OVERVIEW
In the Old Testament, a judge was a leader of Israel. The Hebrew word “judge” meant someone who led the people in government and during times of war. Some Bible scholars say that there were two types of judges in the Old Testament. The first type is the major judge, who led all of the people of Israel. The second type is the minor judge, who led small groups of people. We cannot be sure why some stories about certain judges are longer than other stories. They all did God’s work to help Israel’s people.
The book of Judges tells the story of many people who led Israel after it had entered the Promised Land. During this time, the people of Israel disobeyed God by worshiping idols. Because of their sin, God sent enemies to conquer the Israelites. Then, the Israelites would ask God for help and he would send a judge to help them defeat their enemies. Then, the Israelites would live peacefully for a few years until they went back to worshiping idols again. Even though the Israelites continued to disobey God, he never forgot to be merciful to them. He used his judges to show how much he cared for the Israelites.
THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL
Othniel (Judges 3:7-11)
Othniel was a transitional figure in the history of Israel. He did most of his work between the Conquest and the period of the judges. He was involved in the conquest of Kiriath-sepher, and he was a cousin of Caleb (Judges 1:13). He helped defeat the Arameans who were led by Cushan-rishathaim. Because of this, the land enjoyed peace for about forty years.
Ehud (Judges 3:12-30)
The Moabites, who joined forces with the Ammonites and Amalekites, attacked Israel from the east and oppressed them for eighteen years. Ehud was a judge who led the mission to bring money to the Moabite King Eglon at his palace, which was probably located in Jericho. Ehud was uniquely gifted for this mission. He was left-handed and this allowed him to use his double-edged sword to stab the king in a surprise attack. Ehud’s success was the result of careful plotting and the element of surprise. He paid the tribute and left, but he then returned saying he had received an oracle from the gods. King Eglon fell for this trick, and he was murdered. Because the king was dead, it took a long time for the Moabite leaders to organize themselves. This allowed the Israelite army to gather their forces by the Jordan River and prepare their attack. In the battle that followed, no Moabite escaped alive. Ehud’s success was complete, and Israel enjoyed peace for eighty years.
Shamgar (Judges 3:31)
Shamgar’s missions were against the Philistines, who mostly lived on the coastal plains. Even though Shamgar had a non-Israelite name, he was probably an Israelite by birth. Like Samson, Shamgar fought the Philistines with a strange weapon. He used an ox goad, which was usually used to whip cattle that were pulling a plow. Shamgar’s name is also mentioned in the song of Deborah (Judges 5:6).
Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:1-5:31)
After Shamgar defeated the Philistines, the Israelites were invaded by Jabin, the king of Hazor, and Sisera, who was the king of Harosheth-haggoyim (Judges 4:1-3). By this time, the ruins of Hazor (Joshua 11:13) had been rebuilt. King Jabin had regained his military power and he had an army of nine hundred iron chariots. He oppressed Israel for twenty years (Judges 4:3).
God had a prophetess named Deborah in Israel who led his people during this dark time (Judges 4:4). She gave out judgments under a palm tree in southern Ephraim (Judges 4:5). Deborah also called on Barak to gather together the armies of Naphtali and Zebulun, which were the two main tribes affected by King Jabin’s oppression. Deborah instructed Barak to organize a surprise attack against King Sisera by the Kishon River (Judges 4:6-7). Barak was hesitant to carry out these instructions, and he asked Deborah to accompany him on his mission. Because of his unwillingness to follow Deborah’s instructions, Barak did not have the honor of killing King Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite forces. However, just as God had promised, the surprise attack from Mount Tabor was successful. Because they were trapped in the swamps of the Jezreel Valley, the Canaanites were not able to use their chariots (Judges 5:20-22). King Sisera was eventually killed by Jael, a Kenite woman (Judges 4:17-18). Jael tricked King Sisera by offering him a place to stay because her family had friendly relations with the Canaanites. She heroically killed King Sisera by pounding a tent stake through his head (Judges 4:18-21; Judges 5:26-27). After this, the Israelites gained freedom from King Jabin. Then they destroyed his power completely (Judges 4:24).
The song of Deborah, in chapter 5 of the book of Judges, celebrates Israel’s victory over Jabin. It is one of the oldest poems in the Bible. It praises the God of Israel as the King who comes to protect his people. It also describes him as the God who can move mountains (Judges 5:2-3). He is the God of Mount Sinai (Judges 5:4-5). Even though their enemies had conquered Israel and made it unsafe to travel on the roads (Judges 5:6-8), God called on Deborah and Barak to lead his chosen people to war (Judges 5:9-13). Soldiers came from Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali (Judges 5:14-15, 18). However, the Transjordan tribes and Asher did not want to get involved in the war (Judges 5:15-17). Deborah’s song then describes the battle scene, where horrible rains bogged the chariots down (Judges 5:19-23). Jael is celebrated as “blessed above all women,” who used her simple way of life to kill King Sisera (Judges 5:24-27). In the poem Jael is contrasted with King Sisera’s mother, who is portrayed as someone waiting in vain for Sisera’s return with all of his spoils of war (Judges 5:28-30). The song of Deborah shows how God used a simple and common person to bring down someone who was very powerful. The conclusion to the song is a prayer for God to harshly judge all of Israel’s enemies (Judges 5:31).
Gideon (Judges 6:1-8:35)
After conquering King Jabin and King Sisera, Israel had forty years of peace (Judges 5:31). Eventually this peace was disturbed when the Midianites and the Amalekites attacked Israel from the east (Judges 6:1-3). They destroyed the economy by invading Israel at harvesttime (Judges 6:4-6). When the Israelites cried out to God, he sent a prophet to deliver a message of hope to them (Judges 6:8-10). After this, an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and called him to lead the people into battle (Judges 6:11-14). God assured Gideon of his presence by giving him a sign (Judges 6:16-22). Gideon knew that he had been visited by God himself, so he built an altar in Ophrah that he called “The L ORD Is Peace” (Judges 6:24). Gideon also destroyed the altars at Ophrah that were dedicated to the false gods, Baal and Asherah (Judges 6:25-28). He commanded the people to worship God at the new altar (Judges 6:28). Because of this, Gideon was also known as Jerubbaal, which means, “let Baal contend with him.”
After this, Gideon gathered an army of 32,000 men from Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali (Judges 6:35). In order to be absolutely sure that God was with him, Gideon asked for another sign, which involved a piece of fleece (Judges 6:36-40). To many people, it may seem like Gideon was asking God for a lot of reassurance, but we have to remember that Gideon lived in an area where the wonders of God had been scarce for many years (Judges 6:13). Gideon, like Moses, needed reassurance that God was with him, and God responded to Gideon’s growing faith.
Gideon finally attacked the Midianites with only 300 men. Of his original army, 22,000 had left because they were afraid (Judges 7:2-3). Another 9,700 were sent home, even though they were brave men (Judges 7:4-8). God used the small army in a marvelous way to confound the Midianites (Judges 7:9-15). God gave Israel victory over the Midianite leaders Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna (Judges 7:16-8:21). After this victory, Gideon wisely avoided a possible battle with Ephraim (Judges 8:1-3), and he chased the Midianites deep into the Transjordan area. Gideon also eventually punished the leaders of Succoth and Penuel, who refused to help him (Judges 8:4-9,13-16).
Gideon’s glorious victory caused the Israelites to be very interested in having a king. The men of Israel wanted to establish Gideon’s family as the royal dynasty (Judges 8:22). Gideon refused to become king. Instead, he wrongly set up an ephod, which was a garment made from the gold they had taken in battle (Judges 8:23-27). The ephod was probably used for religious practices and for trying to tell the future (see Judges 17:5).
Gideon’s era eventually came to an end. He was God’s instrument, and he helped Israel have rest for forty years. He fathered seventy sons and died in old age. God had richly blessed him, even though he had led Israel astray with his ephod. After Gideon died, Israel foolishly returned to worshiping Baal (Judges 8:33-35).
After Gideon’s era, his son Abimelech attempted to become king of Israel by naming himself king in Shechem (Judges 9:1-6). With the support of his relatives in Shechem, Abimelech had all of his brothers killed except Jotham (Judges 9:4-5). After Abimelech’s coronation, Jotham voiced his opposition to his brother and went into hiding (Judges 9:7-20). Three years later, Abimelech’s evil schemes entrapped him when the citizens of Shechem rebelled against him. He furiously attacked the city and destroyed it. A short time later, however, he was wounded at Thebez when a woman dropped a millstone on top of him from a tower. Abimilech asked his servant to kill him and the servant did so. This episode in Israel’s history shows how bad an evil king could be. Again, God’s justice prevailed.
Tola (Judges 10:1-2)
Tola was a minor judge from Issachar who judged Israel for twenty-three years.
Jair (Judges 10:3-5)
Jair was a minor judge from Gilead who judged Israel for twenty-two years.
Jephthah (Judges 10:6-12:7)
When the Israelites were being attacked by the Ammonites, the elders of Gilead asked for help from Jephthah (Judges 10:17-11:8). Jepthah promised to help them if he would remain as their leader even after the war was over (Judges 10:9-10). At a solemn ceremony he became their “head” at Mizpah (Judges 10:11). After this ceremony, Jephthah began corresponding with the king of the Ammonites. In this correspondence, Jephthah argued for Israel’s rights based on the fact that God had given the land to them (Judges 10:12-27). Instead of going out immediately to war, Jepthah hoped that “the L ORD, who is judge” would settle the dispute (Judges 10:27). However, the Ammonite king was not impressed with Jepthah’s argument. When the Spirit of God came over him, Jephthah led Israel into battle, but only after making a rash vow to God. He was victorious but found out that his vow-to sacrifice to God the first thing he saw when he returned home-required him to sacrifice his daughter.
The Ephraimites seemed to have had a great desire for war. Earlier they had taunted Gideon, who had successfully avoided their threats (Judges 8:1-3). However, Jepthah fought them because the Israelites living in the Transjordan area were known as renegades (Judges 12:1-4). In this war, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed. After this war, Jepthah ruled for only six years.
Ibzan (Judges 12:8-10)
Ibzan was a minor judge from Bethlehem who ruled Israel for seven years.
Elon (Judges 12:11)
Elon was a minor judge from Zebulun. He ruled Israel for ten years.
Abdon (Judges 12:13-15)
Abdon was a minor judge from Pirathon, the location of which is uncertain. He ruled for eight years.
Samson (Judges 13:1-16:31)
Samson holds a place of honor in Israel’s history because of his miraculous birth (Judges 13:1-24) and his service as a Nazirite (Judges 13:7). Samson was repeatedly overcome by the Spirit of the Lord (Judges 13:25; Judges 14:6; Judges 15:14), and he single-handedly defeated the Philistines on numerous occasions by depending on God’s help (Judges 14:19; Judges 15:1-6; Judges 15:7-17; Judges 16:1-3). However, his personal life was flawed because of his weakness for Philistine women (Judges 14:1; Judges 16:1, 4). After Delilah seduced him, he was put in prison at Gaza. He died when the temple to the idol, Dagon, collapsed when Samson knocked it down (Judges 16:28-30). He was buried in his father’s tomb in the territory of Dan (Judges 16:31).
Where?
Where can we find the stories about the judges? In the Bible, the book of Judges tells all of the stories about all of the judges in Israel.
What?
What was a judge? A judge was a leader who led the nation of Israel. He or she helped the people settle disputes and often led the people in war.
Who?
Who were the major judges in Israel? Israel had many judges throughout its history. The major judges were Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jepthah, and Samson.
When?
When did the judges lead Israel? The judges led Israel after the Israelites moved into the Promised Land and before God gave the Israelites a king to rule them.
Why?
Why did God continue to send judges to lead the Israelites? Even though they were very disobedient, God never stopped loving the Israelites. He sent the judges to remind the Israelites that he was a merciful God.
Amalekites
Ammonites
Arameans
Asherah
Baal
Conquest and Allotment of the Land
Ephod
Ephraim
Hazor
Jericho
Moabites
Mount Tabor
Nazirite
Penuel
Philistines
Song of Deborah
Succoth
Abimelech
Caleb
Delilah
Eglon
Gideon
Jabin
Jael
Jotham
Othniel
Samson
Shamgar
Sisera
YES, BUT . . .
God raised up judges to lead his people against various foes. Gideon routed the Midianites with just 300 men—and an impressive sound-and-light show. Samson used his hair-raising strength to fight the Philistines.
Yes, but . . . most of the judges also had fatal flaws. Samson, of course, gave up his secret to Delilah—which was shear disaster. Jephthah made a stupid vow. Even Gideon got sidetracked into pride and idolatry.
The lesson for us is that even great leaders can fall into sin. In fact, leadership may bring extra temptation. We need to hold leaders accountable and continue to nurture them spiritually.