (1:27). Earlier the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Canaanites living in their valley region because those people had iron chariots (1:19). Perhaps the Amorites living in Dan s valley region also had iron chariots. After all, the territories of Judah and Dan were adjacent; the Scorpions Ascent is mentioned in connection with both tribes (1:36; Joshua 15:3). Verse 35 mentions three specific cities that the Amorites were determined not to leave: Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. The first and last ones are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, but Shaalbim was probably the same city as Shaalabbin (Joshua 19:42). Aijalon was listed in the previous book as a city given to Dan that the Levites could inhabit (Joshua 19:42; 21:24). During a battle between the Israelites and the Canaanites earlier, the moon stood still over this city (Joshua 10:12 13). Eventually the Amorites 10

11 in this region served the Israelites as forced laborers (1:35), just as the Canaanites did in other tribal territories (1:28, 30, 33). But the descendants of Joseph, not the Danites, were the ones who got the upper hand against the Amorites (1:35). Apparently the Ephraimites, who were located just east of the Danites, took over some of their territory. The Danites had so much trouble securing this land that they eventually abandoned it and migrated to northern Canaan (Joshua 19:47), as described later in chapter 18. In summary, chapter 1 shows the repeated failure of the Israelite tribes to obey God and destroy the various groups of people living in Canaan (Deuteronomy 20:16 18). They deserved to be killed because of their extreme wickedness marked by sins such as child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality (Leviticus 18:21 25). God had been patient with the Canaanites for over four hundred years (Genesis 15:13 16), but the time for his judgment had come. Unfortunately the Israelites didn t finish the job that Joshua had started and instead tolerated these wicked people among them. Sadly Christians today too often tolerate sin in their churches, their families, and their own lives, even though God has provided helpful tools like the church discipline process (Matthew 18:15 17), parental physical discipline (Proverbs 13:24; 22:15), and the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16). This failure by the Israelites led God to bring them a message through the angel of Yahweh (2:1, 4). The phrase the angel of the Lord is used fifty-four times in the Old Testament, and seventeen of them are found in Judges, which is over 30%! This occurrence is the first place where this phrase is used in the book. But it does appear in four passages earlier in the Bible (Genesis 16:7 14; 22:11 18; Exodus 3:2; Numbers 22:22 35), and they provide assistance in identifying this individual. Genesis chapter 16 introduces the readers to Hagar, who was an Egyptian slave belonging to Abraham s wife, Sarah. Because Sarah hadn t given birth to any children yet, she suggested to Abraham that she could have a child through Hagar if he took her as his wife in addition to Sarah (Genesis 16:1 2). Abraham listened to Sarah s advice and became a polygamist instead of following God s pattern for monogamous marriage established from the beginning (Genesis 2:18 25). Sarah took Hagar and gave her to Abraham (Genesis 16:3), just like Eve took some of the forbidden fruit and gave it to Adam (Genesis 3:6). After Hagar became pregnant, she began to treat Sarah with contempt (Genesis 16:4). Even though Sarah was about to get the son she wanted, she quickly regretted taking this course of action. She blamed Abraham for her suffering (Genesis 16:5), even though the idea about Hagar was hers! She engaged in blame shifting, just like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:11 13). As Adam failed to take leadership in the Garden of Eden, Abraham failed to take leadership here. He just let Sarah do to Hagar whatever she wanted, and she returned Hagar s contempt with mistreatment (Genesis 16:6). Hagar responded by running away, but the angel of Yahweh met Hagar by a spring in the wilderness and spoke to her (Genesis 16:7). He told her that he would multiply her descendants (Genesis 16:10), which is not something that an ordinary angel can do. Afterwards she recognized that Yahweh was the one who spoke to her (Genesis 16:13). In other words, the angel of Yahweh was apparently Yahweh himself. In Genesis chapter 22 God tested Abraham by commanding him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:1 2). Abraham responded with total obedience, but the angel of Yahweh stopped him from killing Isaac at the last second (Genesis 22:10 11). He observed that Abraham had not withheld Isaac from him (Genesis 22:12). Because God was the one who gave Abraham the command to sacrifice his 11

12 son, the natural conclusion here is that the angel of Yahweh was God. He stated that through this test he experienced Abraham s reverence for God in a fresh way. This reference to God in the third person may be one of several hints in this book of plurality in the Godhead (Genesis 1:26; 11:7). In Exodus chapter 3 Moses was shepherding the flocks of his father-in-law on Mount Sinai when the angel of Yahweh appeared to him at a distance in a flame within a bush (Exodus 3:1 2). But even though the bush continued to burn, it was not consumed (Exodus 3:3). Moses was naturally curious at this amazing sight and went to take a closer look. After Yahweh saw his movement, God spoke to him from the bush (Exodus 3:4). This passage seems to use the terms God, Yahweh, and the angel of Yahweh interchangeably, which indicates that the Angel of Yahweh was God. Another possibility is that two members of the Trinity were present on this occasion. After calling out to Moses, God told him to take off his sandals (Exodus 3:5). The reason for this command was that the ground on which he was standing was holy. Nothing about this particular mountain was inherently special; it was holy because God was there. Numbers chapter 22 introduces the readers to a man named Balaam, who was apparently a non-israelite prophet of Yahweh. King Balak of Moab tried to hire him to curse the Israelites, who were camping in the plains of Moab at the time (Numbers 22:1 6). But God told Balaam that he could not accept Balak s offer (Numbers 22:12). However, Balak didn t take no for an answer; he was basically willing to give Balaam a blank check if he would come and curse the Israelites (Numbers 22:16 17). But instead of declining the offer again, Balaam stated that he would find out what else Yahweh had to tell him (Numbers 22:19). In other words, he was hoping that God would change his mind and allow him to accept Balak s offer. The New Testament states that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Peter 2:15). God allowed Balaam to go to Balak, but he was incensed about Balaam s attitude and sent the angel of Yahweh to oppose him (Numbers 22:22). Balaam couldn t see this individual, but his donkey could. On three occasions it avoided a confrontation with the angel of Yahweh and saved Balaam s life, even though Balaam beat it all three times (Numbers 22:23 33). After God opened Balaam s eyes to see the angel of Yahweh holding a drawn sword, he bowed before this individual (Numbers 22:31). When the apostle John bowed before a regular angel created by God, he objected and told John to worship God (Revelation 22:8 9). The fact that the angel of Yahweh did not object to Balaam s apparent worship is evidence that this individual was God. One of the many proofs for the deity of Jesus is that he accepted worship from people (Matthew 14:33; 28:9; John 9:38). In fact, the angel of Yahweh was probably the preincarnate Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. The phrase the angel of the Lord is not used again until Judges, but this individual may have made an appearance in the previous book. He apparently interacted with Joshua while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal near Jericho (Joshua 15:10, 13). He called himself the commander of Yahweh s army, but he was holding a drawn sword and told Joshua to remove his sandals because the place where he was standing was holy (Joshua 5:14 15). The obvious connections to Exodus 3:5 and Numbers 22:31 strongly suggest that he was the angel of Yahweh. In Judges chapter 2 the angel of Yahweh came from Gilgal to speak to the Israelites (2:1). The reference to Gilgal here is probably a reminder about Israel s total victory over Jericho after they entered the land of Canaan. Sadly the people were no longer living up to this standard of military success. 12

13 The message from the angel of Yahweh began with a review of what God had done for the Israelites. First person pronouns are used throughout this speech to refer to God even though the angel of Yahweh gave no indication that he was speaking on God s behalf. This feature supports the conclusion that the angel of Yahweh was actually God himself. He reminded the people that he had led them from Egypt to Canaan, the land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:7; 15:18 21; 26:2 4; 28:13; 35:12). God told the Israelites on Mount Sinai that his angel would protect them during this journey (Exodus 23:20 23), and he kept that promise. He had also promised never to break his covenant or agreement with the Israelites (2:1); he would bless them as long as they obeyed him (Leviticus 26:3 13; Deuteronomy 28:1 14). In verse 2 the angel of Yahweh reminded the Israelites about two of the commands that they had been given. They were not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of Canaan (Exodus 23:32; 34:12, 15); instead they were to tear down their altars (Exodus 23:24; 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:3). But the people did not obey these commands (2:2); they had broken their covenant with Yahweh by entering into a covenant with the Canaanites. Earlier they made a treaty with the Gibeonites to let them live (Joshua 9:15), and more recently they spared the lives of many other Canaanites as well (1:6 7, 24 25, 28, 30, 33, 35). Verse 2 ends with a rhetorical question that forced the Israelites to reflect on their sinful actions. God asked the same exact question to Eve in the Garden of Eden after she and Adam ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:13). The Christian Standard Bible begins verse 3 with the phrase, Therefore, I now say. But the original Hebrew text has no words that mean therefore or now here. A better translation would be the following statement: And I have also said (NIV). The angel of Yahweh was continuing to remind the Israelites about what they had been told. Joshua warned them earlier that that if they disobeyed God, he would not drive their enemies out of the land (Joshua 23:12 13). This assertion was based on God s warning that he would turn against them and cause them to be defeated by their enemies if they did not obey his commands (Leviticus 26:17; Deuteronomy 28:25). In his grace he had been helping them to some degree recently (1:4, 19, 22), but he did not give them full military success. He had promised to drive the Canaanites out of the land (Exodus 23:28 31; 34:11), but this promise was not guaranteed as long as the Israelites were living in rebellion against him. In the meantime the Canaanites would be thorns in the sides of the Israelites (2:3), as God had already warned (Numbers 33:55). The word for thorns is missing in the Hebrew text here; most likely a scribe accidentally skipped over it when copying this passage. Joshua gave a similar warning to the people; he stated that the Canaanites would be a sharp stick for their sides and thorns in their eyes (Joshua 23:13). This imagery communicates the severe pain that the Israelites would experience. God had also warned that the Canaanite gods would be a trap for the Israelites (2:3; Exodus 23:33; Deuteronomy 7:16). By extension the Canaanites themselves could also be called a trap (Exodus 34:12; Joshua 23:13); after all, they would tempt the Israelites to worship their gods. The people would be trapped by being mislead to think that worshiping the Canaanite gods would bring prosperity. But Yahweh is the only true God; the idea that false gods can make people prosperous is an illusion. Yahweh was ready to bless the Israelites with great prosperity if they worshiped and obeyed him (Exodus 23:25 26; Leviticus 26:3 5), but he would punish them if they disobeyed him and worshiped other gods (Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 28:15 24). 13

14 Verses 4 5 record the response of all the Israelites to this message from the angel of Yahweh: they wept loudly and offered sacrifices to Yahweh. They even named the place Bochim, which was already mentioned in verse 1 and means weeping (CSB footnote). Most likely they were at Shiloh where the tabernacle was located, where the sacrifices were to be offered, and where the festivals were to be celebrated by the whole nation (Joshua 18:1; Deuteronomy 12:5 14; 16:1 17). Another possibility is that the angel of Yahweh spoke only to some of the leaders, who served as representatives of all the people. In this case they may have been gathered at another location like Bethel, which had a tree that Jacob named Allonbacuth or Oak of Weeping after his mother s nurse died (Genesis 35:6 8). The Greek translation of the Old Testament supports this interpretation by listing Bethel alongside Bochim in verse 1. Did the Israelites genuinely repent of their recent sins on this occasion? The evidence is unclear. The apostle Paul later rejoiced not because the believers in Corinth were grieved but because their grief led to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9). In other words, weeping is not to be equated with repentance. He distinguished between godly grief, which produces repentance, and worldly grief, which produces death (2 Corinthians 7:10). And true repentance is marked by the presence of fruit; it leads to spiritual growth in a person s life (Luke 3:8 14). The Israelites did show some fruit by offering sacrifices, but God cares more about obedience than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). If they did truly repent at this time, then their repentance did not last for long, as revealed in the next section. 1.2 Idolatry (2:6 3:6) This section begins with the word previously in the Christian Standard Bible. The original Hebrew text has no word here with this meaning, but the addition is helpful. The translators included this word to clarify the relationship of this passage with the previous section. Verse 6 obviously does not flow chronologically from the earlier material. After all, the first verse of the book mentions the death of Joshua, and now this section begins by rewinding to a time when Joshua was still alive. The author was basically hitting the reset button here and starting over with a different perspective. He shifted his focus from the theme of warfare in the first part of the introduction to the subject of idolatry in the second part of the introduction. In verses 6 9 the writer borrowed from Joshua 24:28 31 and made only a few significant changes. His dependence on the book of Joshua can be seen in the previous section as well (1:12 15; Joshua 15:16 19). The material here begins with a note that Joshua sent the people away to their own inheritance (2:6). They had been gathered at Shechem to hear Joshua s final words for them (Joshua 24:2 15). On that occasion they committed themselves to serve and obey Yahweh (Joshua 24:16 24). Verse 6 is an exact quotation of Joshua 24:28, but the author added the phrase about how the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land when they left Joshua. This statement points back to chapter 1 and the failure of the Israelite tribes to destroy the Canaanites completely. The first verse of the book clarifies that the tribes didn t take turns attacking the Canaanites until after Joshua died a short time later. The most significant change in the quotation from Joshua 24:28 31 takes place in verse 7. Here the writer took the last part of the passage that he was quoting and moved it forward for emphasis. Verse 7 shows that the Israelites at least as a whole served Yahweh faithfully during Joshua s lifetime. This fact is a tribute to Joshua s excellent leadership. The people also followed through on their commitment to keep serv- 14