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CHAPTER X

THE JUDGES
BACKGROUND

After the conquest of the land of Canaan, the Israelites experienced

transformations in their national life. There was the change from a wondering
nomadic tribe to a more permanent settlement in the land of Canaan. From
the time of the Patriarchal stage as mentioned in Genesis to the deliverance of
God's people from slavery in Exodus, the Israelites were landless people.
Abraham from Ur traveled from a distant country to another land as he obeyed
God's word. Whereas Jacob and his family, Abraham's descendants, settled in
Egypt during the great famine, by special grant of the Pharaoh through Joseph,
son of Jacob. After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were nomads in the
desert for many years, until the Lord of Israel gave the land of Canaan and made
Israel responsible for that land. The land of Canaan was a symbol of the Covenant
between Abraham and his descendants and God. The possession of the land of
Canaan meant obedience and fidelity to God.

When the Israelites settled among the Canaanite communities, they began
to adopt the religious cult of the local inhabitants of Canaan. They also worshiped
the Canaanite god Baal, the god of fertility. The Israelites committed the gravest
sin, the sin of idolatry. They forgot the covenant their fathers had made with their
God Yahweh.

The descendants of Abraham after Joshua either did not know or had really
forgotten the salvific acts of God in their lives, their deliverance from slavery in
Egypt, and their conquest of the land of Canaan. They had not kept alive the
memory that their previous triumphs and successes and their very existence as a
people were completely dependent on their God.

The other transformation that occurred during the time of the judges
was divided leadership. During the time of Moses and Joshua, only one leader
led the Israelites at a time. But at the time of the Judges, Israel became
confederations of tribes with no central authority or central government. Their faith
in God and the Ark of the Covenant kept in the shrine at Shiloh was the only reason
why they were together.

Here is a quotation from Judges 17:6:

“In those days there was no King in Israel, everyone did

what he thought was best.”

This quotation proved that the Israelites abused their uncontrolled freedom.
The sin of idolatry and disunity entered into the picture. God tolerated the tribes of
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Israel to be oppressed by their neighbors to teach them a lesson. Later, God,

moved with pity for His people, sent judges to deliver them from oppression.

A. The Role of the Judges

In the Old Testament, “judges” were men chosen by God to bring

deliverance to His people who were oppressed by their enemies to teach them
a lesson. God endowed the judges with special gifts of wisdom and courage, which
gave them authority over the tribes and the ability to bring about the downfall of
their enemies. They corrected the evil situation in Israel; they were often
referred to as charismatic leaders. They were not extraordinary people except that
they were chosen to perform a special function in their respective community in
spite of their personal weaknesses and shortcomings.

Among the tribes in Israel, the stories of the judges were handed down
orally and were transformed into stories of the judges as hero-legends. Such was
the case with Gideon, Deborah, and Samson.

The Old Testament judges are usually classified as major and minor
judges. The major judges are classified according to the amount of volumes or
chapters devoted to them in the Old Testament. The minor judges are also judged
according to the first category as mentioned above. The second classification,
although not highly recommended, is merely based on length or time of function
devoted by each judge to perform his respective task. The six major judges were
OTHNIEL, EHUD, DEBORAH AND BARAK, GIDEON, JEPTHAH, and
SAMSON. The, minor judges were SHAMGAR, TOLA, JAIR, IBZAN, ELON, and
ABDON.

The following judges were chosen because of their merit as often mentioned
and cited among other judges.

GIDEON
(Judges 6-8)

The Israelites had become unfaithful again. They had joined the unfaithful
people to worship the pagan god, Baal. The Lord delivered them into the hands of
their enemies. The Medianites, harassed the Israelites by destroying and burning
their crops, leaving them no food and starving them to death. The Israelites cried
out and begged for mercy to the Lord for their sufferings under the Medianites.
God did not heed them for a while to let them realize their unfaithfulness.

However, out of God's goodness and mercy, He rescued His people by

calling Gideon to be the instrument of His people's deliverance from the foreign
oppressors. Gideon was hesitant to answer God's call but God assured his family
and promised to be with Gideon just like during the time of Moses.
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Since God made an assurance with Gideon, with three hundred capable
men, he led the attack against their enemies. With only a handful of men, Gideon
was able to drive away their enemies. God delivered Midian and its allies into the
hands of Israel. The Israelites experienced peace and prosperity once again for
almost forty years during the leadership of Gideon as judge in Israel.

But after the death of Gideon, the Israelites sinned again and worshipped
false gods.

DEBORAH AND BARAK

(Judges 4 - 5)

In Judges Chapters 4 and 5, the great judge and prophetess was Deborah
with her general, Barak, calling the tribes of the north together to fight against the
Canaanite Kings. The texts present the great victory of Deborah with Barak in
prose (Judges 4) and in poetry (chapter 5).

In this context, the woman Deborah is presented as a judge and a

prophetess at the same time. The two titles of Deborah enabled her to apply the
law to cases brought to her and to interpret the will of God for the people.

SAMSON AND DELILAH

(Judges 13-16)

At the time when the Israelites offended once again their God, the
Philistines mastered their troops and stormed the Israelites. The Israelites lost the
battle against the Philistines. For forty years, they were under the foreign power as
slaves.

After sometime, an Israelite woman, who was barren for a long time,
received a message from an angel who appeared to her that she would bear a
son. The son was to be a Nazirite, a person who did not cut his hair and did not
drink wine (Judges 13:5). The woman (Manoah) gave birth to a son and named
him Samson. His birth was described to be of divine origin. Samson had a unique
mission to accomplish within his community. He was exceptionally strong. God
gave him extraordinary strength, so that people (Israel) could see the power of
God. His strength found no match in Israel and their enemies. God had chosen
Samson to free His people from the hands of the Philistines. He became a leader
and ruler in Israel for almost twenty years as judge.

However, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who was a
Philistine and the cause of his downfall. She seduced Samson and connived with
her people (Philistine) to find out the secret of Samson's strength. Because of
Samson's love to Delilah, he revealed his secret. His revelation and admission
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opened the way to disobedience of God's command (Judges 13:5). His

consecration and faithfulness to God was lost. Samson disobeyed God, and then
he fell into the power of the Philistines. Samson was blinded and worked unwillingly
at Gaza. But later on, he repented and God restored his strength and dignity.

B. The Ethical Cycle Presented in the Book of the Judges

1. Israel became disobedient and unfaithful to God. (Judges 2:11)

2. God punished His people to teach them a lesson.( Judges 2:14)
3. God's people cried out to Him and begged for forgiveness and mercy. (Judges
6:7)
4. God heard and forgave His people. (Judges 2:18)

This vicious cycle is consistently repeated a number of times. The people

commit sins against God. God punishes them by allowing them to be oppressed
by their enemies. The people repent and turn back to God. God sends the judges
to liberate His people from oppression and bondage of slavery.