Judges 6-7 Part 2: God turned Weakness into Strength

Have you experienced an event or time when what you considered your weaknesses turned out to be a key strength? Even after numerous direct confirmations provided by God, Gideon was hesitant to take the lead to fight against the Midianites. However, his deliberate, careful personality played a key role in the later part of war against the Midianites.

Gideon: The History Maker at Night

Many of the important events that transformed Gideon took place at night.

First, he took ten men to demolish the altar of Baal at night. Although his did this at night because because he feared other poeple who served Baal, he still obeyed the LORD (Judges 6:27). Second, God soaked and dried fleece at Gideon’s request over the night (Judges 6:36-40). Gideon was in a desperate need of God’s confirmation before going against the Midianites, and God responded to his request by showing the soaked and dried fleece over the night. Third, when Gideon led 300 men to cause a great confusion by the sound of trumpets and breaking of jars to the Midianite camps, it happened at night (Judges 7:16-21). This night was the harbinger of Gideon’s colossal victory over 135,000 Midianites.

God’s Delicate Walk with Gideon

From chapter 6 and 7, we see how God walked very delicately to build up Gideon’s trust in Him. Gideon was a very careful man who was in absolute need of certainty. However, God fully made the most of Gideon’s character and customized God’s lead over Gideon based on his character. In fact, Gideon’s deliberate, careful personality turned out to be his strength later in the battle. Let’s go over how the LORD God led Gideon in his pace to confirm numerous times that the LORD would give him victory over the Midianites.

The LORD sent his angel to Gideon to tell him that the LORD was with him (Judges 6:12, 14, and 16)
God confirmed that He would deliver Israel through Gideon by providing clear signs of fully soaking fleece and fully drying fleece (6:36-30)
The LORD confirmed that he would give the Midianites into Gideon’s hands with 300 men (Judges 7:7)
The LORD gave courage to Gideon that He would give the Midiniates into Gideon’s hands and told him to go down to their camp with his servant Purah (Judges 7:9)
The LORD allowed Gideon to hear the dream by a Midianite soldier that Gideon would turn the Midian camp upside down (Judges 7:13-14)

After these confirmations, Gideon in his own volition, finally, responded in worshipping God (Judges 7:15). It took at least five strong confirmation by the LORD for Gideon to soak in God’s promise of delivering the Midianites into Gideon’s hands. This whole process showed the patience of God and God’s willingness to work through Gideon’s weaknesses and hesitation.

Similarities between War with the Midianites and War with Jericho

There are some similarities between the conquest of Jericho by Joshua and the war with the Midinites by Gideon. The first element is the source of final courage from the enemy side. When Joshua sent two spies to Jericho, it was confirmed that the entire Canaanites were in fear of the Israelites as Rahab said. The extra morale boost came from the word of Rahab, an inhabitant of Jericho. Similarly, Gideon’s final courage was mustered when he personally heard the dream interpretation by the Midianites solider that Gideon would turn the Midianites camp upside down. The LORD used unexpected sources to confirm His deliverance and injected extra doses of courage to the Israelites leaders: Joshua and Gideon.

The second similarities between the two are the use of sound wave to defeat the enemies. Joshua’s Israel used the shouting to collapse the wall of Jericho. Gideon used the crashing sound of empty jars and sound of trumpet to instill confusion to the enemies into killing themselves.

What’s notable is how Gideon come up with this idea of confusing enemies by the sound of trumpet and breaking empty jars. God never gave this specific instruction, yet Gideon used this tactic. Was Gideon reminded of what Joshua did in his battle with Jericho? We do not know for sure, but it remains a possibility.

Swiftness of the Overall Process

Note the timeline of this entire process. The assembling of the armies took place in the morning, and the reduction of the army down to 1/100th of its original size probably happened over the next few hours. At that same night, Gideon and 300 men confused the enemy into harming each other and they started to flee. Gideon and 300 men started to pursue them.

Most of the important actions, events and turning points all took place within 24 hours. When God decided to deliver His people, His action was certainly very swift.

Why did God chose Gideon?

God was the ultimate source for Gideon’s victory. However, we can still learn a few important lessons from Gideon’s actions, especially what he did after the Midianites started to flee from the initial “sound” attack that caused confusion.

He seemed to be a man of meticulous planning, in which his military prowess shined. When the Midianites started to flee, he quickly assembled people from Naphthali, Asher, and Manasseh, probably knowing that 300 men would not be enough to finish them off (Judges 7:23). In addition, he quickly sent a message to the men of Ephraim to position themselves in strategic locations near the Jordan River to cut off the escape route of the Midianites (Judges 7:24).

Gideon’s quick summoning of the rest of Israel prompted a question. When did he plan to assemble the rest of the Israelite tribes to attak the fleeing Midianites? Did Gideon come up with this plan after Midianites started to flee? Based on the character that Gideon displayed from chapter 6, I think Gideon formulated multiple scenarios and contingencies between day and night time (from verse Judges 7:8 and 7:9), after finalizing 300 men and before the same night when the LORD started to speak to him again. In this time gap, from afternoon to night, Gideon may have devised many scenarios in which God will deliver the Midianites, and possibly during this time, Gideon planned to assemble other Israelites tribes to finish the enemy off.

Conclusion

God walked with Gideon according to Gideon’s pace and trust level. God made the best of Gideon’s character of meticulousness, which seemed to shine at the later part of the war with the Midianites. Let’s find comfort in God who makes the best of our character and personality in accomplishing His great works.

Judges 6-7 Part 1: What is the Condition of Your Heart?

What is one of the traits that great men and women of history have? Although there are many, I think the ability to self-examine objectively is one of them. In order to examine oneself, the person needs to have the right condition of the heart. These chapters, Judges 6-7, teach, indirectly, about the importance of self-reflection – that is the heart open to accept rebuke and repent.

Condition of the Heart of the Israelites: Unresponsiveness

Chapter 6 begins with a familiar phrase in the book of Judges, “Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” and the following response from the Israelites shows the alarming condition of their hearts.

Notable was the extent of the hardened heart of the Israelites as a nation in chapter 6. Back in chapter 2, when the LORD sent an angel from Gilgal to Bochim to rebuke the Israelites for their disobedience, the Israelites, at least, responded in some form. They reacted by lifting up their voices, weeping, and sacrificing offerings to the LORD (Judges 2:4-5) – even though their actions did not turn out to be genuine repentance. In chapter 6, God sent a prophet to rebuke the sons of Israel with a very similar message with that in chapter 2 that they had not obeyed the LORD despite His extraordinary deliverance of them from Egypt (Judges 6:7-10). However, in chapter 6, the Israelites showed no response whatsoever to the rebuke by the prophet even when they were severely oppressed by the Midianites. Despite having experienced God’s deliverance by Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah and Barak, from chapter 2 to chapter 5, the Israelites hardened their hearts and became totally unresponsive to the Word and rebuke of God.

Condition of the Heart of the Israelites: Blame Shift

Despite unresponsiveness of the Israelites, God did not give up on them. He sent his angel to someone who would, at least, respond – and that was Gideon in Ophrah (Judges 6:11). The conversation between the angel of the LORD and Gideon reveals deeper issues within the heart of Israel (Judges 6:12-13). The angel of the LORD told Gideon that the LORD was with him (6:12). Then, Gideon responded this way:

13 Then Gideon said to him,
“O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying,
‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’
But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Judges 6:13 NASB

Here are four deeper issues within the heart of Israel that can be inferred from Gideon’s response.

First, Gideon’s response showed his incomplete understanding of the meaning of “the LORD being with us.” He assumed that the oppression of Israel by the Midianites was the sign of the LORD’s absence. The LORD God was not absent. That He sent His prophet (Judges 6:8-10) was a sign of the presence of God. That the angel of the LORD visiting Gideon was the sign of the LORD’s being with Israel (Judges 6:12). The outcome of the Israelites’ current condition being brought very low under the Midianites (Judges 6:6) was due to Israel’s collective sin, not the LORD’s absence. Gideon’s answer to the angel implicitly accuses the LORD for Israel’s misery.

Second, the LORD being with Israel does not always equate to prosperity. Detueronomy 28, Moses’ last public message to Israelite before crossing the Jordan Driver, clearly stated that Israel’s deliberate disobedience would result in tragic outcomes that were similar to what the Midianites did to Israel. Gideon clearly forgot about other parts of God’s promises. The promises of curses were still the promises of the LORD. When sins were committed, the LORD allowed curses and other difficult trials to bring suffering to the lives of His people – that was still the sign of the LORD’s presence with His people. Blessings and cursings both were packaged into God’s Word declared by Moses – clearly in Deuteronomy. We are not to cherry pick the Word of God that sounds good in our ears.

Third, Gideon’s response showed the overall condition of the heart of the Israelites that was prone to a “blame shift.” Gideon’s response “if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” showed a tinge of resentment. His response may be an overall attitude of the Israelites, who did not at all respond to the rebuke by the prophet (Judges 6:8-10) right before. In other words, the Israelites, whether consciously or unconsciously, resented the LORD their God for their misery. If they had a soft heart, they would examine their heart first and mourn. Jesus said that the blessed were those who were poor in spirit and those who mourn – these conditions reflect the soft condition of the heart that mourns over their sins. On the other hand, the Israelites demonstrated a hardened heart that shifted blame to the LORD for their misery instead of their evil act. Gideon’s response in 6:13 reflected the overall condition of the Israelites’ heart although they were committing evil acts by serving Baal and Asherah.

The fourth lesson from Gideon’s response is that the knowledge of the LORD God is not enough to live a life worthy of representing the holiness of God. Here, I am using the word knowledge to merely represent the cognitive recognition of the events that the LORD had done and His character. Personal relation with the LORD and wholeheartedly following the LORD, as Caleb did (Joshua 14:14), are required for a complete transformation. Gideon’s response showed that Israel knew well that the LORD brought their forefathers out of Egypt in a miraculous way (Judges 6:13). Although this seemed to be a common knowledge in the nation, knowing these did not transform Israel into serving and following the LORD. Nor did that knowledge empower Gideon to live out a life worthy of being called a man of God – as his household had an altar of Baal (Judges 6:25).

Many lessons can be learned from Gideon’s response from the answer. We must examine the condition of our heart. We must examine whether we are shifting blame to someone else, including God. We must examine whether the knowledge of God is transforming into a life of serving and following the LORD

Internal Battle must be Won Before Engaging in External battle

Back in Judges 3, God tested the Israelites internally and externally. Internally, God tested the condition of the heart of the Israelites to see if they would serve the LORD. Externally, God wanted Israelites to train to be able to battle against the surrounding nations. When God raised Gideon in Judges 6 and 7 to deliver Israel from Midian, Gideon underwent these two tests.

Before empowering Gideon to fight against the Midianites, the external enemy, God made Gideon undergo the test to examine the condition of his heart. This internal test was the first step of pulling down the altar of Baal, which belonged to his father (Judges 6:25). The test had three parts: 1) destroy; 2) rebuild; and 3) dedicate. Destroy the idols of Baal and Asherah by pulling down their altars, followed by building an altar to the LORD in an orderly manner. Then, offer a burnt offering. Gideon had to gather his courage and did this at night. His identity changed from Gideon to Jerubbaal (“Let Baal contend against him”).

After undergoing this internal transformation, then God poured His spirit on Gideon to summon people from Naphtali, Asher and Zebulun (Judges 6:34). In this external test, God wanted to see the obedience of Gideon. The initially summoned army of 32,000 was dwindled to 300 men. Although witnessing the army size down to 1/100th of the original size must have been a frightening experience (Judges 7:1-7), Gideon fully obeyed and did as the LORD told him. God used 300 men with Gideon to cause a great confusion into the enemy, and God delivered them into the hand of Gideon (Judges 7:17-22).

Gideon underwent both internal and external tests posed by the LORD God. Internally, he demolished the idol, built the altar to God, and dedicated himself to Him. Externally, against a vast army of Midianites, despite being fearful and hesitant from time to time, Gideon placed his trust in the LORD to pull out a miraculous victory.

Conclusion

This concludes the first part of Judges 6 and 7. Although the book of Judges mostly depicts the shortcomings of Israel, many great lessons are embedded. This post focused on the condition of the heart, and internal/external battles. I hope the post will motivate us to examine the conditions of our heart and identify wisely our internal and external battles and engage them according to God’s principle.

Judges 4-5: Barak’s Fear to Faith Journey

Are you interested in reading one of the examples of a person in the Bible who went through a journey of fear to faith? Continuing on with KOSTA’s theme of fear to faith this year, a relevant story, which you can perhaps empathize with, can be found in the story of Barak in Judges 4-5.

Content Summary

After Ehud’s death, the sons of Israel fell back again to committing evil acts against the LORD, and they were given to be oppressed by Jabin king of Canaan and his commander Sisera, who had nine hundred iron chariots. Debora, a prophetess, who was judging Israel at that time, relayed God’s message to Barak to gather men of Zebulun and Naphtali to fight against Sisera. Barak obeyed with the condition of Deborah’s accompaniment, gathered 10,000 men and marched against Sisera from Mount Tabor to the plain field near the Kishon river. As the LORD promised, He routed Sisera with the edge of the sword, along with torrential rain and the overflow of the torrent of Kishon, before Barak. Sisera fled to the house of Heber the Kenite. While he was taking refuge in the tent of Jael, a wife of Heber, Jael drove a peg into his temple and he was killed. Barak came later to see the dead Sisera.

Barak’s Reasoned Response

In response to God’s command to go against Sisera (Judges 4:6-7), Barak told Deborah that he would go only if Deborah would go with him (Judges 4:8). Barak is often discredited because of this response of a conditional obedience. Many commentaries and sermons state that Barak should have obeyed the command of the LORD with full trust. ESV Study Bible goes as far as stating that this response from Barak demonstrates his cowardice.

I disagree. Barak’s response did not demonstrate his lack of courage. First, his request for Deborah to come along to a crucial battle was reasonable as Deborah was the leader of Israel as judge. Similarly, this request also showed Barak’s respect to his leader. Second, Barak needed everything – crucially Deborah’s presence and her direct word of God – to persuade 10,000 men of Zebulun and Napthali to go against a fearsome army of iron chariots by Sisera. As fighting against Sisera’s iron chariots on a plain field is a suicide mission, this would be an incredibly burdensome mission for the leader. If Barak were to lose all 10,000 men from the battle, that would result in 10,000 sorrowful families in Israel – this would be a very fearful situation for Barak. For him to instill motivation and courage to these men to go on an extremely risky battle, he would need every confirmation from God. Bringing Debora, a respected judge and prophetess, would make his case easier.

God Gives Honors to Whomever He Wants

“I [Deborah] will surely go with you [Barak];
nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take,
for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.”
Judges 4:9 (brackets added to enhance clarity)

This verse spawned many thoughts and gentle debates with the bible study group. Often, this verse is interpreted as because Barak asked Deborah to go with him, the honor (which would have been given to Barak) was taken away from him to be given to a woman, who eventually turned out to be Jael.

I disagree with this interpretation. A close, objective examination of this statement by Deborah shows no causal link between the recipient of honor and Barak’s request for Deborah’s accompaniment. Debora simply stated that the honor shall not be Barak’s. There is no reason to believe that Barak would have been honored if he obeyed by going to battle alone without Deborah. All honor and glory ultimately belong to the LORD, therefore, Barak not receiving honor can be considered natural.

Let’s remember that God gives honors to whomever He wants. Similarly, God told Moses that “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion” (Exodus 33:19). God decided to sell Sisera into the hands of a woman under His sovereign will. God’s decision to sell Sisera into the hand of a woman is not because of Barak’s (timid) request for Deborah’s presence in his fight against Sisera. Also, this may have been God’s plan from the beginning – God wanted to use the weak to shame the strong.

Suicide Mission…

Personally, I would like to give my utmost respect to Barak for his bold obedience. When Deborah said to Barak to march ahead against Sisera (Judges 4:14), Barak obeyed by marching down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men from Zebulun and Naphthali. This was a suicide mission as they were going against 900 chariots on a plain level field, which gave a decisive advantage to iron chariots over infantry. The extent of the danger of this mission was also portrayed by Debora’s song, stating that “Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death, and Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.” (Judges 5:18). Despite knowing that honor would not be his, Barak and his 10,000 men were ready to lose their lives with their full trust in the LORD their God. For this reason, I give a high mark to Barak and men from these two tribes. Barak was a man of faith.

…Turned into Victory by God’s Intervention

God is the creator of the heavens and earth. Nothing is impossible with him. Chapter 5 provides a few clues on how Israel was able to achieve victory against an army of iron chariots led by Sisera. The earth quaked and the heavens and the clouds dripped water (Judges 5:5) and the torrent of Kishon (a river near where the battle took place) overflew (Judges 5:21). Soaked, muddy condition of the field would have rendered iron chariots useless. With the LORD’s help, 10,000 infantry led by Israel was able to convincingly defeat the fearsome army of iron chariots of chariots.

Jael and Sisera: Peg into Temple

Chapter 4:17 to 22 provides a detailed account of a gruesome killing of Sisera. Some of us wondered why Jael decided to kill Sisera in a cruel way? This is a good question, and my initial response is not to interpret this event with too much “spiritual” implication. The following is a summary from relevant commentaries.

Especially in the nomad communities, a man entering into another woman’s tent was considered a serious trespass. If found, both the man and woman were to be condemned to death by the community. Let’s unfold this event from Jael’s perspective. Jael may have been surprised that Sisera decided to come into her tent to escape (Judges 4:18). Although surprised, it would not be wise for her to confront Sisera because if he was refused, Sisera could have harmed Jael. For Sisera, Jael’s tent may have been an ideal place to hide from the Israelite army because women’s tents would be one of the last places for them to raid for search. With Sisera in her tent, Jael faced a stark choice. If other people saw a man other than her husband in her tent, she could be stoned to death. If Sisera regained his strength afterward, he could harm her anytime later. Therefore, Jael made a choice to end Sisera’s life while he was asleep. She did it quickly by driving a tent peg into his temple.

We do not need to interpret all the stories of the bible as if they need to be applied. These events sometimes are just described to provide the context of the society and character of the LORD. The killing of Sisera by Jael may be showing God’s character and His sovereign will to shame the strong with the weak. This may be for us, the reader now, and also for Debora, Barak, and all the Israelites that the LORD works with the weak to defeat the strong of this world.

God honors Jael based on His Sovereign Will

Although it may have been possible that Jael killed Sisera solely for her safety, God decided to honor her anyway (Judges 4:9 and 5:24). God gives honor to whomever He wants to honor, and God decided to honor Jael.

Barak’s Journey from Fear to Faith

Although the immediate honor belonged to Jael, Barak was listed as one of those “faith heroes” by the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:32).

In one aspect, Judges 4-5 portrayed Barak’s journey of fear to faith. A thought of facing Sisera must have spawned a large degree of fear in Barak. However, in faith, he and 10,000 men obeyed the command of the LORD to march against Sisera. The LORD gave victory and their trust (faith) in God was manifested.

I hope that you will live out a victorious, “fear to faith” life.

Judges 3: Opportunity Wasted by Israel

How do you, as a follower Christ, live out in this world? Jesus once told his disciples to “be shrewd as serpent and innocent as dove” as He sent them in the midst of “wolves” (Matt 10:26). The world can be a hostile place. The circumstance that the Israelites faced in the book of Judges was a similar situation that Jesus described – they were surrounded by “wolves”-like nations.

For that reason, the LORD God gave them tests – in fact, opportunities – for Israel to grow to be able to live out and represent the characters of God as a nation in the midst of hostile nations. This chapter shows how it went for Israel in the beginning of its nationhood.

Testing of the LORD (3:1-4)

In two dimensions the LORD God tested the Israelites – externally and internally. Externally, the LORD allowed some nations to remain so that the Israelites would learn how to wage war. Internally, the LORD tested the Israelites to see whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD. The testing of the LORD was a sign of His love and His father-son relation with Israel: the LORD God was discipling the Israelites just as a man disciplines his son (Duet 8:5). In order for the Israelites to establish a nation that would represent the characters of God and be a source of blessings to the surrounding nations, it was essential for them to undergo the two-dimensional tests.

Externally, the LORD tested the Israelites with the remaining nations for a very practical reason: to teach them how to defend themselves and to strategically wage war, if necessary. Military wars were unavoidable in a fallen world. In the fallen world, militarily strong nations would conquer weaker nations to oppress them and extract resources out of them. The land to be occupied by Israel would be surrounded by hostile nations that did not fear God. For this reason, the LORD left these nations to teach the generations who hadn’t experienced war how to fight. Connecting this to the New Testament, Jesus told his disciples “behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:26).” The Israelites needed to learn how to be as shrewd as serpents in the world filled with wolves.

Internally, the LORD tested Israel to examine the conditions of their hearts. In addition to the military and physical threat, the surrounding nations’ social system and the underlying philosophies posed a grave threat to the Israelites. Their society operated based on the principles where the strong dominate to exploit the weak and people serve false gods to worship prosperity and the desires of the flesh – all of them diametrically in contrast to the law of Moses. The author of the Proverbs urged people to guard their heart as springs of life flow from it (Prov 4:23). In order to live out a life worthy of their calling, the Israelites needed to learn how to defend their hearts, their thought systems against the worldview that diametrically opposed the values of the true God.

These were the tests given by the LORD God. From a different perspective, Israel was given an opportunity to grow by engaging in spiritual warfare to discern the truth from the falsehood.

Israelites Failed the Test (3:5-8)

Unfortunately, the Israelites utterly failed the test of the LORD in both dimensions.

Externally, they were tested to learn how to engage in warfare (3:2). Yet, the surrounding nations started to oppress them (3:8, 3:14). Internally, they were tested to follow the commands of the LORD by loving and following Him (3:4). However, Israel resided with the surrounding nations, adopted their culture, and intermarried them (3:5-6). Soon, Israel forgot the LORD and served other gods, committing what was evil in the sight of the LORD (3:7).

The moment Israel lost their identity as the people of the LORD by serving other gods, the LORD sold the Israelites into the hands of Cushan king of Mesopotamia (3:8). Is it strange to read that the LORD “sold the Israelites into” another nation? The default state is the world in which strong nations conquer and oppress the weak nations – this is considered “natural” in the fallen world. The protection by the LORD was solely due to His goodness and grace. The moment Israel gave up to be God’s people, they lost the special protection that the LORD provided according to His grace.

The LORD Delivers 1: Absence of Northern Tribes (3:9-11)

Cushan came from the Aram area (currently near Syria), north of Israel, to oppress the Israelites. Instead, when the LORD heard the cries of His people, God raised Othniel from Judah, the most south located tribe, to prevail over Cushan to deliver Israel.

It is written that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon” Othniel. Noticeable was the absence of the actions from the Israel tribes located in the northern areas, such as Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun and Manasseh given that Cusha came from the north. Perhaps, the Spirit of the LORD was searching for the appropriate person among the northern tribes to save, but was not able to find one. That no one from the northern tribes was raised as a judge to deliver may indicate a serious degree with which Israel fell away from God to serve other false gods.

The LORD Delivers 2: Ehud vs Eglon (3:12-30)

Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD again soon after Othniel’s period. As a result, Israel was defeated by the coalition of three nations: Moab, Ammon, and Amalek. Moab and Ammon were descendents of Lot. God clearly indicated that the Israelites were not to attack Moab or Ammon (Deuteronomy 2). However, Amalek was a different story. Amalek was the nation that enraged God (Exodus 17). God told the Israelites to utterly destroy Amalek, but because of their failure to do so, Amalek came back to bite back Israel. Afterward, the Israelites were oppressed by the Moabites for 18 years.

The detail analysis of Ehud vs. Eglon story is very well presented in this website. I will defer to this website if you would like to enhance your understanding of this part of the story.

The LORD Delivers 3: Shamgar the Non-Israelite (3:31)

The LORD God loves to work with the marginalized. Neither the name of Shamgar nor his father’s name, Anath, was Jewish. Commentaries say that he was likely to be a non-Israelites, perhaps, a Kenite, among one of those who followed the Judah tribe to settle with them. Therefore, Shamgar was not likely in the mainstream of the Israelite society. However, the LORD empowered Shamgar to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

Judges 2: The Gospel in Judges

Throughout the Bible, whenever the concept of the Gospel is introduced, it is usually accompanied by two components that could not be farther apart: 1) utter sinfulness of mankind; and 2) abundant grace and goodness of God. Just to list a few examples: God promised the restoration of mankind by crushing the head of the serpent as soon as Adam and Eve sinned (Gen 3); Romans 3 states that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” then says, “all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Judges 2 shows repeatedly this exact pattern: utter sinfulness and hopeless of the Israelites followed by God’s grace and compassion. Although the events in Judges 2 can be depressing, hope is embedded in between lines.

Fake Tears

The angel of the LORD came from Gilgal to Bochim to rebuke the children of Israel with stark news because they had failed to obey the LORD: He would no longer drive out other nations and they would become as thorns in Israel’s sides and their gods would be a snare to Israel (Judges 2:3). In response, all the sons of Israel lifted up their voices and wept and sacrificed to the LORD in Bochim (2:4-5).

The form of repentance was there, but missing was the true substance in Israel’s reaction to the rebuke of the LORD. To borrow the term used by Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, this action by Israel is considered worldly sorrows (2 Corinth 7:10): frankly, fake tears, not repentance. Israel demonstrated all the outside elements that are typical of repentance: weeping, voiced lifted, and sacrifices. They were sorrowful because they were losing the privileges granted by the LORD, such as God’s fighting for them to drive out other nations. They were sorrowful because they were merely afraid. Mostly importantly, their behaviors did not change in the aftermath. Israel continued to do evil in the sight of the LORD, serving Baal (2:11), and they forsook the LORD and followed other gods and served Baal and the Ashtaroth (2:13). Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but wordly sorrows brings death (2 Corinth 7:10). This event was not godly sorrow, but worldly sorrow that led to the death (at least spiritually) in Israel.

Failed Education and Stubborn Heart

After the death of Joshua, it was said “there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel (2:10).” This is indeed a sad statement, yet very instructional for us.

First, the arising of another generation who did not know the LORD reflects the extreme difficulty of instilling the knowledge of the true LORD God to our children. All throughout the books of Moses, especially from Exodus to Deuteronomy, Moses implored the Israelites over and over the importance of knowing the LORD and teaching this core, life principle to their children. Deuteronomy 6 was just one of the many examples where Moses commanded to teach children and their children so that they may fear the LORD (Deuteronomy 6:2). Joshua relayed this message as well. When Joshua led Israel to cross the Jordan River, he picked up twelve stones to remind the LORD to their children (Josh 4:4-7). After defeating Ai, Joshua wrote down the entire word of the LORD on stone before all the sons of Israel as well as aliens (Josh 8:34-35). Before his death, Joshua made an emphatic statement in his last public address to urge Israel to follow the true LORD (Joshua 24:14-15). Yet, despite all these efforts from the godly leaders, the next generation quickly forgot the LORD.

Second, the arising of the next generation who did not know the LORD points to the inherent evil condition of the heart of mankind. Sin made a grand entry to this world with Adam’s transgression (Genesis 3). Since then, it was described “every intention of the thoughts of his was only evil continually (Gen 6:5).” It also points to the book of Romans, where Paul stated, “There is no righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands (Romans 3:10).”

Without God, Israel was hopeless. Without God, mankind is hopeless.

Utter Hopelessness

The Israelites were amazingly good at two things: 1) forsaking the LORD; and 2) serving/following other gods. Their actions were listed aplenty in this chapter. They did evil in the sight of the LORD (2:11). They forsook the LORD and followed other gods (2:12). That they forsook the LORD and served other gods is repeated again (2:13). Even when the LORD raised up judges who delivered Israel, they still did not listen to judges or the LORD and they continued to prostitute themselves and worshiped other gods (2:17). After the judge died, they would act more corruptly than before, in following other gods (2:19). They continued to hold on to their stubborn heart, refusing to abandon their evil practices (2:19).

The list is overwhelming. Is there any hope for Israel?

God’s Continued Compassion

God is amazingly persistent in pursuing His people by reaching out to them and giving a second chance over and over.

In contrast to Israelite’s stubborn ways, God continued to demonstrate His grace and compassion. The LORD in HIs mercy raised up the judges to deliver disobeying Israel from a strong enemy (2:16). Even when Israel did not listen to the judges, the LORD stayed with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies (2:18). The LORD had compassion for them when they were groaning because of the affliction and oppression (2:18)

Gospel: God’s Continual Pursuit over Utter Hopelessness of Mankind

This chapter shows these two components abundantly: Utter sinfulness of Israel and abundant grace and goodness of God.

Therefore, this chapter is the Gospel. Well, in fact, the entire Bible is the Gospel. I hope you perceive and experience this.

Judges 1: Diverging Paths and Deteriorating Heart

Joshua passed away. The path between Judah and the rest of the tribes began to diverge. Judah fought, conquered, utterly destroyed the inhabitants of Canaan. Judah led and partnered with the weak and demonstrated meek leadership. On the other hand, the other Israel tribes were not very “successful” as they did not drive out the inhabitants. The chapter describes the falling condition of the heart of the Israelites not long after Joshua passed away.

Judah Fights, Fights and Fights

The Judah tribe (Judah) was very active. As Caleb, the leader of Judah, showed his insatiable desire to fulfill the LORD’s promise before Joshua (Joshua 14:12), Judah was zealous to actively inherit the land that the LORD promised. Unlike other tribes of Israel, Judah actively fought against many nations in Canaan.

Judah fought against the Canaanites and Perizzites, defeating ten thousand men at Bezek (Judges 1:4). Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured the city (Judges 1:8). Judah defeated the Canaanites in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the lowland (Judges 1:9). Judah went against the Cannaanites in Hebron (Judges 1:10) and against the inhabitants of Debir (1:11). Judah struck down the Canaanites in Zephath (1:17). Judah drove out three sons of Anak from Hebron (1:20).

Judah Partners

We see that Judah partnered with Simeon twice in fighting against the Cannaanites. First, Judah went with Simeon against the Cannaanites and the Perizzites and defeated Adoni-Bezek (1:4-5). Also, when fighting against the Canaanites in Zephath, Judah partnered with Simeon.

This partnership was not that necessary from Judah’s point of view because Judah was already the largest and the strongest tribe with 76,500 people. On the other hand, Simeon was the weakest and the smallest with 22,200 people. Judah demonstrated leadership by partnering with the weakest tribe so that Simeon can inherit their allotted land. This is “meek” leadership – the strong used its power to help the weak.

We also see that the descendents of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law, went up with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah and lived with them (Judges 1:16). Although it is difficult to know the exact reason for the Kenite’s decision to live with Judah, yet, it was possible that the Kenite saw what Judah had (their God) and Judah was willing to take in aliens to be incorporated within its boundary as commanded by the LORD in Leviticus 19:34 (The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God)

Judah was a warrior. Yet, they took good care of the weak, such as the Simeon tribe, and the aliens, such as the Kenite.

Judah Pursues and Destroys

There is a notable word in Judges 1:6, “pursued.” When Adoni-bezek (king of Bezek) fled, Judah pursued. That Judah pursued is very important for us to note. Winning a battle is one task. Pursuing and capturing a fleeing king is even more a difficult task, which takes an enormous amount of effort and will. Judah ensured that justice was done to Adoni-bezek, and this event shows the heart of Judah to fully obey the LORD’s promise and commands regarding the enemies. In addition, Judah utterly destroyed the cities (1:8, 1:17) as commanded by the LORD through Moses (Deut 20:17).

Judah faithfully obeyed the LORD. Unfortunately, we will soon see that this was not the case by the other tribes in Israel.

Ultimate Success

Let’s acknowledge the ultimate source of the victory. Although Judah did well in actively fighting and inheriting the land, it was ultimately the LORD’s presence that enabled Judah’s success (Judges 1:19).

Failures of the Others Tribes: Condition of their Hearts

With the exception of some successes by the sons of Joseph with the presence of the LORD (1:22), the rest of the Israel tribes were not successful in contrast to Judah. They neither actively fought the Canaanites, nor utterly destroyed inhabitants. The author of the book listed failures, from minor to major ones, for the rest of the tribes (Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphthali, and Dan). The common phrase in this section was “they did not drive out the inhabitants of Canaanites” in their allotted land. Was the failure to drive out attributable to their inability or unwillingness? The phrase “did not” indicated their unwillingness, rather than inability, to drive out the inhabitants.

Why weren’t they willing to drive out the inhabitants? For some tribes, such as Zebulun, Naphtali, instead of driving out the inhabitants, they made inhabitants become forced labor for them. In other words, they made an “economic decision” to use them as forced laborers. For their well-being, this decision might have been rational. Driving them out completely and utterly destroying was not only difficult, but less economical than forcing them to work and labor.

Then, we wonder why didn’t they obey the LORD’s commands to utterly destroy the inhabitants as Judah did? Perhaps, the answer lies in the condition of their hearts. Let’s jump forward to the very last verse of the book of Judges: everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). That’s what these tribes did. They did what was right in their own eyes, according to their standards and eventually implemented their decision, not the LORD’s commands – by making inhabitants forced labor, instead of utterly destroying them.

In the rest of the chapters of Judges, because of these remaining inhabitants, Israel was oppressed militarily and influenced to worship their gods.

Tribes that were not mentioned.

Although most tribes were mentioned in the first chapter, a few of them were not even mentioned. None of the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh) were mentioned. Isacchar was the only tribes on the west side of the Jordan not be mentioned.

Although the reason for their absence in this chapter is not exactly known, their absence seems to be an ominous sign that they became no longer relevant to the story of God – in other words, they might have become not distinguishable from other nations, no longer suitable to represent the holiness of God.

Chapter 2 continues to draw out depravity of the Israelites.