Front matter (continued, part 38)
According to Mosaic law, the family was to avenge crimes like this by killing those responsible for the murder. There was no police system in the land, and each family was expected to track down and punish those who had murdered their relatives, provided the culprit was guilty (see Num. 35:9–34). In the case of Zebah and Zalmunna, the culprits were not only murderers but also enemies of Israel.
The two kings were shrewd in the way they answered Gideon, flattering him by comparing him and his brothers to princes. Someone has said that flattery is a good thing to taste but a bad thing to swallow, and Gideon didn't swallow it. How could he spare these two evil men who had taken food from the mouths of Jewish women and children and had brutally killed Jewish men?
Moses warned that Israel would one day want a king like the other nations and forget that they were a unique nation, unlike the Gentiles (Deut. 4:5–8; 14:2; 17:14–20; Ex. 19:4–5) What other nation had the Creator, the Lord of heaven and earth, as their king?
What Gideon said was commendable, but what he did later on was very puzzling. After rejecting the throne, he lived like a king! Judges 8:29–32 describes the lifestyle of a monarch, not that of a judge or a retired army officer. Gideon was quite wealthy, partly from the spoils of battle and partly from the gifts of the people, and he had many wives and at least one concubine. His wives bore him seventy sons, his concubine bore him one. In fact, he named the son of the concubine Abimelech, which means "my father is a king," and this son later tried to live up to his name and become ruler over all the land. Gideon also seems to have assumed priestly duties for he made his own ephod and probably consulted it on behalf of the people.
In those days, how a soldier died was important to his reputation. Abimelech didn't want to die at the hand of a woman (9:53–54), and King Saul didn't want to fall into the hands of the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:1–6). For a child to kill a king would be the ultimate in humiliation thus Gideon told his young son Jether to execute the two criminals. By doing so, Jether would not only uphold the law of the land and humiliate the two kings, but he would also bring honor to himself. For the rest of his life, he would be known as the boy who executed Zebah and Zalmunna.
But the lad wasn't ready for either the responsibility or the honor. Even when people are guilty, enforcing justice in the land is a serious thing and must not be put into the hands of children. Because of his fear, Jether hesitated in avenging the murders of his uncles, so the two kings told Gideon to do it.
Nobody would deny that this courageous soldierjudge deserved honor and rewards, but his "retirement plan" seemed a bit extravagant.
Gideon requests gold (vv. 24–28). The people were only too eager to share their spoils with Gideon. After all, he had brought peace to the land (v. 28)6 and had refused to become their king. Therefore, it was only right that he receive something for his labors. The Midianites wore gold crescents, either on the ear or the nose (Gen. 24:47), and the Israelite soldiers would have quickly taken these valuable items as they gathered the spoils. Gideon ended up with over forty pounds of gold, plus the wealth he took from Zebah and Zalmunna. No wonder he was able to live like a king!
There seems to be a bit of sarcasm in their words, which may be paraphrased, "You kill us, Gideon. Let's see what kind of a man you are—or are you also just a child?" Zebah and Zalmunna didn't want the inexperienced Jether to execute them because he would have muddled the whole thing and made their deaths much more painful. The kings deliberately aroused Gideon's anger, knowing that he was a good swordsman and would dispatch them quickly, and that's exactly what he did.
A puzzling reply for his friends (8:22–32) The narrative focuses on two requests, one from the people to Gideon and the other from Gideon to the people.
At this point the man of faith led the people into idolatry, for Gideon made an ephod, and the people "played the harlot" with it (v. 27 nkjv). This meant
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shipped with Melchizedek, King of Salem, a type of our Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 7—8); and in all that he said and did, Abraham gave glory to the Lord of heaven and earth.
that they stopped giving their true devotion to the Lord and used the ephod for an idol. In Scripture, idolatry is looked upon as prostitution (Isa. 50:1–3; 54:6–8; Jer. 2:1–3; 3:1ff.; Hos. 2; James 4:4; Rev. 2:4). Gideon may have made the ephod as a representation of Jehovah, to "help the people" in their worship, but a good motive can never compensate for a bad action. He knew it was wrong to make an idol (Ex. 20:4–6).
Andrew Bonar was right: "Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle." After all, there may still be some land mines scattered around!
Notes 1 Manasseh and Ephraim were both sons of Joseph and grandsons of Jacob. Manasseh was the firstborn, but Jacob reversed their birth order when he blessed them (Gen. 41:50–52; 48:1ff.). In fact, he "adopted" the two sons as replacements for Reuben and Simeon (Gen. 48:5; 49:4), and this gave Ephraim prominence in Israel. 2 Ephraim's pride later created problems for Jephthah (Judg. 12:1–6), whose response wasn't as conciliatory as Gideon's! 3 Some expositors think that Gideon made the men lie down naked on the ground, covered them with thorny branches and then drove a threshing sledge over them until they died. This seems a brutal way for him to treat his own brethren, no matter how meanly they had treated him and his men, but it's stated clearly that Gideon killed the rebels in Peniel who had treated him the same way. We must remember, however, that these were cruel times and "every man was doing that which was right in his own eyes." 4 See Ps. 47; 68:24; 74:12; 89:18; 98:6; 145:1; Isa. 6:5; 33:22; 44:6. In their song of praise after passing through the Red Sea at the exodus, Israel acknowledged Jehovah's kingship when they sang, "The Lord shall reign forever and ever" (Ex. 15:18). 5 Remember that one of the key themes in the book of Judges is that there was "no king in Israel" at that time (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The writer seems to want to emphasize the need for a king to correct the political division and spiritual decay of the nation. Later, the people asked Samuel for a king (1 Sam. 8), and God told him to grant their request. Everything Moses and Samuel warned them about their kings did to them, but fallen human nature would rather have visible human leaders instead of the invisible, immortal God of heaven and earth. 6 This is the last time you will find a period of peace mentioned in the book of Judges. The remaining judges mainly ruled locally, and most of them had short tenures.
Whether this ephod was an embellished version of the garment used by the high priest (28:6), or some kind of standing idol (see Judg. 17:5; 18:14, 17), we can't tell, but it was used in worship and became a snare to Gideon and the people (Ps. 106:36). Perhaps Gideon used it to determine the will of God and help the people with their problems. If the ephod was indeed a copy of the high priest's garment, then Gideon was definitely out of God's will in duplicating it and using it, because Gideon wasn't a priest. If it was a standing idol, Gideon was disobeying God's law (Ex. 20:4–6) and corrupting the people as well. It was just a short step from worshipping the ephod to worshipping Baal (Judg. 8:33).
Gideon missed a great opportunity to bring reformation and perhaps revival to the land. He had torn down his father's idols, but there were many households in Israel that were still devoted to Baal, and those idols needed to be destroyed as well. The great victory over Midian gave Gideon good reason to call the nation back to the Lord and obedience to His law. But instead of using the occasion for God's glory, he used it for his own profit, and the nation eventually lapsed into sin once again.
With his vast wealth and his great national reputation, Gideon probably thought that his children were well provided for, but just the opposite proved true. Sixty-nine of his seventy sons were killed by their halfbrother who himself was slain by a woman dropping a stone on his head. There is no security apart from the will of God. Had Gideon practiced Matthew 6:33, subsequent events might have been radically different.
What caused Gideon's spiritual decline? I think it was pride. Before the battle against Midian, Gideon humbly depended on the Lord. During the "mopping up" operations, however, he became authoritative and even vindictive. When he refused the kingship, he sounded pious ("the Lord shall rule over you"), but I have a suspicion that he had a hidden agenda in his heart. You don't find Gideon honoring the Lord or calling the people together to make a new covenant to obey the Lord. Gideon started out as a servant, but now he was an important celebrity. The result was decline for him, his family, and his nation.
CHAPTER SEVEN Judges 9 MY KINGDOM COME W
D.Abimelech—9
hen George Washington's army defeated the British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, the end of the Revolutionary War began. Winning the war didn't automatically end the problems that the colonies faced. Things became so bad economically that one of George Washington's colonels wrote Washington a secret letter, urging him to use his army to make himself king or dictator. To the colonel, this was the only way to get the affairs of the young nation under control. Washington
It's interesting and instructive to contrast Abraham and Gideon in the decisions they made after their respective victories (Gen. 14). Abraham took nothing for himself but made sure that others received their share of the spoils (Gen. 14:22–24). He especially refused to take anything from the heathen king of Sodom (Gen. 14:17, 21). Instead, Abraham fellow-
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Idolatry (v. 4). "You shall have no other gods before Me" and "You shall not make for yourself any carved image" are the first and second of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:3–4 nkjv), and Abimelech broke them both. It's obvious that he was his own god and that he had no interest in God's will for the nation. His accepting money from the Baal worshippers to finance his crusade was a public announcement that he had renounced the God of Israel and was on the side of Baal.
rejected the plan, but with his popularity and power he probably could have become king if he had so desired.
Abimelech was just the opposite. He had such a passionate desire to be king that he allowed nothing to stand in his way, not even the lives of hundreds of innocent people. This is the longest chapter in the book of Judges and one of the most depressing.1 The chapter records three stages in Abimelech's political career.
Seizing the kingdom (9:1–21) Abimelech was the son of Gideon by a slave woman who lived with her father's family in Shechem (8:30–31; 9:18). His name means "my father is a king." Although Gideon had certainly lived like a king, he had still refused to establish a dynasty in Israel, but Abimelech felt that his father had made a mistake. After his father's death, Abimelech decided that he should be king, thus he moved from Ophrah to Shechem, where he started his campaign. In what he did, Abimelech broke several of God's laws and as a result brought destruction to himself and trouble to the people.2
But Abimelech had another god beside ambition and Baal, and that was might. With the tainted money from the heathen temple, he hired a group of noaccount mercenaries who helped him gain and keep control over the people. These vile terrorists also assisted him in his evil plot to murder his seventy half brothers and remove every rival to the throne.
The Greek philosopher Plato said, "Might is right," and three centuries later, the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, "Might makes right."3 The French novelist Joseph Joubert wrote seventeen centuries later, "Might and right govern everything in the world; might till right is ready." But when might is in the hands of selfish dictators, right rarely has a chance to get ready or to take over. Might seizes control and will hold it unless a stronger power overcomes and brings freedom. The prophet Habakkuk described these people as "guilty men, whose own strength is their god" (Hab. 1:11 niv).
Selfish ambition (vv. 1–2). "You shall not covet" is the last of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:17 nkjv), but breaking it is the first step toward breaking the other nine. Of itself ambition isn't an evil thing, provided it's mixed with genuine humility and is controlled by the will of God. If it's God's wind that lifts you and you're soaring on wings that He's given you, then fly as high as He takes you. But if you manufacture both the wind and the wings, you're heading for a terrible fall.
Murder (v. 5). The sixth commandment, "You shall not murder" (Ex. 20:13 nkjv), was violated scores of times by Abimelech and his mercenaries, beginning in Ophrah with their slaughter of sixty-nine of Abimelech's seventy half brothers. Why didn't somebody stop these murderers and defend Gideon's family? Because the people of Israel had forgotten both the goodness of the Lord and the kindness of Gideon (Judg. 8:33–35). They had neither the conviction to be concerned nor the courage to intervene. It doesn't take long for society to change yesterday's hero into today's scoundrel. What the Irish poet William Butler Yeats described in his famous poem "The Second Coming" was true in the nation of Israel:
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar," said Helen Keller; and her counsel is good, so long as the impulse to soar comes from the Lord. Selfish ambition destroys. "I will ascend into heaven!" turned an angel into the devil (Isa. 14:13 nkjv), and "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built" turned a king into an animal (Dan 4:28–37 nkjv). If we exalt ourselves, God has many ways of bringing us down (Matt. 23:12).
The Jews had been acquainted with the people of Shechem since the days of the patriarchs (Gen. 12:6; 33:18–20, 34:1ff.). Both Jews and Canaanites lived in Shechem during Abimelech's days, which explains why he started his campaign there. His mother was a Shechemite and his father was a Jew. Therefore, if Abimelech became king, he could represent both constituencies!
The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
"Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!" (Hab. 2:12 niv) Revelation 21:8 and 22:15 make it clear that murderers go to hell. Of course, a murderer can call on the Lord and be saved just as any other sinner can, but there's no evidence that Abimelech and his crowd ever repented of their sins. Their feet were "swift to shed blood" (Rom. 3:15; Isa. 59:7), and the blood that they shed eventually came back on their own heads.
Abimelech had another plank in his political platform: The Canaanites in Shechem had no indebtedness to Gideon's sons, while Abimelech was definitely one of their own. Furthermore, which of Gideon's seventy sons should be chosen king and how would he be selected? Or would all seventy try to rule the land together? With this kind of logic, Abimelech enlisted the support of both his relatives and the men of the city, and now he was ready to move into action.
Murder is bad enough, but when brother kills brother, the sin is even more heinous. By murdering his
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Kings 14:8–14), and the parable of the vineyard (Isa. 5:1–7). The prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel contain both standard parables as well as "action" parables (Jer. 13; 18—19; 27—28; Ezek. 4—5; 16; 31; etc.).
half brothers, Abimelech joined the ranks of other men in the Bible who committed fratricide, including Cain (Gen. 4), Absalom (2 Sam. 13:23ff.), and Jehoram (2 Chron. 21:4). Not very nice company.
Jotham pictured the trees looking for a king.5 They approached the olive tree with its valuable oil, the fig tree with its sweet fruit, and the vine with its clusters that could be made into wine, but all of them refused to accept the honor. They would each have to sacrifice something in order to reign, and they weren't prepared to make that sacrifice.
Dishonesty (v. 6). The third commandment says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Ex. 20:7 nkjv), and the ninth commandment forbids us bearing false witness (Ex. 20:16). Abimelech broke both commandments when he was crowned king. If he took an oath of office in the name of the Lord, it was pure blasphemy, and if he promised to protect the people and obey the law, it was further deception. (See Deut. 17:14–20.) No matter what he promised at the coronation, Abimelech had his own agenda and intended to carry it out.
All that remained was the bramble, a thornbush that was a useless nuisance in the land, good only for fuel for the fire. This, of course, was a symbol of Abimelech, the new king. For a thornbush to invite the other trees to trust in its shadow is a laughable proposition indeed! Often in the summer, fires would break out in the bramble bushes, and these fires would spread and threaten the safety of the trees. (See David's use of this image in 2 Sam. 23:6–7, and also Isa. 9:18–19.)
The cynical journalist Ambrose Bierce defined "politics" as "a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles; the conduct of public affairs for private advantage." Certainly history records the names of dedicated men and women who put the good of their country ahead of the good of their party and personal gain, but in the case of Abimelech, Bierce's definition applies perfectly.
Jotham had made his point: Abimelech, the "bramble king," would be unable to protect the people, but he would cause judgment to come that would destroy those who trusted him. The men of Shechem should have been ashamed of the way they rejected the house of Gideon and honored a worthless opportunist like Abimelech. Eventually, both Abimelech and his followers would destroy one another.
Abimelech's "coronation" was a farce, an empty ritual that was never accepted or blessed by the Lord. The new "king" not only blasphemed God by the promises he made, but he defiled a place sacred in Jewish history. The coronation took place at the "great tree at the pillar in Shechem" (Judg. 9:6 niv). This is probably the "oak of Moreh," where the Lord appeared to Abraham and promised to give him and his descendants the land (Gen. 12:6). It was near this site that the nation of Israel heard the blessings and curses read from the law and promised to obey the Lord (Deut. 11:26–32; Josh. 8:30–35). Jacob buried the idols here as he called his family back to God (Gen. 35:1–5), and here Joshua gave his last speech and led the people in reaffirming their obedience to the Lord (Josh. 24:25–26). All of this sacred history was degraded and dishonored by the selfish acts of one godless man.
Abimelech considered himself to be a stately tree of great value, but Jotham said he was nothing but a useless weed. What a blow to the new king's pride! When they chose Abimelech as their king, the men of Shechem didn't get useful olive oil, tasty figs, or cheery wine; they got only thorns—fuel for the fire.
Abimelech was actually trying to wrest the kingdom away from God (Judg. 8:23), and the Lord permitted him to have a measure of success. But God was still on the throne and would see to it that man's selfish purposes would be frustrated.
It's a dangerous thing for us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (Rom. 12:3). We all need to discover the gifts God has given us and then use them in the place where He puts us. Each member in the body of Christ is important (1 Cor. 12:12–31), and we all need one another and to minister to one another. Since there's no competition in the work of the Lord (John 4:34–38; 1 Cor. 3:5–9), there's no need for us to promote ourselves. The important thing is that God receives the glory.
Pride (vv. 7–21). Jotham was the only brother to escape the massacre (v. 5).4 Perhaps the coronation celebrations were still in progress when Jotham interrupted with his parable from Mount Gerizim, which was adjacent to Shechem and the oak of Moreh. It was from Mount Gerizim that the blessings were to be read (Deut. 27:12, 28), but Jotham's story was anything but a blessing. It's worth noting that the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) was to stand on the mount of blessing, but Abimelech certainly hadn't brought any blessing to Gideon's tribe of Manasseh.
Defending the kingdom (9:22–29) After three years of relative success, Abimelech found himself in trouble. It's one thing to acquire a throne and quite something else to defend and retain it. The citizens of Shechem, who had helped crown him king, began to give him trouble, as well as an intruder named Gaal. All of this was from the Lord, who was about to punish both Abimelech and the men of Shechem for the slaughter of Gideon's sons. "Though the mills of
This is the first parable recorded in Scripture. Many people have the idea that Jesus invented parables and that they are found only in the four gospels, but neither is the case. Besides this "parable of the trees," the Old Testament also contains Nathan's "parable of the ewe lamb" (2 Sam. 12:1–4), the parable by the woman of Tekoa (2 Sam. 14:5–20), the parable of the thistle (2
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to run away, Abimelech's men would have chased him and killed him. All he could do was gather his followers and go out to face Abimelech. His army was routed, and he and his cohorts were driven out of the city.
God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small" (Longfellow, Retribution).
The activities of at least three days are described in this section.
Day three—the punishment of Shechem (vv. 42–49). Abimelech had one more score to settle, and that was with the citizens of Shechem who had cursed him (v. 27) and were attacking the caravans and robbing him of both money and reputation. The next morning, when the people of Shechem went out of the city to work in the fields, Abimelech set an ambush, blocked the city gate, and slaughtered the trapped citizens. Thus the Lord avenged the blood of Gideon's sons. Indeed, the fire did "come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon" (v. 15). The phrase "cedars of Lebanon" represents the leading citizens of the city, who had supported Abimelech's rule (v. 20).
Day one—the boasting of Gaal (vv. 25–33). The Lord created a breech between the king and his followers, so much so that the Shechemites started to work against the king. They began to rob the caravans that passed by the city on the nearby trade routes. Abimelech was living at Arumah (v. 41), and the activities of these bandits were robbing him of both money and reputation. The merchants would hear about the danger, take a different trade route, and not have to pay Abimelech whatever tariffs were usually levied upon them. But even more, the word would get out that the new king couldn't control his people and protect area business.
Into this volatile situation stepped a newcomer, Gaal the son of Ebed, a man who knew a good opportunity when he saw it. In a short time, he gained the confidence of the men of Shechem, who were already unhappy with their king, and when a crowd was gathered to celebrate a harvest festival, Gaal openly criticized Abimelech's administration. He reminded the people that their king had a Jewish father, while they were sons of Hamor, not sons of Jacob (Gen. 34). The plank in Abimelech's platform that he thought was the strongest (v. 9) turned out to be his thorn in the flesh.
In order to make sure the city didn't rebel against him again, Abimelech destroyed it and sowed salt over it. The sowing of salt on a conquered city was a symbolic action that condemned the city to desolation so nobody would want to live there. "Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them" (Jer. 48:9 niv; and see Jer. 17:6).
The "tower of Shechem" may have been the same as "the house of Millo" mentioned in Judges 9:6. It was the place where the aristocracy of Shechem lived, although we don't know where it was located with reference to the main city. The people fled from Beth-Millo to the temple of El-Berith ("god of the covenant"; Baal-Berith, v. 4, and see 8:33). Apparently they felt safer in a building devoted to one of their gods, hoping that Abimelech would respect it and leave them alone. But he turned the temple into a furnace and killed all the people in it.
His approach in verse 29 was effective. Gaal was living in Shechem while Abimelech was living in Arumah. The people could tell Gaal their problems, and he could give them the help they needed, but how could they go to Arubah for help? Years later, Absalom would use this same approach and steal the hearts of Israel (2 Sam. 15:1–6). Gaal closed his festival address by saying, "I would say to Abimelech, 'Call out your whole army!'" (Judg. 9:29 niv). It was a challenge that he dared the king to take up.
Losing the kingdom (9:50–57) The shedding of innocent blood is something that God takes very seriously and eventually avenges (Deut. 19:10, 13; 21:9; 1 Kings 2:31; Prov. 6:17; Isa. 59:7; Jer. 7:6; 22:3, 17; Joel 3:19). The year 1990 was a record year for murders in the United States, with 23,438 persons being killed, an average of nearly three an hour all year long. When you add to this the thousands of innocent babies killed in their mother's wombs, it's easy to see that "the land of the free" is stained with innocent blood, and one day we will pay for it.
Abimelech's representative in Shechem was Zebul, who wasted no time getting the information about Gaal to the king. Not only did Zebul share the contents of the speech, but he also gave the king some strategy for dealing with this boastful intruder. Zebul would be working for the king within the city, and the king would gather his troops outside the city.
Day two—the defeat of Gaal (vv. 34–41). Abimelech used some of Gideon's strategy (v. 34), although he didn't have Gideon's faith or the weapons Gideon and his men used. You get the impression that Zebul had convinced Gaal that he was his friend, for Gaal actually believed the lie Zebul told him. As the two men stood by the gate early that morning, Abimelech was setting the trap, and Zebul was going to put in the bait.
Abimelech paid for the murders he committed, and it happened while he was attempting to protect his throne. Since the people in the city of Thebez, about ten miles from Shechem, had apparently joined in the general rebellion against Abimelech, he went there with his army to punish them as well. Like the people from Beth-Millo, the citizens of Thebez fled to their tower; and Abimelech tried to use the same method of attack that he used so successfully at Shechem.
When it was obvious that an army was attacking Shechem, Gaal had to act. In the decisive words of American slang, he had to "put up or shut up." If he hid in the city, he would have lost his following, been disgraced, and eventually caught and killed. If he tried
However, he made the mistake of getting too close to the tower, and a woman dropped an upper millstone
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boys' novels that focused on the "rags-to-riches" theme, and he became one of the most influential American writers of the last half of the nineteenth century. Whether it's Abraham Lincoln going "from log cabin to White House" or Joseph from the prison to the throne of Egypt, the story of the successful "underdog" is one that will always be popular. We like to see losers become winners.
on his head and killed him. Abimelech experienced a triple disgrace: (1) He was killed, but not really in a battle; (2) he was killed by a woman, which was a disgrace to a soldier; and (3) he was killed with a millstone, not a sword. The fact that his armorbearer finished the job with a sword didn't change anything; for centuries later, Abimelech's shameful death was remembered as being accomplished by a woman (2 Sam. 11:21).
The account of Jephthah, the main character in these chapters, is that kind of a story, except that it doesn't end with the hero living "happily ever after." After Jephthah's great victory over the Ammonites and Philistines, he experienced anything but happiness, and the narrative ends on a tragic note. The story can be divided into four scenes.
Abimelech lost his life and lost his kingdom. The curse pronounced by his half-brother Jotham was fulfilled on both Abimelech and the people of Shechem (Judg. 9:20). "Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned" (Ps. 34:21 niv). "The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin" (Prov. 21:12 niv).
Notes 1 If the awful carnage recorded in this chapter upsets you, just be reminded that modern dictators like Idi Amin, Joseph Stalin, and Adolph Hitler have done far worse. Norman Cousins estimated that for every word in Hitler's book Mein Kampf, 125 people died in World War II. 2 We must not think that Abimelech reigned supremely over the entire nation. There wasn't that kind of national solidarity during the days of the judges. It was more like the post-Revolution period in American history when the colonies operated under the Articles of Confederation. Abimelech was in control of Shechem and Bethmillo ("house of Millo," 9:6 kjv), Arumah (v. 41), and Thebez (v. 50), which suggests that he had direct rule over the western part of Manasseh. Judges 9:22 in the kjv implies that Abimelech actually "reigned" and that "all Israel" submitted to him for three years. But "reigned" is too strong a word; "governed" would be better. "All Israel" (at least, those who knew what had happened) had to acknowledge Abimelech as their ruler, but it's doubtful that his influence reached to all of the tribes. 3 In fairness to Plato and Seneca, it should be pointed out that they were not defending political brutality—the end justifies the means—but discussing how to bring about justice in society. "Might is right" and "might makes right" only if we sincerely want to do right. 4 Twice we're told that Abimelech killed seventy men (vv. 18, 56), but if Jotham escaped, only sixty-nine were killed. But this is no more an error than are John 20:24 and 1 Cor. 15:5, both of which call the band of disciples "the Twelve" at a time when there were only eleven apostles. 5 Ezekiel 31 and Daniel 4 both use trees to represent leaders or nations.
A nation in decay (10:1–18) There were three deficiencies in Israel that gave evidence that the nation was decaying spiritually.
Israel's lack of gratitude to the Lord (vv. 1–5). For forty-five years, the people of Israel enjoyed peace and security, thanks to the leadership of Tola and Jair. We know little about these two judges, but the fact that they kept Israel's enemies away for nearly half a century would suggest that they were faithful men, who served the Lord and the nation well. Tola was from the tribe of Issachar, and Jair from the Transjordan tribes, the area known as Gilead.
If Jair had thirty sons, he must have had a plurality of wives and a great deal of wealth. In that day, only wealthy people could afford to provide their children with their own personal donkeys (5:10; 12:9, 14). In addition, each son had a city under his authority. This arrangement looks to us like nepotism, but at least it helped keep the peace.
E.Tola and Jair—10
The people of Israel, however, didn't take advantage of these years of peace to grow in their relationship to the Lord. After the death of Jair, the nation openly returned to idolatry and once again invited the chastening of the Lord. They enjoyed forty-five years of peace and prosperity but didn't take time to thank the Lord for what He had done for them. The essence of idolatry is enjoying God's gifts but not being grateful to the Giver, and Israel was guilty.
One of my great-uncles was a minister, and he occasionally had Sunday dinner in our home if he happened to be preaching at the church we attended. As a lad, I was impressed by him, especially the way he asked the blessing after the meal. Praying before the meal was logical and biblical, but why pray after you've finished dessert and coffee? Then I discovered Deuteronomy 8:10, "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you" (nkjv). My Uncle Simon took this admonition seriously, and perhaps we should follow his example. If we did, it might keep us from ignoring the Lord while enjoying His blessings. Thanksgiving glorifies God (Ps. 69:30) and is a strong defense against selfishness and idolatry.
CHAPTER EIGHT Judges 10—12 LOCAL REJECT MAKES GOOD L
ife and literature are filled with the "Cinderella legend," stories about rejected people who were eventually "discovered" and elevated to places of honor and authority. Horatio Alger wrote over 100
Judges 10—11
praying but in the character of God. "His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel" (v. 16). "In all their affliction he was afflicted" (Isa. 63:9). "Nevertheless in yYour great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful" (Neh. 9:31 nkjv). "Yet he was merciful; he atoned for their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath" (Ps. 78:38 niv).
Israel's lack of submission to the Lord (vv. 6–16). If the people had only reviewed their own history and learned from it, they would never have turned from Jehovah God to worship the false gods of their neighbors. From the time of Othniel to the days of Gideon, the Jews endured over fifty painful years of oppression from the enemy. By now they should have known that God blessed them when they were obedient and chastened them when they were rebellious. (See 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1.) After all, weren't these the terms of the covenant that God made with Israel, a covenant the nation accepted when they entered the land (Josh. 8:30–35)? When God chastens us in love and we're suffering because of our sins, it's easy to cry out to Him for deliverance and make all kinds of promises. But when we're comfortable and enjoying His blessings, we tend to forget God and assume that we can sin and get away with it. Comfortable living often produces weak character. "Happiness is not the end of life," said Henry Ward Beecher, "character is." But character is built when we make right decisions in life, and those decisions are made on the basis of the things that we value most. Since Israel didn't value the things of God, she ended up destroying her own national character.
Israel's lack of adequate leadership (vv. 17–18). The people were prepared to act, but from all the tribes of Israel, there was nobody to take the lead. Whether in a nation or a local church, the absence of qualified leaders is often a judgment of God and evidence of the low spiritual level of the people. When the Spirit is at work among believers, He will equip and call servants to accomplish His will and bless His people (Acts 13:1–4). In his book Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy wrote, "We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve."1 What's true of political leadership is often true of spiritual leadership: We get what we deserve. When God's people are submitted to Him and serving Him, He sends them gifted servants to instruct and lead them, but when their appetites turn to things of the world and the flesh, He judges them by depriving them of good and godly leaders. "The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart" (Isa. 57:1 niv). After eighteen years of suffering, the Israelites assembled to face their oppressors (Judg. 10:11). There are several places in Scripture named "Mizpeh"; this one was in Gilead (11:29; see Josh. 13:26). Israel had an army, but they didn't have a general. In order to get a volunteer to command their army, the leaders of Israel promised that their commander would be named head over all Gilead. Had the princes of Israel called a prayer meeting instead of a political caucus, they would have accomplished more.
The Lord had given Israel victory over seven different nations (Judg. 10:11–12), but now Israel was worshipping seven different varieties of pagan gods (v. 6). No wonder God's anger "was hot against Israel" (v. 7). What foolishness to worship the gods of your defeated enemies! Israel had to be chastened again, and this time God sent the Philistines and the Ammonites to do the job. The Ammonites were distant relatives of the Jews, being descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot (Gen. 19:38). It must have given the leaders of Ammon and Philistia great joy to subdue their old enemy Israel and oppress them. Their armies invaded the area of Gilead on the east side of the Jordan and then crossed the river and attacked Judah, Ephraim, and Benjamin. It was a devastating and humiliating conquest.
When I was a young Christian, I heard an evangelist preach a powerful sermon on the text, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" (2 Kings 2:14). "We know where the Lord God of Elijah is," he said; "He's on the throne of heaven and is just as powerful today as He was in Elijah's day." Then he paused. "The question is not so much 'Where is the Lord God of Elijah?' as 'Where are the Elijahs?'"
History repeated itself, and the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance (Judg. 10:10; 2:11–19). But the Lord didn't send help immediately. Instead, He sent a messenger to the people who rebuked them for their lack of appreciation for all that God had done for them in the past. Then God announced that He wouldn't help them anymore. They could ask their new gods for help! (See Deut. 32:36–38.)
Indeed, where are the Elijahs? Where are the spiritual leaders who can rally God's people and confront the forces of evil?
For the people to abandon God was one thing, but for God to abandon His people was quite something else. The greatest judgment God can send to His people is to let them have their own way and not interfere. "Wherefore God also gave them up.… God gave them up.… God gave them over" (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). This was too much for the Jews, so they repented, put away their false gods, and told God He could do to Israel whatever He wanted to do (Judg. 10:15–16).
F.Jephthah—11:1—12:7
A leader in demand (11:1–29, 32–33) Now we are introduced to Jephthah, the man God chose to lead Israel to victory. What kind of man was he?
The unwanted brother (vv. 1–3). Jephthah wasn't to blame for his birth. His father, Gilead, had only one wife, but he consorted with a prostitute and fathered a
Their hope wasn't in their repenting or their
Judges 11
were only reclaiming land that the Jews, under the leadership of Moses, had stolen from them. If Israel would restore that land, he would call off his troops. But Jephthah presented four compelling arguments that should have convinced the Ammonites that they were wrong.
son. At least Gilead acknowledged the boy and took him into his home, but his other sons didn't accept this "son of a strange woman." When Gilead died and the inheritance was to be divided, the legitimate sons drove Jephthah away. Little did they realize they were rejecting a future judge of Israel.
First, he presented the facts of history (vv. 14–22). Moses and his people had asked the Ammonites for safe passage through their territory, a request that the Ammonites would not grant. This led to war, and God gave the Jews the victory. Israel didn't steal any land; they captured it from the Ammonites and the Amorites (Num. 21:21–35). Furthermore, the Amorites had originally taken the land from the Moabites (Num. 21:29), so if Israel's claims to ownership by conquest weren't valid, neither were the claims of the Amorites!
Jephthah left his father's territory and went north to the land of Tob, which was near Syria, and there he became captain of a band of "adventurers" (v. 3 niv). The Hebrew word means "to make empty" and refers to idle people looking for something to do. (See 9:4, the "vain and light persons" who followed Abimelech. Here the word means "to be reckless.") Jephthah was already known as "a mighty man of valor" (v. 1). Thus he had no trouble forming a band of brigands.
The unopposed leader (vv. 4–11). Jephthah's brothers didn't want him, but the elders of Israel needed him and sent a deputation eighty miles to the land of Tob to ask him to take charge. Jephthah's reply sounds a good deal like what the Lord had said to the people when they turned to Him for help (10:13–14). Apparently the Jewish leaders had cooperated with Gilead's sons in expelling the unwanted brother from the land, but Jephthah listened to them and made sure their offer was valid. He was willing to lead them against the enemy if the elders would name him ruler of Gilead.
His second argument was that the Lord had given Israel the land (vv. 23–24). Jephthah was always careful to give the Lord the glory for any victories Israel won (vv. 9, 21, 23–24). When the other nations captured enemy territory, they claimed that it was "the will of their god" that they take the land; and they gave their idols credit for the victory. Jephthah declared that the God of Israel was the true God and that His will had been fulfilled in allowing Israel to take the land. It was Jehovah who gave Israel the victory.
You can't help but appreciate the way Jephthah emphasized the Lord in all his negotiations with the leaders of Israel. It was the Lord who would give the victory (11:9), not Jephthah, and the agreement between him and the elders must be ratified before the Lord at Mizpah (v. 11; see 1 Sam. 11:15). Jephthah didn't see the challenge as a political opportunity for himself but as an occasion for trusting the Lord and serving Him. In addition, the writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Jephthah was a man of faith, not simply an opportunist (Heb. 11:32).
Jephthah's third argument was that Israel had lived on the land for centuries (vv. 25–26). "Three hundred years" is a round figure, but it comes close to the total number of years given in the book of Judges for the periods of oppression and of peace. Israel had dwelt in the Transjordan area for three centuries, and that was reason enough to claim title to the land as their own. Why was the king of Ammon making his claims now? During those three centuries, the people of Ammon didn't try to reclaim their territory. In fact, back in the days of Moses, even the king of Moab hadn't tried to get his land back! If the Ammonites had a legitimate claim to the territory, they should have said something centuries ago!
We can't help but wonder how his brothers felt when the man they renounced returned home as the captain of the army and the leader of the land! More than one "underdog" in Scripture had the same experience. Joseph was rejected by his brothers and later became their savior. It also took King David seven years to gain the full support of the twelve tribes of Israel. For that matter, the Lord Jesus Christ was rejected by His people but will be received by them when He comes again.
Jephthah's final argument was that the Ammonites were actually fighting against the Lord (vv. 27–28). Jephthah hadn't declared war on Ammon; it was Ammon that declared war on Israel. But if God gave Israel the land, then the Ammonites were declaring war on the Lord God, and that could only mean disaster and defeat for Ammon. Jephthah had tried to reason with the king of Ammon, but he wouldn't listen.
The unsuccessful diplomat (vv. 12–28). Before declaring war, Jephthah tried peaceful negotiations with the Ammonites, but the negotiations failed. Nevertheless, this section does tell us two things about Jephthah: (1) He knew the Scriptures and the history of his people, and (2) he was not a hothead who was looking for a fight. Being a military man himself, Jephthah knew that a war could result in thousands of Jewish men being killed, and he wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
The undefeated warrior (vv. 29–33). Empowered by the Spirit of God (see 3:10; 6:34), Jephthah called for volunteers (12:1–2) and mustered his army. In order to be certain of victory, he foolishly made a bargain with God, a subject we shall take up later. The Lord gave him victory over the Ammonites, and he captured twenty of their strongholds as he pursued the fleeing enemy army. This would guarantee freedom and safety for the Jews as they traveled in the Gilead territory.
The king of Ammon declared that he and his men
Judges 11
The writer of Hebrews wrote that Jephthah was a man of faith and his victory was a victory of faith (Heb. 11:32). The circumstances of birth or of family are not a handicap to the person who will live by faith. In his message to the king of Ammon, Jephthah revealed his knowledge of the Word of God; and this Word was the source of His faith. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17 nkjv). "And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith" (1 John 5:4 nkjv). Thanks to the faith and courage of Jephthah, the Ammonites didn't threaten the Israelites for another fifty years (1 Sam. 11:1ff.).
that person turned out to be a neighbor's child or a total stranger? What right did Jephthah have to take either life and thereby offer to God a sacrifice that cost him nothing? (See 2 Sam. 24:24.)
Furthermore, surely Jephthah knew that Jehovah didn't approve of or accept human sacrifices. Jephthah gave evidence of familiarity with the Old Testament Scriptures, and he would have known about Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 22) and the commandments in the law (Lev. 18:21 and 20:1–5; Deut. 12:31 and 18:10). Granted, the period of the judges was a spiritually dark era in Israel's history, and the Jews did many things that were wrong, but it's doubtful that Jephthah's friends and neighbors would have permitted him to slay his own daughter in order to fulfill a foolish vow.3 King Saul's soldiers didn't let him kill his son Jonathan, who had violated his father's foolish vow (1 Sam. 14:24–46). And where would Jephthah offer his daughter as a sacrifice? Surely he knew that the Lord accepted sacrifices only at the tabernacle altar (Lev. 17:1–9), and that they had to be offered by the Levitical priests. He would have to travel to Shiloh to fulfill his vow (Deut. 16:2, 6, 11, 16), and it's doubtful that even the most unspiritual priest would offer a human sacrifice on God's sanctified altar, victory or no victory.4 In fact, if people knew that Jephthah was going to Shiloh to slay his daughter, they probably would have stopped him along the way and kidnapped the girl! A national hero like Jephthah couldn't easily hide what he was doing, and surely the story would have spread quickly among the people during the two-month waiting period (Judg. 11:37–39).
A father in despair (11:30–31, 34–40) While going out to battle, Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. It was certainly acceptable to God for the Jews to make vows, provided they obeyed the laws that He had given through Moses to govern the use of vows (Lev. 27; Num. 30; Deut. 23:21–25). Vows were completely voluntary, but the Lord expected the people to fulfill them (Eccl. 5:1–6).
Jephthah's vow was really a bargain with the Lord: If God would give the Israelites victory over the Ammonites, Jephthah would sacrifice to the Lord whatever came out of his house when he arrived home in Mizpah. God did give him victory, and Jephthah kept his promise. But what was his promise and how did he keep it? What actually happened to Jephthah's daughter, his only child?
The vow. The Authorized (King James) Version reads: "If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering" (Judg. 11:30–31).
Even if he made it safely to Shiloh, Jephthah could have learned from any priest that paying the proper amount of money could have redeemed his daughter (Lev. 27:1–8). As a successful soldier who had just returned from looting the enemy, Jephthah could easily have paid the redemption price.
The New American Standard Bible translates this verse to say, "If thou wilt indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."
Other pertinent questions arise. In spite of Numbers 30:1–2, would God take seriously a vow that violated both human rights and divine law? Would a Spirit-empowered man (Judg. 11:29), committed to the Lord (11:11), even make such a vow? The more I ponder these questions, the more perplexing his vow becomes and the more convinced I am that Jephthah didn't promise to offer any human sacrifice to the Lord and did not kill his own daughter.
The New International Version translates it to say, "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
Solutions. More than one expositor has pointed out that the little word "and?' in the phrase "and I will offer it up" (11:31) can be translated "or." (In the Hebrew, it's the letter waw which usually means "and." See the beginning of Ps. 119:41 for an example of what the Hebrew waw looks like.) If we take this approach, then the vow was twofold: Whatever met him when he returned home would be dedicated to the Lord (if a person) or sacrificed to the Lord (if an animal).
The questions. The more you study Jephthah's vow, the more puzzling it becomes. He simply could have said, "Lord, if You help me defeat the enemy, when I get home, I'll offer you a generous burnt offering." But he couched his vow in ambiguous terms. How did he know who or what would come out of the door of his house? What if the first thing to greet him happened to be an unclean animal that was unacceptable to God? Then he couldn't fulfill his vow! The Hebrew word translated "whatsoever" (kjv) or "whatever" (nasb) is masculine and suggests that he expected to meet a person,2 but what if
Since he was met by his daughter, Jephthah gave her to the Lord to serve Him at the tabernacle (Ex.
Judges 11—12
got the best of the boastful men of Ephraim and killed 42,000 of their soldiers. The men of Ephraim themselves became "renegades," for the word "escaped" in Judges 12:5 is the same as the word "fugitives [renegades]" in verse 4. They had to eat their words and lose their lives!
38:8; 1 Sam. 2:22). She remained a virgin, which meant that she would not know the joys of motherhood and perpetuate her father's inheritance in Israel. This would be reason enough for her and her friends to spend two months grieving, for every daughter wanted a family and every father wanted grandchildren to maintain the family inheritance.
The people of Ephraim had their own regional pronunciation for the word shibboleth, which means "stream" or "floods." They said "sibboleth," and this gave them away (Matt. 26:73). It was a simple test, but it worked. Because of this story, the word shibboleth has become a part of our English vocabulary and is now found in our dictionaries. It stands for any kind of test that a group gives to outsiders to see whether they really belong. Usually the shibboleth is an old worn-out idea or doctrine that is really unimportant. In Ephraim's case, however, it cost 42,000 people their lives.
Nowhere in the text are we told that Jephthah actually killed his daughter, nor do we find anybody bewailing the girl's death. The emphasis in Judges 11:37–40 is the fact that she remained a virgin. It's difficult to believe that "the daughters of Israel" would establish a custom to celebrate (not "lament" as in kjv) the awful sacrifice of a human being, but we can well understand that they would commemorate the devotion and obedience of Jephthah's daughter in helping her father fulfill his vow. She deserves to stand with Isaac as a faithful child, who was willing to obey both father and God, no matter what the cost.5
G.Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon—12:8–15
After the defeat of Ammon and the trouncing of Ephraim, the Jews had thirty-one years of peace and security under the leadership of Jephthah and his three successors. How paradoxical that Jephthah the champion should have no family while Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters and Abdon had forty sons and thirty grandsons.
A ruler in defense (12:1–15) Accusation (v. 1). The leaders of the tribe of Ephraim expressed to Jephthah the same pride and anger they had shown to Gideon (8:1). As before, they wanted to share the glory of the victory, but they hadn't been too eager to risk their lives in the battle. The men of Ephraim were so angry that they threatened to burn Jephthah's house down. They had absolutely no respect for the new ruler of the Transjordanic tribes.
Samson, however, the last judge God sent to His people, was the most paradoxical man of them all: a deliverer who couldn't deliver himself, a conqueror who couldn't conquer himself, a strong man who didn't know when he was weak.
Explanation (vv. 2–3). Gideon had pacified the Ephraimites with flattery, but Jephthah took a more direct approach. To begin with, he reminded them that his first concern was to defeat the Ammonites, not to please his neighbors. Second, during the eighteen years Ammon had oppressed the people of Gilead, nobody from Ephraim had offered to come to their rescue. Third, Jephthah had issued a call for the tribes to assist him in his attack on the enemy, but Ephraim hadn't responded. Without their help, the Lord gave Jephthah and his army victory, so the proud Ephraimites (who didn't like being left out) had nothing to complain about.
Notes 1 John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1955), 245. 2 The Living Bible reads "the first person coming out of his house." 3 Baal worship was the prevalent religion among the Canaanites, and it didn't include the sacrifice of children. The Ammonites put their children through the fire as part of their worship of Molech. Eighteen years before, the people of Israel had turned to heathen gods, and for this, the Lord had severely chastened them (10:6–9). It's unthinkable that Jephthah would adopt a heathen practice in order to get God's help when the nation had suffered so greatly for adopting heathen practices! For God to honor such a thing would make the people ask, "If heathen practices are so evil, then why did You send all that suffering?" 4 Even if a priest did offer Jephthah's daughter as a burnt offering, the sacrifice would not be acceptable because the burnt offering had to be a male (Lev. 1:3, 10). 5 If Jephthah were going to kill his daughter, he would want her home with himself and not running around on the mountains with her girlfriends. Furthermore, why would the girl lament her virginity if she expected to die? Of what significance is virginity if you're heading for the grave? It seems likely that she would have lamented her impending death instead. Perhaps she was lamenting the fact that she hadn't married and therefore did not leave her father any grandchildren. But if that were the case, her father should have been doing the grieving, because marriages were arranged by the family, not by the individuals involved.
Confrontation (vv. 4–7). Perhaps Jephthah should have practiced Proverbs 15:1 and 17:14 and avoided a war, but then, maybe it was time somebody called Ephraim's bluff and taught them a lesson. The men of Ephraim resorted to namecalling and taunted the Gileadites by calling them "renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh" (Judg. 12:4 niv). Actually, the tribes east of the Jordan River—Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh—had been granted their land by Moses and Joshua (Num. 32; Josh. 22). Thus the words of the Ephraimites were an insult to the Lord and His servants.
When people are wrong and refuse to accept logical reasoning and confess their faults, they often turn to violence in order to protect their reputation. This is the cause of most family disagreements, church fights, and international conflicts (James 4:1–12). But Jephthah
Judges 13
Samson judged Israel "in the days of the Philistines" (Judg. 15:20), which means that his twenty years in office were during the forty years of Philistine rule. Dr. Leon Wood dates the beginning of the Philistine oppression about 1095 BC and the end in 1055 BC with Israel's victory at Mizpeh (1 Sam. 7). About the middle of this period occurred the battle of Aphek when Israel was ignominiously defeated by the Philistines and lost the ark and three priests (1 Sam. 4). Dr. Wood suggests that Samson's judgeship started about the time of the tragedy at Aphek and that his main job was to harass the Philistines and keep them from successfully overrunning the land and menacing the people.3
CHAPTER NINE Judges 13—14 THE LIGHT THAT FLICKERED I
H.Samson—13—16
t is a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma." In a speech broadcast October 1, 1939 that's how Sir Winston Churchill described the actions of the Russians in his day. But what he said about Russian actions could be applied to Samson, the last of the judges, for his behavior is "a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma."
Samson was unpredictable and undependable because he was double-minded, and "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). It has well been said that "the greatest ability is dependability," and you could depend on Samson to be undependable.
It's worth noting that there is no evidence given in the text that Israel cried out to God for deliverance at any time during the forty years of Philistine domination. The Philistines disarmed the Jews (1 Sam. 13:19–23) and therefore had little fear of a rebellion. Judges 15:9–13 indicates that the Jews were apparently content with their lot and didn't want Samson to "rock the boat." It's frightening how quickly we can get accustomed to bondage and learn to accept the status quo. Had the Philistines been more severe on the Jews, perhaps the Jews would have prayed to Jehovah for help.
Bold before men, Samson was weak before women and couldn't resist telling them his secrets. Empowered by the Spirit of God, he yielded his body to the appetites of the flesh. Called to declare war on the Philistines, he fraternized with the enemy and even tried to marry a Philistine woman. He fought the Lord's battles by day and disobeyed the Lord's commandments by night. Given the name Samson, which means "sunny," he ended up in the darkness, blinded by the very enemy he was supposed to conquer.
Unlike most of the previous judges, Samson didn't deliver his people from foreign domination, but he began the work of deliverance that others would finish (13:5). As a powerful and unpredictable hero, Samson frightened and troubled the Philistines (16:24) and kept them from devastating Israel as the other invading nations had done. It would take the prayers of Samuel (1 Sam. 7) and the conquests of David (2 Sam. 5:17–25) to finish the job that Samson started and give Israel complete victory over the Philistines.
Four chapters in the book of Judges are devoted to the history of Samson. In Judges 13–14, we're introduced to "Sunny" and his parents and we see the light flickering as Samson plays with sin. In Judges 15–16, the light goes out and Samson dies a martyr under the ruins of a heathen temple, a sad end to a promising life.1
Let's open Samson's family album and study three pictures of Samson taken early in his career.
He had a God to serve (vv. 2–5). The tribe of Dan was originally assigned the land adjacent to Judah and Benjamin, extending to the Mediterranean Sea (Josh. 19:40–48). Since the Danites weren't able to dislodge the coastal inhabitants, however, the tribe relocated and moved north (Judg. 18—19), although some of the people remained in their original location. Zorah is about fifteen miles from Jerusalem in the foothill country near the border of Philistia.
The child with unbelievable promise (13:1–23) Consider the great promise that was wrapped up in this person named Samson.
He had a nation to protect (v. 1). With monotonous regularity we've read this phrase in the book of Judges (3:7, 12; 4:1–2; 6:1; 10:6–7), and here it appears for the last time. It introduces the longest period of oppression that God sent to His people, forty years of Philistine domination.
When God wants to do something really great in His world, He doesn't send an army but an angel. The angel often visits a couple and promises to send them a baby. His great plan of salvation got underway when He called Abraham and Sarah and gave them Isaac. When He wanted to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, God sent baby Moses to Amram and Jochebed (Ex. 6:20), and when in later years Israel desperately needed revival, God gave baby Samuel to Hannah (1 Sam. 1). When the fullness of time arrived, God gave baby Jesus to Mary, and that baby grew up to die on the cross for the sins of the world.
The Philistines2 were among the "sea people" who, in the twelfth century BC, migrated from an area of Greece to the coastal plain of Canaan. The Jews weren't able to occupy that territory during their conquest of the land (Josh. 13:1–2). As you study your map, you'll note that their national life focused around the five key cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron (1 Sam. 6:17). The land between Israel's hill country and the coastal plain was called the "Shephelah," which means "low country," and it separated Philistia from Israel. Samson was born in Zorah, a city in Dan near the Philistine border, and he often crossed that border either to serve God or satisfy his appetites.
Babies are fragile, but God uses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty (1 Cor. 1:26–28).
Judges 13
God answered Manoah's prayer and gave him an opportunity to ask an important question, which the angel of the Lord never answered: "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" (v. 12 niv). The Old Testament law not only gave instructions concerning Nazirites and clean and unclean foods, but also it told parents how to raise their children (Deut. 6). It wasn't necessary for the Lord to give Manoah and his wife additional instructions when the Word of God already told them what to do. The messenger simply repeated the warning he had already given to Manoah's wife.
Babies must have time to grow up, but God is patient and is never late in accomplishing His will. Each baby God sends is a gift from God, a new beginning, and carries with it tremendous potential. What a tragedy that we live in a society that sees the unborn baby as a menace instead of a miracle, an intruder instead of an inheritance.
We have every reason to believe the "angel of the Lord" who visited Manoah's wife was Jesus Christ, the Son of God (see Gen. 22:1–18; 31:11–13; Ex. 3:1–6; Judg. 6:11–24). Like Sarah (Gen. 18:9–15), Hannah (1 Sam. 1), and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5–25), Manoah's wife was barren and never expected to have a child. Since it would be the mother who would have the greatest influence on the child, both before and after birth, the angel solemnly charged her what to do.
Wanting to be a good and appreciative host, Manoah asked the guest to wait while he and his wife prepared a meal for him (6:18–19; Gen. 18:1–8). The stranger's cryptic reply was that he wouldn't eat their food but would permit them to offer a burnt offering to the Lord. After all, their promised son was a gift from God, and they owed the Lord their worship and thanks.
Like John the Baptist, Samson would be a Nazirite from his mother's womb (Luke 1:13–15).4 The word Nazirite comes from a Hebrew word that means "to separate, to consecrate." Nazirites were persons who, for a stated period of time, consecrated themselves to the Lord in a special way. They abstained from drinking wine and strong drink; they avoided touching dead bodies; and as a mark of their consecration, they allowed their hair to grow. The laws governing the Nazirite vow are given in Numbers 6.5
But Manoah thought to himself, If I can't honor this man of God now, perhaps I can do it in the future after his words come true and the baby boy has been born. (Note that Manoah believed the announcement and said "when" and not "if.") Manoah would have to know the man's name so he could locate him nine months later, but the man wouldn't tell his name except to say it was "wonderful." (See Gen. 32:29.) This is the same word used to name the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6; it is translated "wondrously" in Judges 13:19 of KJV, (niv says "an amazing thing").
Manoah's wife had to be careful what she ate and drank because her diet would influence her unborn Nazirite son and could defile him. It's too bad every expectant mother doesn't exercise caution, for in recent years, the news media have informed us of the sad consequences babies suffer when their mothers use tobacco, alcohol, and narcotics during a pregnancy. Samson's Nazirite vow wasn't something he voluntarily took: God gave it to him, and his mother was a part of the vow of dedication. Not only was she to avoid anything related to the grape, but also she was to avoid foods that were unclean to the Jews (Lev. 11; Deut. 14:3–20). Ordinarily, a Nazirite vow was for a limited period of time, but in Samson's case, the vow was to last all his life (Judg. 13:7). This was something Manoah and his wife would have to teach their son, and they would also have to explain why they didn't cut his hair. The claims of God were upon this child, and it was the obligation of the parents to train him for the work God sent him to do.
Ordinarily, Jewish worshippers had to bring their offerings to the tabernacle altar at Shiloh, but since the "man of God" commanded Manoah to offer the burnt offering, it was permissible to do it there, using a rock as the altar. Suddenly, the visitor ascended to heaven in the flame! Only then did Manoah and his wife discover that their visitor was an angel from the Lord. This frightened Manoah, because the Jews believed that nobody could look upon God and live (see 6:19–23). Using common sense, Manoah's wife convinced him that they couldn't die and fulfill God's promises at the same time.
Every baby born into a godly home carries the responsibility of honoring the family name. Samson's inconsistent life brought shame to his father's house just as it brought shame to the name of the Lord. Samson's relatives had to pull his body out of the wreckage of the Philistine temple and take it home for burial (16:31). In one sense, it was a day of victory over God's enemies, but it was also a day of defeat for Samson's family.
He had a home to honor (vv. 6–23). Manoah's wife immediately told her husband about the stranger's visit and message, although neither of them yet knew that the visitor was the Lord (v. 16). Manoah assumed that he was "a man of God," perhaps a visiting prophet, and he prayed that the Lord would send the man back. We can't help but be impressed with the devotion of this husband and wife to each other and to the Lord. The time of the judges was one of apostasy and anarchy, but there were still Jewish homes that were dedicated to the Lord and that believed in prayer, and God was still working through them.
The champion with undefeatable power (13:24–25) The baby was born and was named Samson, which means "sunny" or "brightness." Certainly he brought light and joy to Manoah and his wife, who thought they would never have a family, and he also began to bring light to Israel during the dark days of Philistine oppression. While other judges were said to be clothed with