Right back at the beginning of Judges (1:1) we read, “After the death of Joshua…” and right at the end of Judges we read, “In those days Israel had no king”.
This book is all about mess.
The mess we get in without leadership or direction.
The last 5 chapters find us in a place in Israel where they’ve lost their obvious leader, Joshua… and are yet to find their king, David.
How will God’s chosen people fair?
Throughout the lives of the 12 judges, God has been playing a major role, but now he seems to have left, only showing an obvious appearance once in all 5 chapters.
Lets see how they get on “going it alone”…

• Verses 1 and 2 are 2 brilliant sentences that tell us loads, but at the same time leave us with questions. What?
• Micah heard his mom’s curse and then gave the silver back. Why?
• After the silver was returned why did Micah’s mom speak a blessing on him?
• Verse 3 conflicts with the end of verse 2. How and why?
• If this returned silver was to be “consecrated to the Lord”, why did Micah’s mom only actually use 200 shekels of silver?
• Next we see that this “idol” is put in an already existing shrine in Micah’s house. What does this tell us?
• Micah then makes an ephod. Does this remind us of anyone else? What parallels can we draw between them?
• Then Micah installs one of his own sons as his priest! What issues could we have with this?
• “Everyone did as they saw fit” kinda sounds like our situation in 2010. How do the two compare?
• Next we see a Levite from Bethlehem, who we later find out is called Jonathan, who is looking for a new home and a new job. So, he’s a man looking for a job and Micah has a job and is looking for a man…coincidence?
• Even though this priest-position was already filled, when a Levite comes along looking for a job, the position is made available to him. What could this tell us?
• This “chance meeting” was seen by Micah as a sign from God. Is this the right assumption?

[Read Judges 16]

• After all that’s gone on, why would Samson go back to Gaza?
• When Samson isn’t busy saving Israel , he’s busy being Israel. What could this mean?
• When we looked at Jephthah’s story, we saw that his mouth was both his strength and weakness. How can we apply this idea to Samson?
• What’s all this business with Gaza’s gates in verse 3? What’s all that about?
• Verses 6 – 17 might seems a bit like déjà-vu. We’ve been in this same situation before, what can this tell us?
• “He did not know that the Lord had left him” is one of the saddest sentences in the whole book. What does this tell us about Samson, and how does this act as a caution for us?

[Activity] > Again, there was a “seizing”, this time of Samson; again a seductive woman had betrayed him; again he “went down to Gaza”, but this time as a prisoner. Samson’s story is full of repetition. Find as many example of this, and what does this tell you?

The Philistines were at a disadvantage. They didn’t know what we know. That the God of Israel, who does the unexpected (Ehud), whose strength is made perfect in weakness (Gideon), and who never breaks His word (Jephthah) made a promise back in 13:7.

• What does this mean for Samson?
• Parallels can be drawn between Samson, the last judge in Judges, and Jesus Christ, the last Judge. What are they?
• Verse 24 shows the Philistines making a bold statement. This was in a way, both right and wrong…How?
• As we’ve already seen, certain parallels can be drawn between Samson and Jesus. How does Samson’s end point towards Jesus?

[Conclusion]
Along with what Samson teaches us and points us towards (Jesus). He also gives us an opposite example too… the Isrealites (and ultimately, us). We, like the Isrealites, are repeatedly called, empowered and gifted. And yet we mess up, we are selfish.
The big idea we need to take away from Samson’s story is that God is here and God is the Judge. Before Samson’s birth the Lord prepared everything, throughout his life the Lord is masterminding everything, at his death the pagan god is defeated and the God of Isreal triumphs.
On a personal level, Samson is a harsh warning to us all. We are all given grace and mercy and gifts and talents and it is up to us what we do with them.

[Read Judges 15]

• Why might Samson still think (or want to) that all was well with his “wife” after activities at the end of chapter 14?
• 300 foxes?! What’s up with that?!
• What’s the significance of loosing them in the fields and vineyards?
• How is verse 6 ironic?
• When the Philistines went up to Judah, why didn’t they just go to war with Israel? They obviously had greater numbers, better weapons and battle knowledge. Not to mention that at this point in history, Israel lay trampled beneath Philistine boots. So why not finish them off and be done with it?
• Taking the metaphor that Israel = Church and the Philistines = the world. What do the questions posed by the Israelites in verses 10 and 11 tell us?
• So again, we find Israel back at the bottom of the spiral, in a similar place to Judges 1:1-20. They are more concerned with just getting along then doing what’s right. They are anxious to live and let live and would rather bind and betray their saviour then have him upset the balance. What does this point us towards?
• Here we have the 3rd time that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson” and again it’s for questionable effect. The “unusual” choice of weapon tells us stuff. What?
• At the end of this chapter we see some very interesting things. What are they?
• What does this story tell us about revenge?

[Read > Judges 14]

• Earlier in Judges, we’ve seen Jephthah’s mouth get him into trouble. What parallels can we draw Jephthah’s and Samson’s stories?
• What does verse 4 tell us about God?
• From the get go, we see Samson with his eyes on a lady. But 3 times in as many verses, the woman’s “Philistineness” is mentioned (she was a Philistine / “she’s a Philistine”, says Samson / “She’s a Philistine?” asks his parents). What does this tell us?
• Samson says, “I’ve seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife”. What does this tell us about Samson and his parents?
• Next we see Samson and his mom and dad going down to Timnah and a crazy episode with a lion! Why didn’t his mom and dad see this going on? Why was Samson so far in front or behind that they didn’t see? And what was Samson (a Nazarite) doing in a vineyard?
• What’s the deal with the lion carcass and the honey?

[Activity]
Samson is a man of action. This can have good and bad connotations…
(split into groups and discuss what these good and bad things are)

• Why does Samson “riddle-me-this” with the Philistines at the party?
• Again we see that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him” and Samson murders 30 innocent men at Ashkelon. This is paired with the killing of the lion, which incidentally there’s no mention of the lion attacking/threatening Samson. What do we think about the killing of these “innocents” in the power of the Spirit?

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”.
But the link to the rest of the book doesn’t stop there… Israel has been sold into the hands of the Philistines and the hands of the Ammonites.Jephthah had dealt with the Ammonites and now it’s time for Samson to step up and deal with the Philistines.

Like Gideon’s story, here we have an angel and a burning sacrifice AND a troop of 300 pyromaniacs to harass the enemy (granted, this time they aren’t human!). Like Deborah’s story, there’s a dangerous woman “thrusting a peg” with evil intent and bees AND torches. Like Shamgar’s story, this one has a judge who is known for killing Philistines personally (AND with weird weapon choices!). And like Othniel’s story, this one sees the judge’s wife playing an important role.

• The tribe of Dan were boarder neighbours with the Philistines. What could this have meant for this tribe?
• Dan’s rightful land is occupied by Philistines and no matter what they did, they couldn’t get rid of them. How would this affect the people from that tribe?
• Here we see Israel up to it’s same old trick, but there’s no mention of repentance or “crying out”, and God is sorting it out. What’s going on?

[Activity]

• Here we see an angel proclaiming a future birth. What other examples of this can you find in the bible? And how might they relate to each other?
• Why does God chose to use Manoah and his wife?
• Check out Numbers 6:1-21. So, that’s a Nazarite. Why did God want Samson brought up in this way?
• Why is Manoah such a dumbass? He seems to not totally believe his wife, but then when he does believe her, he questions the angel, but asks all the SAME questions. What’s going on?
• Verse 12 tells us some interesting things about Manoah. What are they?
• Why might Manoah ask the angel’s name?
• The angel’s name is “beyond understanding” and the original Hebrew translates to “wonderful”. This is linked with Isaiah 9:6. What could this tell us about the angel?
• Verse 24 shows us that Samson “grew and the Lord blessed him”, this is echoed in 1 Samuel 2:26 AND in Luke 2:52. What comparisons can we make?
• What does this tell us?

[Read Judges 12:1-7]

• Here we see the Ephraimites doing what they do best. From this (and other) example(s), what does this tell us about their character?
• How did Gideon deal with this same situation?
• Given what we’ve seen of Jephthah so far, how would we expect him to deal with this situation?
• Here we see Israel fighting against Israel. What could this tell us?
• What’s the deal with this “magic word” Shibboleth?
• One phrase is missing from the Israelite’s battle. What is it? What could this mean?
• Verse 7, along with Hebrews 11:32-34, tells us our final information about Jephthah. What is it?
• what could it mean?

[Read Judges 12:8-15]

• Following straight on from Jephthah, we see Ibzan. What does Ibzan do to secure peace between tribes?
• How?
• Remembering our previous study on the Significance of Insignificance. What final thoughts can we grasp from the end of this chapter?

[Activity]

It’s interesting to see just how and why God uses these different Judges in different ways… Othniel, after rebuking was given purpose. Ehud gives us God’s method and through his left-handedness shows us God’s unexpected/unorthodox deliverance. God shows us through Deborah and Barak, His requirement is for straightforward obedience. Through Gideon He shows His principle is to use weakness as strength. These Judge’s methods/skills/abilities speak to us about who God is.
So what about Jephthah? What/How does his story reflect things about God?

[Read Judges 12:1-7]
Here we see the Ephraimites doing what they do best.

• From this (and other) example(s), what does this tell us about their character?
• How did Gideon deal with this same situation?
• Given what we’ve seen of Jephthah so far, how would we expect him to deal with this situation?
• Here we see Israel fighting against Israel. What could this tell us?
• What’s the deal with this “magic word” Shibboleth?
• One phrase is missing from the Israelite’s battle. What is it? What could this mean?

Verse 7, along with Hebrews 11:32-34, tells us our final information about Jephthah.

• What is it?
• what could it mean?

[Read Judges 12:8-15]

Following straight on from Jephthah, we see Ibzan.

• What does Ibzan do to secure peace between tribes?
• How?
• Remembering our previous study on the Significance of Insignificance. What final thoughts can we grasp from the end of this chapter?

[Activity]

It’s interesting to see just how and why God uses these different Judges in different ways… Othniel, after rebuking was given purpose. Ehud gives us God’s method and through his left-handedness shows us God’s unexpected/unorthodox deliverance. God shows us through Deborah and Barak, His requirement is for straightforward obedience. Through Gideon He shows His principle is to use weakness as strength. These Judge’s methods/skills/abilities speak to us about who God is. So what about Jephthah?

• What/How does his story reflect things about God?

[Read > Judges 11]
Jephthah is illegitimate.

• What does this mean for him?
• What are the consequences?

Is it right that someone with this type of background should be a Judge of Israel?
Not to mention appearing in the famous “Faith” passage in Hebrews 11!

• In verse 1-3, do we see Jephthah sinning or being sinned against?
• What is Isaiah 53:3 talking about?
• The Lord “raised up” Othniel and Ehud (3:9 & 15), “The Lord…commands you” said Deborah to Barak (4:6), “I send you” said the Lord to Gideon (6:14). Is Jephthah’s call really from God?
• God agrees to play Isreal’s spiral game, by following rebellion with retribution and then repentance with rescue. How is this evident here?
• Throughout the book of Judges, God is continually changing the characteristics for a saviour/judge of Isreal. How? And why?
• How could Jephthah to the Gileadites call to “be our leader in fighting the Ammonites”?

They then change their “call to be their leader” into a request for him to “fight and rule”. What does this tell us about the Gileadites approach?
So what started as a contrived, manipulated, and preconstructed offer on the part of the elders of Gilead, quickly gets flipped over to Jephthah getting them to give him what he wanted AND on his terms.

• What does this tell us about Jephthah?
• Why did Jephthah “repeat all his words before the lord”?

[Activity > 4 elements]

Here in verses 12-28, we see Jephthah (the mighty warrior) dealing with an enemy, not with swords but with words. His argument has 4 elements… History / Theology / Precedent / Silence.

• How are these 4 elements revealed in this argument?

I don’t think the Ammonite king had any intention of changing his mind about waging war with the Israelites.

• So why does Jephthah engage in this diplomatic discussion?
• In verse 29, why did they pass through Gilead, Manasseh, and Mizpah?
• What was Jephthah thinking making a vow like that?! What does this horrific part of the story tell us about Jephthah and Israel?
• How is the conclusion to this part of Jephthah’s story ironic?
• What Jepthah did is a thing that all scripture condemns. Why Jephthah did it is a thing that all scripture commends. Have you ever made a vow to God?

[Read > Judges 10:6-18]

• Verse 6 tells us that “again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, this echoes way back to chapter 2 verse 11, “then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. What does this tell us?
• What could be the reasons for his rebellion?

[Activity > Foreign gods/False idols]

• Why do the Israelites keep slipping further and further down this downward spiral of disobedience? And what does this tell us about us?

To show how severe Isreal’s rebellion has got we see here that they have not only turned away from the Lord and began worshiping false gods, but they do it seven times worse! > baal, ashteroth, and gods of Sidon, Syria, Moab, Amon, and Philistine. ALL THIS despite that the Lord had delivered them seven times > Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites.

• With such a merciful God, who keeps rescuing them, what wrong mindsets could the Israelites have?
• How can we in 2010 relate to this?
• What could this mean, if a people could continue to turn their backs on a God who has helped them so often?

In the exchange between the Israelites and God in verses 10-16, we see something we’ve seen many times before…”the Israelites cried out to the Lord”. This is usually followed by, “when the people cried out, the Lord raised up a deliverer”, as in 3:9, and again in 3:15, and again in 4:3-7, and again in 6:7-14. But for the first time now, it looks as though the Lord isn’t going to help them.

• Why might God react this way?
• “We have sinned against you , forsaking our God and serving the baals” shows us that the Israelites recognized their sin against the Lord. But recognition isn’t the same as repentance. How?
• What does God’s reply [10:14] tell us?
• God wants the Israelites to turn away from the baals and back towards Him. Do the Israelites ‘get’ this?
• In verse 18, we find the Israelites crying out for a leader. Is this a good idea?
]]> http://www.oakhamchurch.org.uk/2010/03/19/mest-judges-106-18/feed/ 0 http://www.oakhamchurch.org.uk/2010/03/19/oakhams-egg-eds-quiz-night/ http://www.oakhamchurch.org.uk/2010/03/19/oakhams-egg-eds-quiz-night/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:30:57 +0000 matt_parkes http://www.oakhamchurch.org.uk/?p=336 April 3, 20107:30 pmto9:30 pm

Do you have what it takes to win… Oakham’s Egg ‘Eds Quiz night!?

There are fabulous prizes to be won!

• It’s a night the whole family can enjoy
• Film, Music, Sport, General Knowledge… You’re guaranteed to know at least one answer!
• Half-time food provided – FREE!

Why not come and join us on Saturday 3rd April at 7:30pm

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