Dei Time

Benjamin Survives

Dei Break

Judges 21:1 – 25

In the last chapter of Judges Israel continues to depend on her own wisdom. Though the tribes gathered to make offerings to the Lord, God doesn't seem to have initiated the solution to the problem of the surviving Benjaminites, nor do we read that Israel even sought His counsel. Instead they initiated their own solution. Sometimes when confronted with what we consider an emergency, do we also tend to strike out on our own, desperate for a quick solution, rather than waiting on God, seeking His wisdom to guide us?

The tribes of Israel had made two oaths; that they would war with any tribe that failed to join in the fight against Benjamin; and that no tribe of Israel would ever give a daughter in marriage to the remaining Benjaminites. Now that the battle was over and the tribes wished to reconcile with Benjamin, they faced a problem—Benjamin would cease to exist without wives to mother new children, but Mosaic law prohibited the men of Benjamin from marrying wives from any non-Israeli family. What would they do?

God's people fell back on their growing tendency to be legally correct, if not particularly moral. First they conquered an Israeli city that had failed to fight Benjamin, thus fulfilling one of the vows. They then gave the virgins of the city to the men of Benjamin to become wives.

Then the other tribes let Benjamin know that some good Israeli girls would be dancing at an upcoming celebration; if some of those girls strayed into the darker paths around the party, no one would blame the Benjaminites if they kidnapped brides from among them. Thus the men of Benjamin would have Israeli wives, satisfying Mosaic law, but no tribe could be said to have "provided" the wives to them contrary to their oath not to do so.

The book of Judges ends with the words, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." And yet God continued to remain faithful to these, His people.

Next Time: Ruth and Israeli Custom

How Far Can Sin Go?

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Judges 19:1 - 20:48

We saw a similar story in Genesis when Lot tried to protect the angels in his home offering his virgin daughters to a mob. It is incomprehensible to us that Lot would have made such an offer as it is that the Levite in this story would have shoved his concubine (called his wife in 20:4), out to the worthless mob of Gibeah (this was about five miles north of Jerusalem) to be raped and murdered. However, this practice of placing the welfare of a male guest above the safety of any women was NOT a part of God's plan for society. It was a custom of men who created their own rules and values.

How can we know this? Because God so often demonstrated His love and grace to women. He rescued Sarah from Pharaoh, and later Rebekah. He protected Hagar when Abraham shunned her; He chose Deborah to serve as the people's leader; He granted grace and blessing to Eve even after she introduced rebellion to the world. Jesus treated the Samaritan woman at the well with a respect and friendship that confounded the disciples. And we could go on….

After the terrible deed to the concubine was done, by Israelites to Israelites, the Levite dismembered her body to be sent to the other tribes. Why? Perhaps to wake up a nation that had become complacent in its attitude toward sin. Was the graphic message sent by the Levite the one thing that finally awoke Israel and led them to fight together against the evil in their midst? In thinking about our own culture, are we also complacent about sin? Do we react differently when finally confronted by the visual evidence of evil?

The tribes gathered and consulted God (20:18), perhaps for the first time in a long time. God directed the battle of brother against brother. The people of Benjamin had been given the opportunity to deal justice against the criminals, but they chose not to do so (20:13). For this sin they paid dearly.

Next Time: Benjamin Survives

Micah and His Priest

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Judges 17:1 - 18:31

One commentator titles these chapters "Religious Chaos" and the description fits well. These events concern people who had drifted away from the laws of God and perhaps didn't even remember a time when the worship of God had been properly understood in Israel. That isn't hard to believe when you consider that hundreds of years passed between the time of Joshua and the end of the time of the judges. Our own country's history covers less time than the days of the judges in Israel, and how much knowledge of life at its beginning have we lost? That does not excuse the idolatry that dominates the story. Moses and Joshua warned the people not to turn to idols. The Old Testament deals with the nation and the nation failed miserably at being faithful to God and His covenant with them.

You can sense the sarcasm in the account of Micah (not the prophet Micah) and the Danites (a tribe of Israel). A son who confesses robbing his mother; A mother who dedicates her returned silver to the Lord to be turned into an idol or two for her son; A man who welcomes a priest who cannot be a priest because he is not a direct descendant of Aaron; the Danites who seek a blessing from an ineligible priest and then offer him a job as a priest; and in the process become idol worshipers themselves; but none of the participants in the account seem to understand that something is wrong!

"In those days … every man did what was right in his own eyes." (17:6) That is the core tragedy in these chapters, and our nation can identify with that sin. Our culture has pronounced that everyone has the right to do whatever they believe is right, and whatever they believe is right is right, because there is no absolute right. Whatever is perceived as true is true "from a certain point of view" (if you remember your Obi-Wan-Kenobi quotations from Return of the Jedi).

Next time: How Far Can Sin Go?

Can Samson Change?

Dei Break

Judges 16:1-31

Samson continued what we might call today his "self destructive" behavior. Finding a prostitute in Gaza that caught his fancy, he spent the night with her. The enemy tried to trap him and only his great strength saved his life.

Then he met the famous (infamous?) Delilah. Not being the smartest of God's people, he seems to not catch on to the fact that Delilah is in league with the Philistines. Her job was to find out why this Israelite had such supernatural strength, enabling him to subdue all his enemies.

Far from catching on to her repeated efforts to find his secret, Samson allows Delilah to shame him into telling her that his strength is a gift from God, and related to his Nazarite vow of never cutting his hair. At this final act of self-centeredness and arrogance, Samson finds that "the Lord had departed from him" (vs.20)

This began what was perhaps Samson's final confrontation with himself. Who was he without God, the God whom he had failed time after time?

His eyes gouged out by his enemies; bound in chains; and forced to push the threshing press; Samson had a lot of time to think. He suffered long enough for his hair to begin to grow back. While he served as their entertainment, the Philistines bragged about how their god, Dagon, had defeated the God of Israel and Samson.

When brought to a large gathering for a good laugh, Samson did something we have not seen him do before. Rather than begin with his anger and his ego and his self-righteousness, we see Samson begin his final task by asking God for help.

In Hebrews 11, Samson is listed as one of the heroes of faith. Imperfect, of poor judgment, often in trouble, often ignoring his Lord, God was able to still reach into Samson's heart and work true faith. What message is this for us? We cannot be too far gone for God to love; we cannot run so fast that He cannot still be at our side.

Next Time: Micah and His Priest

Samson’s Character is Further Revealed

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Judges 15:1-20

Good old Samson. After he cools off, he decides to go down and visit the wife. After his behavior before, one might expect some sign of regret or apology, but not from Samson. Instead, the man again lets his anger and pride take over his actions. When he meets the bride's father, the older man expresses Samson's less than loving behavior toward the girl. Seeing no error in his own actions, Samson becomes angry and destroys all of the crops and therefore livelihood of the Timnites (the bride's family). The Philistines kill the bride and her family for angering Samson and causing the destruction of the crops.

Still again, Samson feels himself misused and avenges himself on the murderers. After this, Samson flees to the hills near Judah, with the Philistines in hot pursuit.

The men of Judah at last approach Samson, and they are angry! The Philistines were a mighty nation of cities and Samson has brought Israel to the brink of war with them. [I paraphrase Samson's reply] "I got mad and I got even!" (15:11)

The men of Judah have had it. They tie Samson up to send him off with the Philistines. God steps in again, enabling Samson to kill a thousand men with an ass's jawbone. (vs.16)

Giving God the credit for this victory does not immediately enter Samson's thoughts (vs.16). Instead, Samson chastises God for allowing him to become thirsty. What a guy, but even Samson was used by God as a judge against the Philistine threat for twenty years.

Since the Philistines were evil in God's sight, were Samson's actions wrong? Let's check out some glaring points. Never do we see God command Samson to act as he did. Samson acted out of his own anger and ego. He rejected his wife instead of protecting her and her family. He disregarded his Nazarite vow to God, and he criticized the Lord, who had just rescued his fanny, for allowing him to suffer. Not a man whom we would hold up as an example of a Godly person.

Next time: Can Samson Change?

Samson: A Human Being

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Judges 14:5 - 20

Samson attacked sin with gusto. He broke his Nazarite vow by touching the dead body of the lion; by drinking wine at his wedding; by eating honey dipped from the dead body of the lion. Thus he would not tell his parents of the battle with the lion. His choice in a wife also was a sin. He demanded a non-Israelite, pagan, Philistine woman from his disapproving parents. He just wanted her, and in his mind what he wanted was all that mattered. How can we criticize his choice when most of today's marriages seem to be based on the same decision making process – "she looks good to me" (vs.3&7-NASB)? Samson again shows us that God's will and God's choice is not based on our worth, but on His grace, and nothing is too great for Him to accomplish and no person is beyond His love.

It is true that God saved Samson from the lion by giving him great strength, but the young man seemed to take his Nazarite pledge [made to God] lightly.

The riddle game at the wedding party doesn't seem such a big deal—you lose, you give a pretty nice gift; you win, you get a pretty nice gift. However the Philistine party guests not only cheated, they threatened the bride and her family with death. The blackmailed bride finds out the puzzle's answer and passes it on. Samson turns on his bride, and seeks revenge on his "guests". We certainly do not see Samson show any "love" as we know it to his bride. What we do see is Samson's temper and pride out of control.

The odd marriage described was a Philistine custom. The wife continued to live with her parents and her husband only visited from time to time. Any children born were part of the wife's family. However, when Samson violently left the wedding party, the bride's father apparently decided that he had left for good and gave the bride to Samson's best man.

Next time: Samson's character is further revealed

A Twist of the Tongue

Dei Break

Judges 12:5 – 14:4

A short passage in Chapter 12 presents us with an interesting insight into the real life of Israel. Since the "cousins" looked pretty much alike, some of the Ephriamites might try to escape across the river to safety after losing the battle. To thwart this possibility, all who crossed were asked to say the word, "shibboleth" simply because the accent of the Ephriamites would give them away (vs.6).

At the beginning of Chapter 13 we read for the seventh time "again the Israelites did evil…."

And, who were the Philistines? Where did they live? Where the Philistines lived is pretty well known. However, how they came to be there is less clear. As we get further into the history of Israel and Philistia, we'll explore the nation and its cities more deeply.

"Nazarite" refers to a word meaning "devoted" or "consecrated". Nazarite vows were usually for a limited time, but Samson was to be a Nazarite his whole life. Read more about the Nazarite vow in chapter 6 of Numbers.

Samson's mother seems to have been more spiritually tuned to God than her husband. Why didn't they die after seeing the Lord? That an appearance of the angel of the Lord was not an appearance of God in His all-glorious form is a possibility. When God came personally to His people, He did not reveal His total glory in their presence.

Samson was born and raised by his parents, and blessed by God, but was he possibly also spoiled rotten by his parents? Chapter 14 certainly seems to indicate this. He demands of his parents that they get him the wife of his choice, even though she was of the Philistine nation.

Judges 14:4 sounds a little like Genesis when Joseph explained to his brothers that what they had meant for evil, God used for good. He could use Samson's poor and sinful choices toward accomplishing His will of breaking the Philistine domination of Israel. But what a mess Samson was about to make of his life.

Next Time: Samson: a human being

Jephthah

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Judges 10:1 – 12:4

Are you were good enough to be a tool of God? Don't you need some special spiritual something or other. It's pretty hard to hold on to that attitude as we look at Jephthah. He was the son of a prostitute and had a very rough childhood, even being driven out of the house and city by his half-brothers. Up in the hill country he became a leader of a motley crew gathered from the local flotsam and jetsam (11:3).

That should have been the end of the story, but apparently Jephthah was very good at leading this little band, so when Israel needed a military leader they came to Jephthah. His reply was that If they hated him before, why are they so anxious to see him now (11:10)?

Did Jephthah kill his daughter and present her burned body as an offering? Leviticus and Deuteronomy clearly state the evil of such a thing. Leviticus 27:1-8 says that silver could be paid in place of such a rash vow. The language used in Judges can mean the daughter was sacrificed, or be interpreted to mean that she was dedicated as a perpetual virgin serving at the tabernacle. The second interpretation is more likely since the writer does not cite God's displeasure at the despicable action of human sacrifice, which He abhorred. Being a perpetual virgin was as devastating as death to a young woman in those days. Jephthah would also mourn for himself because she could give him no grandsons to carry on his name. A man without heirs was as hopeless as a woman without children.

Civil war erupted (12:1) when Ephraim (the tribe) challenged Jephthah's right to rule as judge. As one commentator says, this was no holy war. God seems to have been set aside while the tribes focused on their own jealousies.

[11:24—the battle in this passage did not end the reign of the false god, Chemosh. A basalt inscription has been discovered describing a Moabite victory over a later king of Israel (Ahab) under the supposed leadership of Chemosh.]

Next Time: A Twist of the Tongue

The Plans of Abimelech

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Judges 8:28 – 9:57

After Gideon's death, after ruling in Israel for forty years, Israel turned again to the Baals. Abimelech, a son of Gideon (Jerubbaal) by a woman of Shechem, decided that he wanted the kingship that his father had refused. Through some clever maneuvering, Abimelech turned his Shechem relatives against his seventy half-brothers, managing to bring them all to public execution "on one stone" (9:5). Only Jotham, the youngest, escaped by going into hiding. After the slaughter, Abimelech was declared king (9:6).

The surviving son of Gideon came out from hiding to confront the people with a story that, in essence, told them that they had murdered good men in order to have the least of Gideon's sons rule over them (9:8-15). Jotham's speech contained sarcasm ("if then you have acted honorably" – they obviously had not). When finished, he ran from the city to avoid capture by his half-brother.

Abimelech did not rule well and God removed him from his self-proclaimed monarchy after three years. Abimelech's fall was precipitated by his own failure, which gave the newly arrived dissident, Gaal (9:26), opportunity to incite rebellion. Abimelech, however, defeated the rebels and cruelly salted the fields to destroy their fertility. He also set fire to a tower where the citizens of the city had fled for safety. However, when he tried the same action in another town near Shechem, a "mere" woman killed him with a rock thrown from the tower top (9:53-54).

How can one avoid the question of Israel's constant rebellion against God? It seems so stupid, so arrogant, so sinful. Yet, if we are honest, we must admit that in our private lives, we do the same. We do not worship carved trees, golden ephods, or stone images, but what about the things that do draw us from God? The tight schedules, the lust for more money, personal power, or possessions; the bigger house and its mortgage payment that prevents us from serving the needs of others. If we are not constantly vigilant, do we not also turn to other gods when times are good and our own power seems adequate? Fortunately, God's grace overcomes our stupidity.

Next time: Rise of the Philistines

Gideon’s Victory

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Judges 7:1-8:27

If you were God and wanted to assure your people that only by your power could they overcome the enemy, what would you do? Probably what God did. Some of His methods for paring down the number of warriors were interesting. Take the "lapping" soldiers versus the ones who stuck their mouths into the stream to drink. Which, do you think, were the better fighters? Those who kept alert to their surroundings by lapping from their upraised hand or those who became oblivious to their surroundings while drinking from the stream? God was and is a military genius, or any other kind of genius you can think of. So Gideon, along with only 300 soldiers marched against an enemy "as numerous as the sand on the seashore" (vs.12). God, surprise, and confusion of the enemy brought them a huge victory. 

As we get into chapter 8, we find that two kings of Midian (remember the "city-state" structure of the area) had escaped Gideon's forces. Chasing them to the east side of the Jordan, Gideon requests food from his "cousins" there, but is refused—perhaps because the cities fear that if Gideon lost the battle, they could face retribution from his foes. Their refusal did not make the judge happy. Remember that he had been raised up by God to be leader all of the people.

After the final victory, the people try to raise Gideon up as their king (8:22-23). He replies that neither he nor his sons will replace God as their King.

However, Gideon did ask for a gift (payment, tax, or whatever) of gold from the people. Whatever his intentions were, they backfired. The gold was formed into an "ephod" (some sort of outer garment). This ephod came to be erected in his city and there worshiped by many. Not so surprising from a people that had recently been worshiping stone idols and carved trees. The problem of a possible kingship was definitely still in the minds of some.

Next time: The Plans of Abimelech