KennethBow's Blog

7.1-8 quantity verses quality. Ps 33.16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. The concept of dismissing those who are fearful is Biblical. Dt 20.8 sets this precedent. Fear is infectious. Fear causes you to look at the enemy rather than looking at God. Fear can cause the faith of others to waiver. 22,000 go home because they are infected with fear. The next selection process involved practical wisdom to be alert to battle conditions, this eliminated another 10,000. Gideon is left with 300 men to rout 135,000. The world has never seen a stranger mobilization policy. Gideon would use surprise and confusion as tactics of war. This was a divinely inspired plan from God. Other times God gave unusual directives and the war was won by atypical methods (2 Chr 20.22-23).

7.9-15 the barley loaf. God gives Gideon reassurance in the form of a dream of the enemy. It involves the barley loaf which is the most common kind of bread. The symbolism of this common, inexpensive loaf destroying a tent registered with Gideon and ignited his faith. Gideon saw this as a symbol of his weakness and an auspice of victory. The enemy in the tent confirmed this in Gideon’s hearing giving Gideon even more confirmation.

7.16-18 the plan. We must wonder what the soldiers with Gideon thought when he revealed his battle plan. The three columns of men surround the enemy camp and follow the lead of Gideon. They shout the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. They have no physical sword, yet they shout they do. They include Gideon with the shout, for God uses men to do His bidding. God partners with the weak and base things of the world to show His glory. This divine plan worked to perfection. The sword of Midian became the sword of the Lord to execute victory.

7.19-25 Ephraim. The battle was successful, and the enemy was routed. Now the narrative turns to the mopping up phase of the campaign. Gideon counted on the Ephraimites to cut off the remnants that were escaping. This also was successful and two kings of Midian are slain.

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6.1-2 Midian. The nation know as Midian was a descendant of Abraham and Keturah. This people had been sent away to the east so Issac would have the land without strife. Joseph was sold by merchants from Midian. Moses fled to the land of Midian and married Zipporah. Midian joined Moab and Ammon to impede the progress of Israel to the promised land. Midianites were known as traders and usually associated with the Ishmaelites.

6.3-10 Midian came to destroy the crops of Israel. There is no indication if there was warfare as well. The Midianites did not steal the crops, they simply destroyed them to starve Israel.

6.11-27 Gideon (central region) This is one of the best known characters of the scriptures. The script provides plot, counter plot and entertainment. Israel had been impoverished for 7 years. An angel appears to Gideon and deems him a mighty man of valour. The reposte here is classic God verses man. This ageless dialog has been argued for millenniums. God always patiently wades through men’s objections and denials. Gideon takes this classic dialog one step further and requires proof. God could easily have jettisoned Gideon at this point and chose another, but as He has with many others, God is patient with man’s unbelief. Gideon is put to the test of obedience. He is told to destroy his father’s altar built to Baal. Out of fear, Gideon prefers to do the deed under cover of darkness. He repeats this tendency to operate under the cover of darkness when he fights the army of Midian.

6.28-35 By destroying the altar of Baal, the men fear the loss of what few crops are left that have not been destroyed by Midian. Baal was the weather God and they needed rain. When Gideon is charged he faces being executed. This is no small crime for their families were starving. Gideon’s father defends his son and challenges them to let the God Baal defend himself. They bestow upon Gideon the name of Jerbubaal, which means Baal will contend. Midian and Amalek gather in the valley of Jezreel to rape the country of Israel once again. The stage is being set for one of the most dramatic events in the Bible.

6.36-40 the fleece. This is also one of the most well known moments of the Bible. People today still call a test they place before God a fleece, meaning they want God to confirm which direction they should go, or what decision is the one God wants. Gideon is unique in that he places the test and then after God answers, he reverses the test and asks again. The patience of God is amazing, God shows no recrimination toward Gideon.

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5.1-3 The Song of Deborah. This chapter is a poetic song of the battle in chapter 4. The avenging of Israel is a Hebrew phrase that is difficult to translate. It is about people who volunteer and willingly and spontaneously give of themselves freely.

5.4-10 Deborah sings to Kings to announce the greatness of the victory, and also serve notice this victory was of God. She recounts the event leading up to the great victory during the days of Shamgar and Jael. To all who ride on white asses (royalty), be advised God fights for Israel.

5.11-13 awake. This admonition repeated twice for emphasis means to open the eyes. Israel had been spiritually asleep and the prophetess calls for a national awakening. This is one of the prominent roles of all prophets in the Bible. To awaken those who have fallen asleep. Then the call is to arise. The call to act follows the call to awake. To awake and not act is pointless. This is echoed in the New Testament in relation to faith. James declares faith without works is dead. Faith in Jesus Christ is just an awakening. Obeying the New Testament plan of salvation is action. This principal is always true in God’s economy and is illustrated many times by Jesus and the Apostles. Our actions do not save us but our faith is of no effect unless we act.

5.14-18 the accolades of the battles are now bestowed upon the tribes who fought. One trait of God is He never forgets to reward His servants. Deborah also chides the tribes who looked on without coming to aid in the battle. The prophet’s role is to reward and to admonish.

5.19-24 the kings. All the advantages of the heathen kings were nullified by God. God took away their advantages. Isaiah would say seven centuries later that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. The strength of the Canaanite’s army became their arrearage.

5.25-27 The song adds a detail that the report of battle leaves out. Jael cut off Sisera’s head after she drove the tent stake through his head. This practice was not unusual in the Bible: example David and Goliath.

5.28-31 With a nod of the head to the mother of Sisera as one woman to another, Deborah stays true to her purpose as a prophetess. This type of song would be common among the cultures of this era of time. Many countries have such odes to commemorate epic victories. The difference here is, God chose to have this song entered into the eternal record. While other ballads will fade in the morning glory of the dawn of eternity, The Song of Deborah shall ever be sung throughout the ages, a tribute to God and to those who willingly gave themselves.

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4.1-9 Deborah(the northern region). We are now privy to know the office of a judge was more than military leadership. This is the third period of oppression and occurs in the 13th century BC. This is an important military victory because the Canaanite forces under the leadership of Sisera were superior. Sisera had 900 chariots of iron. This was a strategic battle for the control of central and Northern Palestine. After being oppressed for 20 years, Israel was experiencing longer and longer periods of foreign rule. Deborah was one of four women in the Old Testament identified as a prophetess. She is the only female Judge. Critics of the era of the Bible assert the Bible is unfair to women. This is a prime example of women holding key positions of power. She is joined by Jael, another woman, in this crucial victory. Chapter four gives the account of the battle and the details, while chapter 5 gives the song of victory. Barak’s part in the battle is not to be over looked, for he is mentioned in the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.32.

4.10-24 the call of Zebulun and Naphtali. Before the battle is concluded men from six tribes will participate. Naphtali, Zebulun, Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh, and Issachar all participate. The directing of the battle given by Deborah in this critical encounter places her in the most favorable light of all of the judges. She is called a mother in Israel. The faith of Barak is fanned into flame by the spirit of this great woman. From the flat land tops of Tabor, Deborah and Barak watched the troops of Sisera assemble on the slopes of Carmel. It is at that moment that Deborah summons Barak to arise. She proclaims, “up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand”. The Lord had already began his approach to battle with Sisera, Barak had only to follow in the wake of divine power. The book of Judges has now covered battles in the east under Ehud, in the west under Shamgar, and now the north and central under Deborah and Barak.

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3.1-2 nations. The nations left unconquered in the promised land became a training module for Israel to learn the art of war. God uses bad and disappointing situations to create good things in our lives. All things work together for good (Rom 8.28). Not everything that happens to us is good, but God can bring something good from the worst of events.

3.3-6 early failure. The fruit of every man doing what he felt was right continues to bear immediate and disastrous fruit. Israel began to serve the Gods of the land they were attempting to conquer and began to intermarry their children with the children of these heathen nations. Moses had warned of this in Ex 34 and again in Dt 7. 

3.7-11 Othniel. The son-in-law to Caleb was the first freedom fighter to rise up and war against the encroaching false religions. He witnessed this chosen nation forsake God and turn to Baal and the groves. Othniel bore the anger of God for eight years. Finally, the people cried unto God and God responded with deliverance. The land had rest forty years. Is there a significance of the forty years? This is the same length of time spent in the wilderness. Othniel was selected by God to be the first Judge, he was not selected by popular acclaim. God chose each of the 13 liberators Himself. There is no instance of choice by popularity or even ability. It was a sovereign choice by God.

3.12-30 Ehud. Israel does evil again. What a pregnant little word, again is. The Hebrew word is yasaph and means to continue. The 40 years in the desert did not cure them and neither did the 40 years under Othniel. The spotlight moves to Ehud whom the scripture points out is left handed. This innocuous point would not have meaning if it only meant his left hand was his dominant hand. There is cause to believe his right hand was not functional either from birth or injury. Early on God wants to illustrate He uses the weak things of the world to confound the wise. The children of Israel had now been under abuse from Moab for 18 years. Ehud uses a dagger that specifically had two edges so to cut in both directions, thereby off setting the loss of the right hand. Ehud brings a present, a gift, a tribute offering to Eglon, the wicked King of Moab. Ehud knew that Eglon was a fat man and it would take a long dagger to reach Eglon’s vital and kill him, so Ehud made his dagger a cubits length (18 inches). It appears Ehud sent the people home and when he reached the quarries where the stone idols were hewed, he reversed his course and returned to the mission he had planned. Eglon is in a summer parlor, which is a second story room or a roof top used to view his domain. As they stand admiring the view and the countryside, Ehud does a cross draw with his left hand. His right side would never be suspected because of his faulty right hand. As the blade slides easily into his hand Ehud thrusts it all the way in to the haft of the home made dagger. Ehud knows he has pierced the vitals because the dirt (entrails) come out. Ehud leaves quietly and locks the door and the servants assume Eglon is sleeping. Ehud literally single handedly brings down what an army would have struggled to achieve. Ehud blows the trumpet and the call to war is answered. 10,000 men of Moab are slain and Moab is subdued. This time the Lord gives the land 80 years of rest to prove to Israel their sinful nature will not die. The desire to do what their own heart wants may lay dormant for years, but eventually it asserts itself again.

3.31 Shamgar. Nineteen verses are devoted to Ehud. One verse to Shamgar. Shamgar slew six hundred men with an ox goad and delivered Israel. What is the cause of such brevity here? Why such detail about Ehud and such economy toward Shamgar? Added to his conciseness in mention is also the fact he is not called a judge. More importantly there is no mention of a time element as a result of this deliverance. Even more telling is that the narrative dates the next time stamp as the death of Ehud without a mention of Shamgar. The most appealing answer is that Ehud was in the Eastern part of Israel, while Shamgar was in the Western sector. This would infer Shamgar’s years were included either in the 80 years of Ehud or the years of Deborah and Barak. The Hebrew word achar for after can also mean, beside. This lends toward the time of Shamgar being concurrent with Ehud.

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2.1-5 God tries. God always tries. He tries to gently push man in the right direction. The issues from the garden of Eden prevail, and self will asserts itself repeatedly. God sends an angel to rebuke and instruct. The journey of the angel reflects their journey also. Gilgal was such an important moment in their history. It was there that  their curse of the wilderness was rolled away. The signal from God is return to your commitments to follow me. They are reminded to cast out the inhabitants of the land and destroy their altars. Upon hearing the angel, the people wept, and named the place Bochim (weepers).

2.6-10 death of Joshua. The key to Joshua’s greatness is seen in the appellation “the servant of the Lord”. If Joshua had lived longer, the entire rubric of this narrative would be different. As it is, the God directed conduct of the nation lasted one more generation. The seed of self rule had now grown into a full blown tree and the fruit was terminal.

2.11-15 Baal. Their religion quickly becomes a travesty in the eyes of God. They turn to Baal. Baal was the chief deity of Canaan. He was a storm God that also bequeathed fertility. It is a sad epitaph on Israel that she so quickly adopted this worship and continued for so long. The Old Testament is replete with warnings against worshipping other Gods. Israel quickly falls into this rut and stays there for a thousand years.

2.16-23 Judges. This passage succinctly explains the Judges. It is a roller coaster ride for 450 years. Every corner and part of the nation is affected. No region on the compass holds true to God. The book now begins to document region by region what happens when men do that what is right in their own eyes. This is the most graphic display in the history of mankind of the need of God. Man at his best is still at his lowest without God. The interludes of God raised, and God anointed, freedom fighters to throw off the yoke of oppression, is stark, poignant and powerful. During the life of the judge, Israel thrived and conquered. At the death of the judge, the baseness of man bubbled to the top again and the cycle repeats. Each cycle seemed to take the populace a little lower. God decides to leave the opposing inhabitants of the land and use them to prove Israel. This proving was not for God for he knows the end from the beginning. This proving was for Israel to look into the mirror and see what happens when man is left to do what he thinks is right. Man without God is the most ugly sight of all. The next 19 chapters show that image in all it’s horror and shame. It is an image of repeated immorality, spiritual apostasy, and unmitigated failure.

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1.1-4 The book of Judges continues from the book of Joshua. New issues were created by the death of Joshua. Since the Exodus, Israel had only had two leaders, Moses and Joshua. Now they were facing immense challenges without the leadership that had brought them this far. The people inquire of the Lord who to send up and God does not name a man, but rather a tribe. The ad infinitum mind of God transitions to the moment where the tribes replace the individual leader overseeing the new nation. This moment is critical. As with so many transitions in the Bible and in world history, there are no trumpets sounding. There are no announcements. It simply unfolds like a blooming rose in a garden. A golden age can never be pinpointed as to when it began, but can always be assessed when it begins it’s decline. The next 450 years are transitioned almost without notice except for this brief notice at the opening of this book. Leadership is passed from an individual to a tribal responsibility. This ushers in the era of every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. In the greater picture of God’s plan for man on planet earth, this is significant. When the final judgment of man occurs at the end of time, God will have proven through all these eras He is just in His pronounced judgments. Judah and Simeon join forces to augment their strength. Here is the first tremor of this concept of every man doing what he thinks is right. God said Judah, God did not say Judah and Simeon. The slide has begun and will continue for 450 years.

1.5-8 Adonibezek. Here we see the concept of lex talionis, proportionate retribution. This is also called poetic justice. This wicked King has the same thing done to him that he has done to others. David proclaimed this principle in 2 Sam 22.27. With the froward God shows himself froward. God answers our lives by how we dispense to others. Jesus continues this theme in His sermon on the mount, with what judgment you judge, ye shall be judged (Mt 7.1).

1.9-15 The city of Debir had been taken in an earlier campaign (Joshua 10.38). This was evidently a recapture. This was done by Caleb’s nephew and son-in-law, Othniel. Othniel becomes the first Judge. We see here the flexibility of the inheritance with Caleb’s daughter Achsah. Caleb concedes her request for the land and the upper springs.

1.16-26 Judah’s war. The list of conquered cities is , Zephath, Gaza, Ekron. By contrast Benjamin and Joseph are not successful in their wars. The inhabitants of the land had chariots of iron and this proves to be a hindrance in conquering the land. God helped them at times as the story of the conquest of Bethel illustrates.

1.27-36 the failure. Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan all failed to complete their conquests. The majority of these tribes allowed their adversaries to live among them as tributaries. Even though there may have been circumstances that made total conquest difficult, the scriptures state this is a spiritual failure. The next chapter makes it abundantly clear God is not pleased. The period of time when man did what was right in his own eyes is already bearing the fruits of failure.

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The book of Judges opens to us one of the darkest times of man’s history. The people of God should have been celebrating victories and conquering a new land. Judges opens the window into the heart of mankind, and the picture is not pretty.

Seven times in the book the statement is made “every man did that which was right in his own eyes”. The result of that environment was catastrophic. It further emphasis that there was no King in those days. So every man was left to follow his own decisions.

This period of time lasted 450 years. This period of time was as long as the entire duration of the monarchy. Because there is one book of Judges, and six books of the Kings (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles), it is natural to feel like the Kings were a longer period of time. Both of these time periods were 450 years. Why?

God gave man 450 years to reveal what happens when man does that which is right in his own eyes. The result of that time period is so abhorrent and tragic, we scarce can comprehend it. The last five chapters of Judges are as bad and ugly as any period of history, any place on the globe. From this experiment and experience we can truly agree with God that it is not in man to direct his steps.

It might help to think of these Judges as freedom fighters. These judges were not perfect people, in fact some of them were badly flawed. They used methods that seemed unfair and even dishonest. The word Judge to us today speaks of courtrooms and juries. These men, (and one woman), were liberators, fighters, leaders of armies. They are renowned for their military campaigns. The following is a list of Judges and their term of time.

 Judge and who their enemy was:

Othniel/40 years Mesopotamia

Ehud/80 years Moab, Amon, Amalek

Deborah, Barak/40 years Caanan

Gideon/40 years Midian

Abimelech/3 years  

Toah/23 years

Jair/22 years

Jeptha/6 years Ammon

Ibzaim/7 years

Elon/10 years

Samson/20 years Philistines

Eli/40 years Philistines

Samuel/20 years Philistines

There were 111 years of oppression and 339 years of peace for a total of 450 years of the reign of the Judges. This is the same amount of years for the Kings. There was 120 years of the United Kingdom, 200 years of a divided Kingdom with Israel and Judah side by side, and an additional 135 years of Judah.

The conclusion is this, God gave man 450 years of man doing what he thought was right on his own. Then he gave man 450 years where a king ruled over his life. Both time periods ended in failure. Opening the door for the prophets and God’s voice being the law of man and earth. The only successful government has proved to be when God himself rules over the affairs of men.

In the first 16 chapters of Judges, it is all about God’s people being attacked from without. The enemy is from the outside. Then the last five chapters are the result when Israel turns upon herself and begins to carnage herself. The result is one of the most terrible times in all of history. Before it is over Israel will have killed more of her own that any of her attackers from the outside. If fact, she will have killed more of her own that all of the outside attacks combined over the entire 450 year period.

 What a statement God leaves on the pages of the Bible about what happens when we forget who our real enemy is and begin to war on our brothers.

In the last five chapters, it begins with the introduction of Idolatry into Israel with the story of Micah and his graven images. The stage is set for idolatry and it takes a thousand years and a dispersion (Israel), and a captivity (Judah), to finally purge Israel of Idolatry.

The story moves on to the tribe of Dan. This tribe is not satisfied with their inheritance so they look for new territory. They journey east, then north, a total of about 144 miles to conquer Laish. They rename the city “Dan”(hence the term from Dan to Beersheba). This is not the inheritance God assigned to the tribe of Dan. This story lets us see the terrible result of what happens when you are not satisfied with your inheritance. The tribe of Dan is forever removed from the pages of the Bible. The only mention I find is one descendant worked on Solomon’s temple. Dan is never mentioned again, never included anymore in the list of the tribes all the way to the book of Revelation.  

What more would anyone need to illustrate the danger of not being satisfied with our inheritance?

The book of Judges then moves on to the story of the concubine. The woman was abused and finally dies. Her master cuts her into twelve pieces and sends a piece of the evidence to each tribe. The nation goes to war and the result is horrific. Israel loses 65,000 men in the final chapters of Judges, all because they had a piece of the evidence. The tribe of Benjamin is reduced to 400 men and almost obliterated. I believe they would have been wiped out if not for a future son of Benjamin that would literally change the world, Saul of Tarsus. God preserved the tribe for Israel’s first king, and Christianity’s first missionary.

The moral of the story is again so stark. It is so dangerous to go to war over a piece of the evidence.  

Was all lost for humanity? Not at all. God in his infinite wisdom was letting man work through the slow process of human government to help man self discover for himself his need of God.

All was not lost, for even in this morass, at the bulls eye center of the greatest carnage were faithful people who held on to God. That is why Boaz steps onto the stage in the book of Ruth. There was in the days of the Judges, Ruth 1.1

Boaz’s home was a short distance from the epicenter of the great battle and carnage of the final chapters of Judges. Boaz’s life in the book of Ruth proves there are always people who remain true to God, even in the times of apostasy. 

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9.1-10 the destruction of Israel. This is the final vision of Amos’ prophecy recorded. It is assumed he returns to the south and lives out his life having delivered the coup de grace to a proud, defiant, unrepentant nation. Who can know his inner thoughts? Was he empty? Did he feel he accomplished his task? As with so many of the servants of God we have no insight to their inner feelings. We cannot know if he felt fulfilled or frustrated. Was he delighted or defeated? We cannot know. He sees the final vision here. He sees the Lord standing upon the altar.This is God’s altar and He has come to claim ownership. God himself steps up on the altar and begins to dismantle the ugly pseudo-religion the nation has created. God announces there is no place to hide. From the depth of hell to the top of Carmel the searching eye of God will find them. Neither the depth of the sea or captivity in a foreign nation will provide sanctuary from God. Standing on the altar God proclaims his power and authority in heaven, in earth and in the seas. God sternly tells this backslid nation they are like Ethiopians to Him.God himself brought them into existence and He will take them out of existence as well. The heavenly sifting has begun. It is time for Amos to put down his writing instrument and go back to picking sycamore fruit. As the words die from Amos’ lips, the sinners die from Samaria.

9.11-15 the restoration. The rising of the sun every day mirrors God’s mercy and grace. The sunset of God’s mercy is yet to be viewed again in the sunrise of a future remnant. From these very ruins God will build the Tabernacle of David. James confirms this is the New Testament church, in the book of Acts when the counsel gathers to discuss the inclusion of Gentiles into the church. James has the spiritual sight to see through the smoke and haze of Israel’s failure and see the Lord standing on that altar centuries before. At that momentous event in Acts chapter 15, James proclaims God has built again the Tabernacle of David. As dying leaves and humus give the earth the nutrients for new growth, so the death of the Northern Kingdom gave birth to the church. The church possesses the remnant of Edom and all the heathen which are called by the name of the Lord. The plowman over takes the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed. The captivity of Israel is restored, cities are rebuilt, vineyards are planted, and gardens flourish. God closes this prophetical refrain by proclaiming He will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up. As the fading sunlight descends and Amos sees its final rays, with one final backward glance, he knows the sun will yet rise again. It shall rise in the glorious light of the Gospel and the whole earth shall be filled with it’s glory.

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8.1-14 the summerfruit. In no other vision is the transparency of Amos seen like in this vision. This is purely the mind of a country boy frustrated by not being able to make these socialites see what is coming down the pike. Flailing desperately to make them understand, he grabs what should be the most simple illustration anyone could ask for. He shows them a basket of summer fruit. The fruit is over ripe. To his simple rustic mind even the most stubborn prejudiced mind could easily see the analogy. The basket of fruit represents this nation who is well past judgment. Decay is so obvious it smells. The fruit is soft and rotting. Amos patiently begins to explain. The temple will be filled with howling. There will be no deliverance there. Their crops will not buy them deliverance. Their injustice to the poor has finally rotted their mercy from God. Judgment will come as a flood. Their feasts will be turned into mourning, their songs into sad laments, poverty will overcome them, famine and drought are coming. The populace will be turned out to wander the world and never find God again. The funeral dirge of Samaria is being written and is about to be sung. The nation began by Jeroboam 200 years ago is now reduced to a basket of rotting fruit. No one in the world will ever desire to partake of this fruit again. 

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