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My fourth paper of 2011-2012 (Haven’t gotten my third paper back yet) … Grade received: A-

Chris Evangelista
Dr. Marion Taylor
WYB1008HF
1 November 2011

Inductive Study on the Book of Judges

Part 1: Table of Contents

Part 2: Analysis of the Book’s Structure

The book of Judges can be neatly divided into three major section, an opening section which contains two introductions to the book, a middle section containing six degrading cycles of apostasy, and an ending which contains stories that illustrate Israel’s apostasy. This structure can be seen in the clever use of two phrases “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes”. These two phrases mark are introduced at turning points in first two sections of the story, and then go on to serve as a dividing points for the proceeding section.

The opening section can be further divided to two parts: Judges 1:1 to 2:4, and Judges 2:5 to 3:6. Both of these parts begin with the death of Joshua and both serve as introductions to the cycle of apostasy that will follow in the middle section. The first part seems to be a point-by-point presentation of the events following the death of Joshua. It shows the Israelites at first succeeding in conquering the land, but slowly falling into sin and compromise and ultimately failing in the conquest. The second part serves as a commentary of the first, introducing the key phrase which will dominate the middle section: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2:11). The basic plot structure of the book is further introduced as the author explains that the Lord both gives Israel over to plunderers, but also raises up judges, or saviours, to deliver them from oppression.

The middle section is divided up into six parts, with the aforementioned phrase used as the introduction on a new part. Each part represents a cycle of events in which (1) the Lord raises up an agent of oppression under whom the people of Israel lived for a certain number of years before (2) finally crying out to the Lord in agony. (3) The Lord then raises up a judge who will deliver Israel from the oppression and usher in a time of peace.

The first two cycles, narrated in Judges 3:7 to 3:31 feature the judges Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar. These narrations are the shortest of all the accounts, and represents the “high point” of the cycles – that is, before the people of Israel and even the judges themselves fall further into apostasy. In the next cycle, from Judges 4:1 to 5:31 presents the prophetess and judge Deborah, and the military commander Barak. The two chapters repeat (though emphasize different parts of) the same story: Israel defeating Jabin king of Canaan (4:2, ESV) and Jael driving a tent peg through his general Sisera’s head. In this cycle, the Israelite army commander, Barak, hesitates when called upon by Deborah to rise up against Jabin. This hesitation serves to foreshadow the reluctance of the next judge, Gideon, and also the downward spiral that the Judges themselves enter in to.

The next cycle, Judges 6:1 to 10:5 features Gideon, who questions the Lord twice about his calling (the sign of the sacrifice in 6:18-21 and the sign of the fleece in 6:36-40). Gideon goes on to defeat Midian in an incredible manner: with the Lord first whittling down the number of his army to a measly 300 men. Things do not end well for Gideon though, as he creates a golden ephod, which leads Israel astray and “[becomes] a snare to Gideon and to his family” (8:27, ESV). The sorry episode of Gideon’s family turning on each other follows this, as his son Abimelech rises up to reign over Shechem, after which the judges Tola and Jair brought peace to the land.

The next cycle, from Judges 10:6 to 12:15 begins with a clear pronouncement on the further decline of Israel into apostasy: they have begun serving the gods of their neighbours in Canaan, in addition to serving the Baals and the Ashtaroth. In this cycle however, when the people of Israel cry out to the Lord, there is a hint of remorse as they “put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord” (10:16, ESV) after God confronts them of their apostasy. To this, the Lord responds by raising up Jephtheh, who unfortunately makes a “deal” with the Lord to deliver up the oppressors, which then forces him to have to sacrifice his only daughter. He further gets into a conflict against the Ephramites, 42 000 of whom fell as a result. After Jephthah Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judges Israel before the final cycle.

The final cycle from Judges 13:1 to 16:31 is the most detailed account, beginning even with the birth of the featured judge, Samson. In addition, it serves as a bridging point with the last section of Judges, as the new phrase to be used in that section is introduced in the account of Samson’s marriage to Delilah. After Samson told his parents to get Delilah for him as his wife, they respond by asking him to instead choose a wife from within Israel, to this Samson says “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes” (14:3, ESV). Delilah turns out to be a problem for Samson as he reveals the source of his strength to her and is in turn captured by the Philistines. It is only in order to sacrifice himself and destroy the Philistines that the Lord gave back his strength (16:30).

At this point, there is a precipitous change in the narrative in Judges 17:1, as the narrative of Micah and the Levite seemingly comes out of nowhere. Partway through, though, in Judges 17:6, a clue is given as its place in the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes”. At this point, the reader/listener should remember that the phrase had already made an appearance a few chapters earlier, and that a change in the cycle has occurred. The apostasy of Israel has reached its conclusion such that their actions can no longer even be referred to as “evil in the sight of the Lord”.. The dreary closing section of the book has arrived, and these final few stories illustrate what Israel has become absent any and every thought of the Lord. The story of the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19 is particularly indicative, as it echoes the story of the men in Sodom and Gomorrah. Then comes a civil war that nearly wipes out an entire tribe. Such was the state of Israel when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.

Part 3: Theme of the Book

The central theme of the book is grace, and it is developed in the Lord’s continued engagement with the people of Israel despite their ever deepening apostasy. And of course intrinsically linked with grace is the theme of Israel’s inability to remain faithful to the Lord. These two themes are developed by the use and repetition of the phrases “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”, and “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.

As mentioned above, the first phrase was used in the first section as an introduction to the middle section, where it would be used to introduce each new cycle of judges. And, while in each of these successive uses, the phrase is not elaborated on very much, this first instance of usage is quite clear what it meant for the people of Israel to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord:

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. (Judges 2:11-12, ESV)

Any elaboration that a cycle does makes on the use of this phrase provides further indictment against the people of Israel on this matter. For example, in the Jephthah (fifth) cycle, the narratives elaborate “…and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines” (Judges 10:6, ESV).

To this apostasy, the Lord‘s response in the middle section is to raise up an oppressor to make life miserable for Israel, and after they cried out in anguish to him to then raise up a judge to save them. This clearly shows that the Lord is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness… forgiving the iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). This, however, by no means shows that the Lord will continue to allow the people to continue in their apostasy, as some consequences are certainly shown for their disobedience. Barak missing out on the glory of victory for trying to manipulate Deborah in Judges 4 shows this, as does the prophet calling the people of Israel to account in Judges 6:7-10.

The people’s apostasy comes to a head in the Samson cycle with the introduction of the second phrase, at which point it would seem the people’s evil deeds have taken the Lord completely out of the equation. This represents the lowest point in the apostasy cycle as Israel has completely forgotten all about the Lord and are simply doing what they thought was best for themselves. This certainly shows the development of the theme of the people’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. But what of grace? Indeed, it would seem that the Lord has abandoned the people completely in the absence of action on his part in the final section of the book. Yet even in this inaction, we may discern grace: that the Lord did not completely wipe out Israel – nor even one of its tribes. In some ways, though closing with that terribly indicting verse, the book ends on a bit of a hopeful note as the people of Benjamin were allowed to repopulate and return to their inheritance.

Part 4: General Observations and Theological Insights

One important theological insight to emerge would seem to be Israel’s tendency to take on the character of its neighbours, which would seem to explain the reason why the Lord wanted them to completely eradicate the inhabitants of the land upon conquering it. While Israel was supposed to transform the land of promise, by allowing the inhabitants to remain in the land, they themselves were transformed by the land and its inhabitants into a forgetful and apostate people, constantly turning their back on the Lord (I have read of the term “Canaanization of Israel” used to describe this process). This is clearly evident in Israel’s continued turn towards the gods of its neighbours.

Related to this theme is idolatry, which is what Israel was turning when they were turning away from the Lord. This further manifested itself in morally corrupt acts, such as those described in the final section of the book. These two theological emphases certainly continue throughout the rest of the Old Testament – indeed, if the idea of the book of Judges as describing the “Canaanization of Israel” holds true, it can be said that this is the starting point of Israel’s problems throughout the era of the kings, then the prophets, and is ultimately the leading cause for their exiles.

Part 5: Ideas for Preaching or Teaching

One of the main ways that I would preach out of the book of Judges would be to emphasize the similarities in the difficulties facing Israel in the book and the church in our modern time. As Israel is being lured away from the Lord and towards the gods of the people around them, so the church is being lured by the gods of this age: money, power, success, and sex. Certainly, the temptation is there to give in, and turn away from the Lord, forgetting the wonderful work of salvation he has done in the believer’s life. And certainly it is true that the Lord seems to have unending patience for disobedience. Yet, the story of Judges must stand as a testimony to us, not only of the danger in inciting the Lord anger, but also of the blessed life that can be had when living in obedience to him.

Some questions I would ask:

1. What are some of the marks of the church succumbing to the gods of our age as Israel did in Judges?
2. What calamities do we see arising from this apostasy?
3. What are the blessings that the church would forego in because of this apostasy?

Related posts:

1. Genesis Inductive Study