Old Testament Survey- Judges / Ruth
After the death of Joshua – there is no leader appointed over the 12 tribes and they all begin to go their own way. They began to mix with the surrounding unconquered Canaanites and took on the cultures with their own.
There are 6 cycles covered in the book of judges.
The book of judges covers the time frame when Israel and its tribes began to stray from the God of Israel.
1st the neglect God, then the forget God.
Judges shows six times they abandoned God, 6 times of bondage, six prayers of repentance, 6 times deliverers (Judges) are raised up to rally in armed resistance to the oppressors
There are 15 judges recorded, The major judges are
Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, Sampson, Samuel
The 6 Cycles of Judges:
1st Cycle - Judges 3: 5-11, Israel comes under the Mesopotamian King Cushan for 8 years. The oppression was mostly in the northern kingdom and Israel finally repents.
God raise up Othneil, Caleb’s nephew, He was anointed by the spirit of the Lord and under his leadership Israel’s army drives them out and they are under peace for the remaining 40 years of his life.
2nd Cycle. – Judges 3: 12-31, Israel again falls into idolatry. God lets the king of Moab and the neighboring tribes Ammon and Amalek, and they conquer Jericho. They oppressed the area for 18 years
God raises up Ehud
Ehud, buys a guy off Eglon – and gets secret access to the King and assassinates Him. He flees and goes back to MT Ephriam and assembles an army. When the Moabites try to cross the river his army kills 10,000 men
Israel lives in 80 years of peace
A third Judge was raised up in Israel during this period named Shamgar.
The philistines tried to attack Israel and he killed 600 men by himself with an oxgoad
3rd Cycle – Judges 4:- 5:31, Israel again gets into religious corruption. The Canaanites from the north invade Israel. For 20 years King Jabin of Hazor oppress Israel and make them virtually slaves.
God raises up the 4th and 5th Judges in Israel Deborah / Barak
Barak / Deborah rally 10,000 solders from the tribes of Zebulun & Naphtili and the fight the Kings army in the valley next to the Kishon river.
River over flows and sweeps many away and the chariots get stuck and they are defeated
General escapes to a neighboring chief and his wife drives a spike through his head
Israel again is at peace for 40 years
4th Cycle – Judges 6:1-8:32, Again Israel turns back to evil before God. God brings the Midianites down upon them with the help of the Amalekites and surrounding tribes for 7 years.
God raise up Israel’s 6th Judge – Gideon
Gideon collects 32,000 men to fight and God reduced them down to 300 men
He deceives the Midianites and shouts to God before them in the dark and waves lanterns and they get confused and attack each other.
Gideon rules as a judge for 40 years
7th possible judge is abimelech ruled for 3 years
8th judge Tola of Issacar, 9th Judge was Jair, a Gileadite who ruled for 22 years (10:)
5th Cycle – Judges 10:6 – 12:15, Again Israel has a social and religious decay into baal worship and god brings oppression from the east. Ammonites attack Judah, Benjamin, Ephriam.
The oppress Israel for 18 years
The lord reject their 1st confession and then accepts their 2nd confession of sin
The 10th Judge Jephthah. He rallied an army up for the Gileadites and totally defeated the ammonites, he ruled for 6 years
He promise to sacrifice to god what ever he first meets on the road back home as an offering. The first thing he meets is his daughter.
He does not sacrifice her but redeems her with money and consecrates her to a life of virginity.
Later defeats the ephriamites 42,000 are killed
11th Judge – Ibzan ruled for 7 years (12:8-10)
12th Judge – Elon Ruled for 10 years (12:11-12)
13th Judge – Abdon ruled for 8 years (12:13-15)
6th Cycle – Judges 13:1 - 16:31, Israel again falls into Idolatry ( SW Kingdoms). The lord let the philistines come in for 40 years and oppress the Israelites. Mostly Dan & Judah
God raises up Israel’s 14th Judge Sampson
Burns the fields
Carries the gates of Gaza
Falls for Delilah
Loses covenant with god and is captured
Calls to God one last time and he kills the largest number of philistines at his death than he had his whole life
Again, Israel falls into Idolatry and civil evil.
Judges 18 –19 Micah and his Images become the form of worship in Dan
Benjamin’s Tragedy- the men rape and kill a woman then will not repent. So they other 11 tribes attack Benjamin and kill all but 600 men who escape.
Later give wives to the 600 men so the whole tribe is not lost
Ruth -
Elimelech & Naomi go to Moab with two sons.
10 years later sons and father die.
Naomi goes back to Home
Ruth goes with her
Ruth meets Boaz and he redeems her and they have a son Obed who is King David’s grandfather
Ruth was one of the first gentiles to be redeemed by Christ
Written by Samuel
Israel’s 15th Judge – Is Samuel and he is Israel’s last Judge. I Samuel 1-8 close out the years of the judges and set the for ground for Saul and his Kingdom.