Study Questions for Judges 9-12 Power of the Spoken Word

Study Questions for Judges 9-12 – Power of the Spoken Word

The Big Idea: Because our words reveal our heart, they can secure God’s help or lead us into serious trouble.

I. A Fatal Curse (9) / Key Idea: Words spoken that are consistent with the will of God will certainly be fulfilled in His time.
1. Read Judges 9:1-6. Who was Abimelech (v1) and what did he propose (v2)? What was the response (v3) and what did Abimelech do (v4-5)? What were the results (v5, 6)? / Abimelech was the son of Gideon and his concubine who lived in Shechem (8:31), so a half-brother to Gideon’s full-blood seventy sons. The setting of this story was in central region of Israel, the only place in Judges that deals with this region. This partially explains why Abimelech’s story is included although he was neither a judge nor a deliverer. It also shows their progressive tendency to rely on a king, thus paving the way for the transition to the kingship in the days of Samuel. He went to Shechem and spoke to his mother’s (Gideon’s concubine) relatives and maternal grandfather’s clan and proposed that he, one man, rule over them rather than the seventy sons of Gideon. After all, he was their flesh and bone. They were inclined to agree with him because he was their relative, so they gave him seventy pieces of silver, presumably to kill each of the seventy sons. The silver came from the temple of Baal-berith, showing how entrenched idolatry had once again become in Israel. With this in hand Abimelech hired “worthless and reckless fellows” who went with him to Gideon’s house at Ophrah and killed all seventy except the youngest, Jotham, who had hidden himself. Then all the men of Shechem went with Abimelech to the oak of the pillar there and made him king.
2. In 9:7-21 who opposed Abimelech (v7)? Recap the story he used (v8-15) and what it implied (v15). What did he tell Shechem to consider (v16-19)? Since the answer was negative what did he call for (v20-21)? / When the report of Abimelech’s coronation reached Jotham he went and stood on the top of Mt Gerazim and shouted to them. He told them to listen to him that God might listen to them. He gave them an allegory of how the trees had once wanted to anoint a king to rule over them, so they went to the olive tree. He refused because he would have to leave his fatness with which God and men are honored to wave over the trees. They then went to the fig tree, which also refused, asking why he would leave his sweetness and good fruit to wave over the trees. Next, the trees went to a grapevine and were refused again as the vine asked why he should leave his new wine which cheers God and men to go wave over the trees. Finally, they went to the bramble and asked him to reign over them. He told them that if they were really anointing him as king they were to come and take refuge in his shade (a bramble actually offers no shade); but if not then fire would come from the bramble and the cedars of Lebanon would be burned up. The point was that they were not dealing in integrity with Abimelech in making him king; and they had not dealt with Jerubbaal (Gideon) and his house as they deserved since he had fought for them and delivered them from Midian. Rather, they had killed all but one of his sons and made the son of his concubine king instead. They had chosen to reject the olive tree, fig tree and grapevine – the sons of Gideon – in favor of the bramble – Abimelech – that offered them nothing. A bramble is not only unfruitful, but also provides no shade. Because of this he pronounced a curse on them both that fire from Abimelech would consume the men of Shechem and Beth-Millo, and that fire from them would consume Abimelech. At this pronouncement he fled and hid out in Beer, in the southern part of the desert. This curse would later be fulfilled because they continued in their evil ways.
3. Using 9:22-29 how long was Abimelech’s rule, what occurred and why (v22, 23-24)? How did the resistance against Abimelech play out—part 1 (v25) and part 2 (v26-29)? / Abimelech ruled over Israel three years, a relatively short term, and then God sent an “evil” spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. God is not the author of evil (Jas 1:13), but in the Old Testament everything is attributed to the direct hand of God. So here, God allowed Satan to create division between these two and God allowed it, thus accomplishing His purpose. So, indirectly evil came from God by means of Satan, but not directly. This allows God to be sovereign over all things although not the direct cause of everything (see Rom 8:28). This evil first took the form of ambushes by the men of Shechem against all who were on their way to Abimelech. Secondly, Gaal, the son of Ebed, crossed with his relatives into Shechem and the men of Shechem lined up with him. They all held a wine festival in the house of their god (Baal-berith) and cursed Abimelech as they ate and drank. Gaal incited treason against him, saying they should follow him and he would remove Abimelech. Since Abimelech was a son of Gideon and Zebul was his lieutenant it would be better to serve Hamor, the original Canaanite founder of Shechem. Furthermore, before all who were gathered he boastfully challenged Abimelech to increase his army and come out, even though he wasn’t present.
4. From Judges 9:30-49 why was Abimelech able to counterattack (v30-33) and what does this teach us? Describe the way he defeated Gaal and Shechem (v34-41, 42-45) and Shechem’s leaders (v46-49). / However, Zebul, the ruler of Shechem hear his words and his anger burned. He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech about the treason that was being incited by Gaal and told him to arise at night and put all his men in place in the fields. When they morning came they would be able to ambush Gaal’s army and do to them whatever they wanted. So Abimelech did this and early in the morning when they stood up on the hills and started towards the city Gaal told Zebul that he saw people coming down from the mountains. Zebul told him that he was just seeing the shadows in the mountains, but Gaal was more specific this time, saying that he saw them coming from two directions. At this point Zebul mocked him, asking where his boasting was now, having said “Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?” He further told him that he should go out and fight against these people whom he had despised, and when he did Gaal and his people were wounded and driven from Shechem. The next day Abimelech was told that they were fleeing into the fields around Shechem so he divided his people into three companies and when the people got there two of the companies began to fight with them, and the third company fought against those who remained in the city, killing all of them. He then razed the city and sowed in with salt. This polluted the soil and water and symbolized permanent barrenness. When the leaders of Shechem, who were in the tower of Shechem (a fortress), heard about this they went into the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith (Baal-berith) for protection. Abimelech found out and led all the people to take a branch from a tree and go with him to the tower. They put them all on the inner chamber and set fire to it so that all the men and women there, about a thousand, died. Thus, the first part of Jotham’s curse had come true as fire from Abimelech had consumed the leaders of Shechem.
5. Looking at 9:50-57 how was Abimelech killed (v50-54) and what resulted (v55)? What was the summary of this entire story (v56-57) and what did it reveal (v57)? / After this Abimelech went to Thebez and captured it. The people of the city had fled into the tower stronghold in the middle of the city so he went there to fight against them. As he approached the entrance to burn it with fire a woman on the parapet above through a millstone down, crushing Abimelech’s skull. He called for his armor-bearer to kill him so it couldn’t be said that he had been killed by a woman, which the young man did. Seeing Abimelech dead everyone went home and God had thus repaid the evil done by Abimelech to the house of Gideon; He had also repaid the evil done by the men of Shechem, fulfilling Jotham’s curse. This story shows the justice and faithfulness of God and it also reveals the unfaithfulness of Israel, both to God and man during this period. The destruction of the men of Shechem was also a good thing since they were primarily Canaanite idolaters with a mix of probably a few Israelites.
II. A Frantic Cry (10:1-11:11) / Key Idea: When we face the consequences of our actions it shows us that we need help.
6. In 10:1-16 who judged Israel next and how long (v1-2, 3-5)? What happened then (v6, 7-9), how did Israel react (v10), what did God say (v11-14), and what resulted (v15-16)? / After Abimelech died Tola, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel. Although it doesn’t say who he fought, he was used of God to save Israel and he judged for 23 years, a relatively long time for a judge of whom very little is said. After Tola, Jair, the Gileadite, on the east side of the Jordan, arose and judged Israel 22 years. He apparently continued the progression towards kingship since he ruled over thirty cities through his sons who each rode on colts, a royal symbol. Once these 45 years were completed, though, Israel again did evil in the Lord’s sight, serving the Baals and Ashtaroth, to gods of Aram (Syrian), Sidon, Moab, Ammon and the Philistines. In this way they turned away from the Lord and didn’t serve Him. This led to the anger of the Lord burning against them so that He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites. These nations afflicted and crushed Israel that year and this continued for 18 years. They crossed the Jordan from the east and fought against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim, causing great distress. They reacted by crying out to the Lord saying that they had sinned by forsaking God and serving the Baals. However, the Lord told them that He had delivered them from the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, and Philistines, and had also delivered them from the Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites when they had called out to Him. Even after this, though, they had forsaken Him to serve other gods of their choosing. Therefore, the Lord told them to let these gods deliver them from their distress. They reiterated, though, that they had sinned and that would take any punishment He had for them if only He would deliver them. So, they put away their foreign gods and served Him and subsequently the Lord could bear their misery no longer.
7. Based on 10:17-11:11 what offer was made (10:17-18)? Who was recruited (11:5-6) and what was he like (11:1-4)? How did he react (v7) and what was the outcome (v8-11)? / The leaders of Gilead needed someone to lead the charge against the Ammonites and offered him the headship (kingship) over Gilead. This one turned out to be Jephthah who was a valiant warrior, but who was the son of a prostitute. He had been driven out of his home by his half-brothers who determined that he should not have an inheritance from their father since he was his son by another woman. He fled from them and lived in the land of Tob and gathered some worthless men around him. When the Ammonites came against Gilead the leaders of Gilead went to Jephthah to get him to be their chief. Of course he reminded them that they had “hated” him and driven him away and wondered why they had come to him now that they were in trouble. They promised him that he would be their head if he did this for them, but he asked them if they really meant this, in so many words. They said that the Lord would be the witness of their promise, so he agreed and made him head of Gilead.
III. A Foolish Commitment (11:12-12:15) / Key Idea: When we make rash vows to God, rather than simply praying, it may lead us into serious trouble.
8. Using 11:12-28 how did Jephthah approach the Ammonites (v12-13) and of what did he remind them (v14-17, 18-22)? What points did he make (v23-24, 25, 26, 27)? / Jephthah asked the king of Ammon why they were fighting Israel and he told them it was because they had taken their land when they came from Egypt. He simply wanted his land back. Jephthah then reminded him of the facts, which was first that they had not taken the land when they came from Egypt. Rather, the Amorites, Sihon and Og, (not the Ammonites) had initiated the fight and Israel had won the battle fair and square. Thus they occupied the land. Furthermore, they had occupied the land for three hundred years without a challenge to their possession. Finally, it was an accepted principle that if a nation conquered a land it was their god who had given it to them; even the Ammonites would have said this about Chemosh, their pagan deity. How much more should Israel, who worshiped the true God, Yahweh, receive the gift of this land which He had given through their victory? Also, Balak, who tried to get them cursed by Balaam, left them alone, and they had done nothing to retrieve their land either in the time that intervened. All of these arguments fell on deaf ears though.
9. Read 11:29-40. What was Jephthah’s vow (v29-31) and what occurred next (v32-33)? Describe what then took place (v34-35), how his daughter dealt with this (v36-39), and what resulted (v40). How do you explain this? / At this point the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh to apparently recruit warriors. He then made a vow to the Lord saying that if He would give him victory over the Ammonites he would sacrificeas a burnt offering the first thing that came out of his front door when he returned from battle. Jephthah then crossed over to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gave them victory, so that they were slaughtered from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. With victory in hand Jephthah returned home and his daughter came out of the door to meet him, dancing with tambourines, in celebration of their conquest. She was his only child and when he saw her he tore his clothes and exclaimed that she had brought him low because of his word which he had vowed. His daughter agreed that he should not take it back because the Lord had done His part to give them victory. She only requested that she be given two months to mourn her virginity, since she would die before she was married. He allowed her to do this and at the conclusion of two months kept his vow, putting her to death as a sacrifice. This led to a custom among the daughters of Israel of commemorating yearly for four days the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter. The question of this story is how God could allow this to happen. It was not God’s will to receive Jephthah’s daughter as a sacrifice; the law prohibits child sacrifice, so it was Jephthah’s decision that caused her death, not God’s (see Deut 12:31). He gave them victory because it was His will to deliver them, and not because He agreed to Jephthah’s foolish vow. This actually shows how people act when they do what is right in their own eyes instead of God’s. They make “deals” with God when He never asks for them and then have to pay the price for their rash words. This is why Eccl 5:6-7 says it is better to not vow at all than to allow your words to cause you to sin. This story shows us that we must know God’s word and be careful to obey what is written in it, rather than doing what our “gut” tells us to do. It will always get us in trouble.
10. According to 12:1-15 who challenged Jephthah and why (v1)? What happened and how (v2-6)? How long was his judgeship (v7) and who else judged Israel (v8-10, 11-12, 13-15)? / Again, the Ephraimites were angry that they had not been included in the battle and declared that they were going to burn Jephthah’s house down because of this. He told them that when they were in great strife he did call but they didn’t respond, so he crossed over (into Ephraim) to fight them, taking his life in his own hands. In spite of this explan-ation they went to war with Ephraim and the men of Gilead defeated them, goading them on by telling them that they were fugitives in the midst of Manasseh and Ephraim. The Gileadites first captured the fords of the Jordan and when a fugitive from Ephraim would try to cross over they would ask them to pronounce “Shibboleth”; if they couldn’t then they were Ephraimites since they would say “Sibboleth”; thus they would be put to death. They killed 42,000 men of Ephraim this way. After this Jephthah judged Israel for six years, and then Ibzan of Bethlehem judged for seven years, but sinned by giving his sons wives from outside of Israel. He was followed by Elon the Zebulunite who judged for ten years, and finally Abdon, judged for eight years. Abdon had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode donkeys, a symbol again of royalty. However, he died and his sons did not take his place. This section shows that more areas of Israel were ruled by various judges, so it is really a way of filling in the historical details of this period.