Judges of Israel

NOTABLE JUDGES

In the first centuries after the conquest of Canaan (ca. 1390–1050 b.c.), the Israelite tribes shared a common heritage. However, they never functioned as a united people. During this era when there was no king “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). When one or several tribes slipped into idolatry, God sent foreign enemies to oppress them. When their suffering drove the people back to the Lord and they appealed to Him, God raised up a charismatic leader called a judge to defeat the enemy. Typically this leader then governed in his tribe or area for the rest of his life. Also, typically, the people governed by the judge remained faithful to the Lord during his lifetime.

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JUDGES AND THEIR RULE

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In most ways, the judge functioned like a king. Judges were political, military, and religious leaders with judicial responsibilities. The primary difference was that while the monarchy was a hereditary institution, the judges were charismatic leaders whose mantle of authority was not passed on to their sons.

Just a glance at the chart above shows that some of the judges were given much more thorough treatment than others are given. We’ll look at two of the more important judges and also at a man who is not mentioned in this Old Testament book, but who is the major figure marking the transition from the age of judges to the age of kings.

GIDEON

Scripture references:
Judges 6–8; Hebrews 11:32

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GIDEON’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE

Gideon was a very ordinary person. He was a younger son in a not-too-distinguished family when God called him to take the lead in defeating the Midianite raiders who swept into Israelite territory each year at harvest time, impoverishing God’s people. Gideon, empowered by the Spirit, rallied the men of the four tribes most affected—Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali—and decisively defeated the Midianites, bringing peace to the tribes under Gideon’s leadership for the next forty years.

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Gideon put out the fleece not to learn God’s will but because he needed reassurance.

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GIDEON’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Gideon’s story as recorded in the book of Judges clearly emphasizes Gideon’s relationship with God. What is most striking in the account is Gideon’s readiness to respond to God’s commands and God’s willingness to encourage Gideon along the way.

The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon (Judg. 6:11–23).When the Angel of the Lord addressed Gideon as a “mighty man of valor” and announced “the Lord is with you,” Gideon almost laughed. If the Lord was with Israel, why were the Midianites allowed to oppress them? The Lord informed Gideon that he been chosen to save Israel. Gideon accepted what the Angel of the Lord told him, but asked for a sign. When Gideon brought meat and bread for an offering, fire rose out of the rock and the Angel of the Lord departed.

It would be wrong to assume that Gideon was a skeptic. He had believed, but still found the experience hard to accept.

God gave Gideon his first command (Judg. 6:25–32).God then told Gideon to tear down the altar to Baal that his father had built for the town. Gideon was too timid to attack the shrine during the day, but under cover of darkness he did as the Lord commanded. When the men of the town demanded Gideon be killed for this sacrilege, his father defended him. If Baal was a god, his father suggested, he could take revenge on his own. The men backed down, and Gideon lived.

God’s Spirit empowered Gideon (Judg. 6:33–35).Gideon was suddenly empowered by the Spirit, and he sent messengers to the affected tribes to join him in battling the Midianites. Amazingly, the men of Israel responded.

Gideon set out the fleece (Judg. 6:36–40).Gideon was still overwhelmed by all that had happened. He asked God for additional signs, first to have dew saturate a fleece (a lambskin) while the ground remained dry, and then for dew to saturate the ground while the fleece remained dry. God granted him both signs.

God reduced Gideon’s army(Judg. 7:1–8). Some 32,000 men responded to Gideon’s call, but God told Gideon he had too many men. God reduced Gideon’s force to 10,000, and then to 300 men. With his 300 men, Gideon approached the Midianites’ camp.

God further encouraged Gideon(Judg. 7:9–23). The evening before the attack, the Lord sent Gideon down to observe the enemy camp. There he overheard a man telling of a symbolic dream in which Gideon crushed the Midianites. A confident Gideon then ordered the attack, telling his men to suddenly appear waving torches, blowing trumpets, and shouting. The Midianites were so startled that in the dark they struck out at each other and fled. With the enemy in flight, the other Israelites pursued and killed them.

Gideon was offered the throne (Judg. 8:22–28).After the decisive victory, the Israelites were ready to make Gideon king. Gideon refused: “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you” (8:23). Gideon did however serve God as judge. For the next forty years, the tribes he led remained faithful to the Lord.

GIDEON: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Some have misinterpreted Gideon’s actions in setting out the fleece. They have taken what Gideon did as a means for discovering God’s will, and they encourage believers to “put out the fleece” when faced with a difficult decision. But Gideon knew what God wanted, and was ready to obey. Gideon set out the fleece simply for encouragement, and this God graciously provided.

Gideon had shown himself willing to obey God without encouragement. Gideon had already raised his army before setting out the fleece. And Gideon had already reduced his army to 300 men before God let him overhear the Midianite’s dream. Obedience had led to encouragement, and encouragement led to greater obedience still.

•     Gideon’s experience reminds us that we are to obey God without demanding “signs.” While God may give signs to encourage us, He gives them to those who trust and have obeyed rather than to those who doubt and hold back.

•     Gideon’s experience reminds us that God uses ordinary people to accomplish His purposes. The one thing that distinguished Gideon was his willingness to risk obeying God, as when he tore down his father’s altar of Baal.

•     Gideon’s experience reminds us that God leads us one step at a time. Gideon hardly knew from his first encounter with the Lord that he would be expected to face the Midianite masses with a mere three hundred men. But by the time Gideon had to face that challenge, he was ready for it. Let’s not worry about what the future may hold when God asks us to step out for Him. One step at a time is enough for Him—and for us.

SAMSON

Scripture references:
Judges 13–16; Hebrews 11:32

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Philistine smiths knew the secret of working iron. This technological advantage enabled them to dominate the Israelites for decades.

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SAMSON’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE

Samson is the last of the judges whose story is told in the Book of Judges. With each repeated cycle of sin and deliverance reported in Judges 3–16, the Israelites seem to have sunk deeper into idolatry and adopted more and more of the religious concepts of the Canaanites. Samson showed us that the quality of the judges also declined.

EXPLORING SAMSON’S RELATIONSHIPS

We learn much about Samson by examining the various relationships he sustained.

Samson’s relationship with his parents(Judg. 13:1–14:3). The Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s parents before he was conceived. The angel instructed them on how to raise their special son. He was to be a Nazarite set apart to God from birth—a person set apart to God who would neither cut his hair nor use any product of the vine, nor touch any dead body (cf. Num. 6:2–10). Samson’s parents carefully followed the Lord’s directions, and God blessed Samson as he grew up (Judg. 13:25).

Samson soon showed himself to be a strong-willed youth. When he was attracted to a Philistine girl, Samson demanded that his father negotiate a marriage. Old Testament Law against intermarriage was clear (Ex. 34:12–16), and his parents urged him to seek a wife from among God’s people. Samson refused.

While we think it appropriate that a young adult make his own decisions, in Bible times the father was to be heeded as long as he lived. Samson showed disrespect for his parents and for God’s Law.

Samson’s relationship with the Philistines (Judg. 14–16).As judge, Samson should have led his people against the Philistines. But Samson’s relationship with the oppressors was personal, not political.

Samson first attacked the Philistines when Philistine guests at his wedding forced his bride-to-be to give them the answer to a riddle Samson had posed.

In Samson’s time and even into David’s early years, the Philistines maintained dominance over the Israelites. This was largely because the Philistines knew the secret of working iron and carefully guarded that secret to keep it from the Israelites. Remains of Philistine outposts have been found deep in Israelite territory. When King Saul led Israel into battle against the Philistines, only Saul and his son Jonathan carried iron weapons (1 Sam. 13:19–23)!

Samson then went to another district, killed thirty Philistines, and got the clothing to pay the gambling debt (Judg. 14:19).

When his Philistine father-in-law give his bride to another man, Samson burned Philistine grain fields in revenge (Judg. 15:1–5). When the Philistines demanded that Samson be turned over to them by the Israelites, Samson personally killed a thousand with the jawbone of a donkey.

Later Samson lost his strength temporarily and fell into Philistine hands. He was blinded and put to forced labor. Later his strength returned, and Samson cried out to God for power to take vengeance. Samson pushed over two key pillars in a Philistine temple, and killed more Philistines in his death than he had during his life (Judg. 16).

Through it all, Samson seems to have carried out a personal vendetta against the Philistines. He hated them, not because of their oppression of God’s people, but because they had harmed him.

Samson’s relationship with the Israelites (Judg. 15:9–20).Although Samson judged Israel for twenty years, he was never the leader that Gideon, Jephthah, and the other judges had been. After Samson burned the Philistine grain fields, they sent an army against Israel, and demanded that Samson be turned over to them. Rather than follow Samson into battle, the Israelites bound Samson and turned him over to their enemies! Samson is the only judge of whom the biblical text does not state, “and the land had rest.”

Samson killed Philistines, but the Philistines continued to oppress Israel throughout the twenty years of his rule.

Samson’s relationship with women (Judg. 16).Samson was a sex addict, and the text tells us of his visits to prostitutes as well as his passion for Philistine women. The most notorious relationship Samson had was with a prostitute named Delilah, who was well paid by the Philistine rulers to discover the secret of Samson’s strength. When she finally learned that the secret lay in Samson’s hair, uncut from birth, Delilah cut his hair off. Samson was then captured, blinded, and set to turning a millstone, typically work for an ox.

Some have expressed disgust at Delilah’s “betrayal” of Samson. But why should a woman who sold herself be criticized for selling a man who exploited her vulnerability? The one who deserves our contempt is Samson, who used Delilah to feed his passion and was used in return.

Samson’s relationship with God (Judg. 13–16).God gave Samson great strength that Samson employed against the Philistines. But Samson felt no obligation to use God’s gift on behalf of God’s people. Instead, Samson consistently used his strength to take revenge on the Philistines for what he perceived they had done to him.

In each crisis, God’s Spirit gave Samson the supernatural strength he needed; yet, Samson ignored God’s commands. The only prayers of Samson that are recorded are selfish prayers: a prayer-complaint demanding water and a cry to the Lord for strength to “take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judg. 15:18; 16:28). Clearly Samson was not a man who stayed close to the Lord. Samson was a man captive to his passions and his pride.

SAMSON: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Samson is not a man we want to emulate. Despite great gifts, he was a man of greater flaws. These flaws kept him from achieving as much for his people as earlier judges were able to achieve. Yet Samson, whatever his motives, served God’s purpose in thwarting the total domination of the Israelites by the Philistines. What can we learn from Samson?

•     Samson warns us that we cannot equate gifts with godliness or success with spirituality.

•     Samson reminds us that godly motives are as important as active service. Samson set himself against the Philistines for personal reasons, because he wanted to revenge himself for what Philistines had done to him. He was unmoved by the suffering of his people—concerned only with personal slights.

•     Samson encourages us to use our gifts wisely. God will not judge us on how great our gifts are. He will judge us on how faithfully we have used those gifts to serve Him.

•     Samson challenges us to live godly lives. How many spiritual leaders have fallen because of the pull of the flesh? When we choose to live by the standards God has laid out in His Word, we both honor our Lord and protect ourselves from unexpected disasters.

SAMUEL

Scripture references:
1 Samuel 1–8; 28; 1 Chronicles 6:27, 28
Psalms 99:6; Jeremiah 15:1; Acts 3:24;
13:20; Hebrews 11:32

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SAMUEL’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE

Samuel was arguably Israel’s greatest judge, who was also both a priest and a prophet. During his years as a judge, the Israelites were able to maintain relative independence from their greatest enemies, the Philistines. In his old age, Samuel anointed Saul as Israel’s first king, and served as his counselor during the early years of his reign. When Saul failed to obey God’s words spoken through the prophet, Samuel then anointed David to succeed Saul. In Jeremiah 15:1, the Lord linked Samuel with Moses as two men whose prayers had great influence with Him.

SAMUEL’S LIFE AND TIMES

When Samuel was born, the Israelites were in both spiritual and political depths. The spiritual leader, Eli, was well-meaning but had no control over his two sons, who used their position as priests to exploit their fellow Israelites (1 Sam. 2). For many years, no word had come from God through a prophet or any other source. In addition, the Philistines dominated the Israelites politically and economically. When Samuel was a young man, the Philistines not only defeated the Israelite militia at Aphek, but also capture the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4). The death of Eli’s sons in that battle and Eli’s subsequent stroke left Samuel as Israel’s religious leader.

Samuel called for a return to the Lord, urging Israel to put away the foreign gods the people had been worshiping, and the people responded (1 Sam. 7). When another invading Philistine force approached, Samuel prayed for God’s intervention, and the Israelites defeated the Philistines so completely that “they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel” in Samuel’s time (1 Sam. 7:13).

When Samuel grew old, however, the people demanded a king. Tragically, Samuel’s sons had “turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Sam. 8:3). The demand for a king troubled Samuel, however, for he saw it as an implicit rejection of God in favor of a human ruler. When the Lord told Samuel to do as the people demanded, the aged prophet obeyed and anointed Saul as king.

Samuel invested much in King Saul and was bitterly disappointed when Saul proved to be a weak and ungodly ruler. Near the end of his life, God sent Samuel to anoint the youth David to succeed Saul. Samuel never got over his disappointment over Israel’s first king, but died before Saul lost his life in battle.

EXPLORING SAMUEL’S RELATIONSHIPS

While Scripture focuses on two relationships of Samuel, at least two others are also significant.

Samuel’s relationship with his mother(1 Sam. 1; 2). The story of Hannah’s passionate desire for a son and her gift of that boy to God is told and retold in Sunday School. During his first four years, until he was weaned, Samuel lived with his mother and father. We are told nothing of those early years, but undoubtedly Hannah told her son glowing stories of God’s love for His covenant people and of the wonderful things God had done for them. In this, Samuel was like Moses with whom he is linked in Jeremiah 15:1. Each boy was taught by his mother; each boy was separated from her after being weaned. And each boy grew up to become a spiritual leader of God’s people.

We can never underestimate the influence of mothers on their children when they are very young. Both Samuel and Moses should give parents pause before they choose day care over mother’s care. Our first years of life are significant indeed!

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God spoke to Samuel as a child, and Samuel was quickly recognized as a prophet.

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Samuel’s relationship with Eli(1 Sam. 2). After Samuel was weaned his mother brought him to Eli the priest. Eli’s sons were corrupt, but Eli himself was a dedicated although weak individual. Eli took Samuel under his care, and even as a child Samuel “ministered before the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:18). One of Samuel’s most painful tasks as a child was to inform his mentor of God’s judgment on his family because Eli had failed to restrain his wicked sons (1 Sam. 3:18).

Samuel’s relationship with the Lord.Samuel’s relationship with the Lord was close and personal throughout his life.

The foundation for Samuel’s relationship with God was laid early (1 Sam. 2). Samuel’s mother Hannah dedicated her son to the Lord before he was born and nurtured him carefully through his early years

Samuel proved responsive to God in his youth (1 Sam. 3). As a boy Samuel lived at the tabernacle, Israel’s worship center. He helped in any way he could, and was daily exposed to the sacrifices and praises offered to the Lord there. While Samuel was exposed to the wickedness of Eli’s sons, he bonded to Eli and chose to follow the path of godliness.

It is difficult to understand parents who fail to take their children to church, making the excuse that they want their children to make up their own minds when they are old enough. Without significant exposure to the Lord and His ways, young people have no basis on which to make that choice!

Samuel saw the right and the wrong, the godly and the ungodly. When he was just a youth, he made his choice to serve the Lord. That choice was so clear and its effect so powerful that “all Israel … knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:20).

Samuel influenced all Israel to recommit to the Lord (1 Sam. 7:1–9). After the death of Eli and his sons, Samuel became the recognized spiritual leader of the Israelites. Samuel used his influence to urge a return to the Lord. One of the most significant motivating factors was the Israelite’s conviction that Samuel would pray for them if they returned to God (1 Sam. 7:5, 8). Clearly Samuel was a man of prayer whose intimate relationship with God was known to all his people. We know nothing of Samuel’s ability to preach, or his capacity to persuade. But we do know that Samuel was a man of prayer. This evidence of Samuel’s close relationship with God gave the Israelites confidence in him.

Clearly, this should be as true today as it was then. The leader believers can trust and follow is a leader whose power rests in prayer and whose close relationship with God makes us confident that we can safely follow him.

Samuel led Israel to victory over the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:10–14). One of the roles of the judge in ancient Israel was to free God’s people from dominance by foreign enemies. Samuel proved just such a leader, not in virtue of his military prowess, but in virtue of his prowess in prayer. As Samuel prayed, Israel fought, and God provided the victory.

Samuel was jealous for God’s honor (1 Sam. 8). In Samuel’s old age, the Israelites begged for Samuel to give them a king. They did not want Samuel’s son to rule them. He had not made the choice Samuel had, and he proved to be a corrupt and ungodly man. While this must have troubled Samuel deeply, when the Israelites called for a king Samuel was more concerned for God’s honor. During the era of the judges, the Lord was viewed as Israel’s King, and He was viewed as the One to turn to when it was necessary to fight foreign enemies. The call for a king was an implicit rejection of reliance on the Lord.

Samuel tried to dissuade the Israelites (1 Sam. 8:10–18), but finally the Lord told Samuel to do as the people asked.

How tragic it is when a spiritual leader knows what is best for the people he leads, but they simply will not consider his warnings.

God led Samuel to Israel’s first two kings (1 Sam. 9; 16). God specifically led Samuel first to Saul and then to David whom the prophet anointed to become Israel’s first two kings. During Saul’s early years Samuel also served as court prophet and advisor, and he was bitterly disappointed when Saul refused to obey the Lord.

These must have been difficult years for Samuel. For years, he had been Israel’s unquestioned leader, trusted because of his calling as judge and prophet and because of his personal relationship with God. Samuel then surrendered his authority to King Saul, and stepped into the role of an advisor. Saul should have heeded Samuel as God’s prophet. Saul’s failure to obey God’s instructions pained Samuel deeply, not because it was an insult to him but because Samuel desperately wanted the king to be as loyal to the Lord as he himself had been.

For a person who is totally committed to the Lord to see the flaws in a successor who is committed only to his own self-interest is heart-breaking. In this situation Samuel could only trust God and wait to see what the Lord would do. When God told Samuel to anoint David as Saul’s successor, Samuel obeyed despite his own deep disappointment.

Throughout his life, Samuel remained fully committed to God. In all he did, Samuel showed himself to be a man of faith and prayer who influenced his people to trust in God and who oversaw Israel’s transition from the era of the judges to the monarchy.

Samuel’s relationship with Saul. Even though Saul was Samuel’s successor, the aged prophet-judge had a deep affection for him.

Samuel anointed Saul king (1 Sam. 9; 10). God clearly identified Saul to Samuel as the man He intended to become king of Israel. Samuel not only anointed Saul, but at a great convocation of the Israelites, Samuel presented Saul to them as king. Samuel like the rest of Israel seems to have been impressed by Saul’s physical stature: he was “taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward” (1 Sam. 10:23).

Samuel rebuked Saul for disobedience (1 Sam. 13). When a Philistine army invaded, Saul had been told to wait seven days for Samuel to appear and pray for God’s people. When the Israelite forces began to desert, however, and Samuel did not arrive during the first seven days, Saul himself sacrificed an offering. This sacrifice violated the commandment God had given him through Samuel (1 Sam. 10:8). Samuel was frustrated and angry and announced that God would not permit Saul to found a dynasty. Despite his personal disappointment, Samuel faithfully conveyed God’s rebuke to Saul.

Samuel rejected Saul for rebelling against God (1 Sam. 15). Later, Saul directly disobeyed a command of God when going to war with the Amalekites. Samuel confronted the king and told him that the Lord had completely rejected him. After this incident, Samuel “went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul” (1 Sam. 15:35).

Saul proved to be one of Samuel’s greatest disappointments. Those who have labored a lifetime to establish something significant hurt when they see a successor undo what they have built or fall so far short of what they have dreamed!

SAMUEL: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Samuel is undoubtedly one of the great men of the Old Testament. He was significant because he was a transition figure. But his personal significance is rooted in his personal commitment to the Lord.

•     Samuel’s commitment was nurtured by Hannah’s dedication of her son to the Lord. More often than not, a parent’s love and prayers powerfully influence a child’s future.

•     Samuel’s commitment was encouraged by his early exposure to worship at the house of the Lord. The more we learn of the Lord, and the earlier we learn His ways, the more willing we tend to be to respond when He speaks to us.

•     Samuel’s commitment involved a personal and decisive choice. Samuel saw both godly and ungodly ways of life, and he was mentored by a godly though weak individual. Samuel chose to take His stand with God. His mother’s prayers and his exposure to God at the tabernacle helped him make this choice, but these did not determine the way he would go. Samuel made that choice himself, freely and responsibly. Each of us makes his or her own choices in life, and the sooner we choose commitment to the Lord, the richer and more significant our lives will be.

•     Samuel’s commitment involved dedication to prayer. Samuel’s intimate relationship with God and the power of his prayers helped give the Israelites confidence to trust the Lord. If we are to influence and move others to a deeper trust in God, prayer must have a significant place in our daily lives.

•     Samuel’s commitment was expressed as a concern for God’s glory. Samuel clearly was more concerned that Israel honor God than that the people honor him or his sons. We, too, can make the chief end of our life to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. ^[1]