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Lesson 7: OT: Joshua & Judges
Lesson 7: Judges 11-21
Background material for Lesson 7 (These are some difficult chapters!)
The last ten chapters of Judges have to be some of the most depressing in the Bible. You find yourself saying, “Why did they put that in the Bible!?” Far from uplifting, it is a smorgasbord of human weakness and folly. Perhaps that is why it is in there, to illustrate what happens when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Jud. 21:30) It was a period of societal decay. Israel became splintered, and local tribal control was paramount. There was no central government and a general prevalence of lawlessness and apostasy. Civil war erupted with the near extinction of one of the tribes (Benjamin).
Jephthah—Chapter 11: Jephthah, leads the army that defeats the Ammonites. The Ammonites were “cousins” to the Abrahamic peoples. They had descended from Lot’s two daughters who got their father drunk and become pregnant by him, believing that all other men in the world had been killed when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. The two tribes descended from them were the Midianites and the Ammonites. They lived east of the Jordan and troubled Israel for many years. Jephthah was a Gileadite, a sub-tribe of Manasseh who also lived east of the Jordan River. The son of a harlot, his brothers had cast him out of their town. He made a name for himself as the leader of a band of outcasts preying on Israel’s enemies. His reputation as a mighty fighter caused his haughty brothers to finally come begging for his help after the Ammonites attacked.
Jephthah was faithful and zealous in God’s service. His won a great military victory over the Ammonites. The Ammonites had attacked without provocation, and Jephthah first tried negotiating with their king to prevent a war. The restraint and good sense he showed in this case was sadly lacking when he rashly vowed to God just before the battle that if he would be given the victory, he would offer the first thing he sees on returning home as a burnt offering. It was his only child, a daughter, who came running out to meet him. This broke his heart but he seems not to have entertained the idea of breaking this vow.
Some things to note—the idea of a vow to God being absolutely unbreakable was very powerful. Even the daughter herself believed the vow unbreakable and encouraged her father to keep it. Sometimes even a good thing can become like an idol when it is put before the commands of God. We will see two examples of this in the last chapters of Judges, where something truly terrible was done in the name of keeping a vow.
Scholars are divided over whether Jephthah actually offered his daughter as a burnt sacrifice. Human sacrifice was forbidden in Mosaic Law. Some think he fulfilled his vow by “taking her life” in another way, by dedicating her life to God, thus “taking away” her normal life from that point on. She would have to remain an unmarried virgin, never having children. For that culture, in which virtually every woman married (polygamy, remember), this was a sacrifice of her life. The textual references to her mourning with her girlfriends over her unfulfilled virginity could indicate that this was their solution to dedicate her to God without breaking the law against human sacrifice. The text is unclear, but what is clear is that Jephthah’s vow was a rash mistake that had tragic human consequences.
Civil War #1—Chapter 12: The Gileadites were a sub-tribe of Manassah. The rivalry between Ephraim and Manassah went back to the time when their father, Joseph, had crossed his arms as he laid his hands on his son’s heads to give them a father’s blessing, thereby giving the highest blessing (the right hand blessing), which traditionally went to the oldest son, instead to Ephraim, who was younger. Thus sibling rivalry is the background of the quarrel between Gilead and Ephraim after Jephthah’s victory over the Ammonites. Ephraim picks a fight with Jephthah, demanding to know why he didn’t ask them to go to battle with him so they could share in the glory and the spoils. (Judges 12:1-7) A fight develops that results in many lives lost.
Textual Difficulties: It may be hard to tell when reading quickly through these chapters, but they are a very condensed history that leaves out many details we wish we knew more about. If you take 1400 B.C. as a rough date for the end of the conquest of Israel under Joshua, and 1040 B.C. as the approximate year that the first king, Saul, began his reign, you will see that the period of the Judges lasted between 300 and 400 years. That is a long time for a culture to be without good government or strong religious influences. Look for ways that moral and spiritual life degenerated during this period, but also ways that good survived. We don’t know with certainty who wrote the book of Judges (some think Samuel) and if the stories told there are found in strict chronological order. It appears sometimes they are not. Many think that the happenings in chapters 17 through 21 happened early in Israel’s settlement of the land. Judges 20:27-28 refers to Phinehas, the grandnephew of Moses, as High Priest at the time of the civil war with Benjamin. As you read, know that events may be out of chronological order.
Samson—Chapters 13-16: The angel told Samson’s parents that he was to be a Nazarite. The following explanation was taken from the LDS Old Testament Institute Manual Vol. 1, (Online Version, Reading 17:11).
“A Nazarite was a man or woman who took a voluntary vow to separate his life for the service of the Lord, or to live consecrated unto Him (see Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:3:34). Being a Nazarite had nothing to do with coming from the town of Nazareth.
A Nazarite took three vows: he would abstain absolutely from wine or strong drink, including any products of the vine in any form (see Numbers 6:3–4 ); he would not let a razor touch his head, but would let his hair grow naturally as a crown to God (see Numbers 6:5 ); and he would not allow himself to draw near a dead person, even a member of his own family (see Numbers 6:6 ). His life and all his efforts were completely and expressly dedicated to the Lord. This consecrated life bore some resemblance to that of the high priest (see Leviticus 21:10–12 ). Those who seem to have taken such vows, or had parents who made the vows for them, include Samson (see Judges 13:5 ), Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1:11, 28 ), and John the Baptist (see Luke 1:15 ). In some cases, these Nazarite vows were for life, but more often they were for a specific period of time, after which the person returned to a normal life. (Two instances in the New Testament that seem related to this vow taking are recorded in Acts 18:18–19 and 21:23–26 .)”
Chronological Aberations: Chapters 17-21
Micah and the Danites—Chapters 17 & 18:These chapters are probably out of chronological sequence. Most Bible scholars think they happened before Samson, or even before Judges began ruling, perhaps soon after the death of Joshua. (Note 20: 28,“..in the days of Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron.”) The account of Dan looking for land to live in also indicates that this happened soon after their arrival in the Promised Land. Some think the story of Micah and his greedy mother is an account of the first actual idol worship to take root in the land, and how it spread like a cancer to a whole tribe when the Danites took the idol up to their northern territory. Thus the book of Judges ends with a strong warning about the deadly nature of false worship (chps.17-18) and the tragic results of having no central government or leader (chps.19-21).
Civil War #2—Chapters 19, 20 & 21: There are no more stark and ugly chapters in all of scripture than the stories of these chapters. It is tempting to skip them altogether, except that they provide a vivid reminder of the depths to which the Lord’s “chosen people” could sink when living without God’s guidance. Without God, the chosen people are as bad as the worst barbarians. It reminds us of the truth of Jesus’ statement in John 17:4, “For without me, ye are nothing.”
Some things to note are that a concubine was a second-class wife, but a wife nonetheless. She was not a prostitute. The primitive (meaning very early) moral code of hospitality was operating in the lives of the men in this story, not the Law of Moses. Therefore the old man who took in the stranger and his concubine, felt honor bound to protect his “guest.” Notice that the concubine did not count in this; he valued women less than the man even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his daughter’s virtue and subject the concubine to rape. These were not values learned from following the God of Israel. The other moral imperatives of the prevailing primitive code of right and wrong were the necessity for revenge and for keeping the vows they had made. Thus we see that all moral codes are not equal. These early “laws”, the Law of Hospitality, the Law of Revenge and the Law of Vow Keeping, were all things to which most ancient cultures were honor bound. Unfortunately, this kind of moral code did not teach people to restrain their the sexual appetites. These appetites, in fact, were constantly inflamed by the “worship” system of the fertility cults. The Law of Moses was a much higher law and if it had been taught and followed in Israel, none of these tragic things would have happened.
Judges 19-21 Judges 19 is a terrible chapter showing how violent and depraved the people became when “they did what was right in their own eyes.” After the rape/murder of his concubine, her husband cuts her body into pieces and sends it to the other tribes. This is a likeness of “cutting a covenant” (“karath berith” in Hebrew[1]). God makes a covenant with Abraham by cutting an animal and walking between the pieces (Genesis 15). It is referred to also in Jeremiah 34:18- “And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them likethe calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts.” The concubine’s husband wants the tribes of Israel to covenant that they will punish the evil doers of Benjamin. In other words, “may you end up like this cut up body if you do not answer the call to repay the evil which has been done in Israel! ”
Reading 1: Judges 11 & 12 skim
1. What good and worthy characteristics of the man Jepthah can be seen in the first 11 verses of chapter 11?
2. What was wrong with the vow Jepthah made in verses 30 & 31?
3. Is it ok to “bargain” with the Lord? For example: “If you cure me then I will return to activity in church.” Think of Hannah’s covenant to return her child to the Lord as a servant in the temple if He would give her a child. What cautions should one have in making such vows?
b. Personal: Have you had an experience in this regard?
4. a. Judges 12:1-6 tells the story of the bad feelings between the hot-headed Ephraimites and Jepthah and his brethren of Manasseh. How many men died as a result?
b. What are some other famous examples of sibling rivalry found in the scriptures?
c. What can be done in families to keep the destructive forces of sibling rivalry from causing lasting damage?
Reading 2: Judges 13-16 The Story of Samson (skim these chapters and focus on the verses noted in questions)
5. What tribe was Samson from? ______
6. What was special about Samson’s birth and infancy?
7. Map Exercise: Look at New LDS maps #3 & #4. (Old maps: #5 & 6. The new maps can be viewed at: onlinescriptures.lds.org/en/biblemaps) Notice that the tribe of Dan has two assigned areas, one in the center and one in the far north. Find both Danite territories. This will be important in chapters 17 & 18. The story of Samson mentions the cities of Ashkelon and Gaza. Find them and see who controlled this area. The Danite cities of Samson’s youth, Zorah, Lehi, and Eshtaol, are mentioned in the Bible but are not on the map. But they were somewhere in the area designated for Dan in the center of the country, squished between Judah and Ephraim, two much bigger and more powerful tribes. Can you begin to get a picture in your mind’s eye of the scene for Samson’s story?
8. How do we help youth today have a sense of their important latter-day missions without “spoiling” them and having them become self-centered, wasting their great potential like Samson did?
9. What sort of personality characteristics does Samson show as a young man in Chapter 14?
10. God used a flawed and imperfect man, Samson, to fulfill His purposes, sending His spirit to make it possible for Samson have the strength to fulfill God’s will. Does He do that today in the lives of LDS men and women? Explain.
11. From Judges 15, how many years did Samson serve as a judge in Israel before he got mixed up with Delilah? ____
12. What do you think was Samson’s greatest weakness (or weaknesses)?
Reading 3: Judges 17-18
13. Judges 17:1-5. The old woman had hoarded 1,100 silver shekels, which her son, Micah, stole from her. Afraid of his mother’s curse, he returned them. Then she took 200 shekels and gave it to a metal worker to make an idol.
a. What did these two people really worship even before they worshiped the “graven idol” they made for themselves?
b. Which of the Ten Commandments did the woman break?
c. How do people today “worship” money?
14. The job of a Levite was to assist the priests, the sons of Aaron, to minister in the tabernacle (temple) in Shiloh. Only descendents of Aaron could offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. What apostate elements can you see being introduced in chapter 17?
15. Go back to Joshua 19:47. Also review the map and see the two areas designated for Dan. Why did some of the men of the tribe of Dan scout a new area up north?
16. See Judges 18:31. Find the cities of Dan and Shiloh on Map 3 or 4 (old map5). What is one possible reason that the men of Dan stole a priest and graven images to establish a worship center in the northern city of Dan?
17. How do people, in or out of the church, change the way they worship or serve God for convenience sake? And what does this kind of compromise do to one’s spirit?
Reading 4: Judges 19-21
18. What detail in chapter 19 shows the relatively low place of women in the ancient near east?
19. Challenge Question: What chain of events caused the almost total annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin?
20. a. Paraphrase the last line in the book of Judges?
b. In what areas of our lives do we find it easy or tempting to “do what is right in your own eyes?”
c. D&C 1:16 says of the world, “They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way…” Isaiah 53:6 says “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Why do people not want God to rule over them?
d. Why does doing God’s will ultimately make you happier than doing what is right in your own eyes?
© 2009 Poet & Wilson
[1]When the Bible text says, “make a covenant,” the literal Hebrew is usually karath berith, or “cut a covenant,” as in, for example, Exodus 34:10, 12, and 15. Originally covenants were made by sacrificing an animal and walking between the parts as a witness of the covenant’s binding nature.