Text: Now after the death of Joshua it came
to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who, shall go up
for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? Judges 1:1
Introduction
Joshua
is dead, and the children of Israel are wondering who will lead them against
the Canaanites? The Book of Judges is a
transitional book. The leadership is once again changing, “Joshua died, and
they buried him;" and there is a uniqueness in the close of his
history. It was Joshua that divided the
land by lot and gave to each tribe a portion to enjoy. But for Joshua, there is neither wife nor
children nor any choice possession. He, however, blessed Caleb, of whom it is
said, "his seed shall possess the land," for "the less is
blessed of, the greater;" and in this as in his life and death a type of
Christ, the Giver of all good, Who," though He was rich, yet for your sakes,
He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." " Joshua
died, and they buried him;" we read of no weeping of friends, or no individual
honors paid him on his death. " Israel
served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that over
lived Joshua.”
The Book of Judges is a transitional book,
and it has been said to stand in the same relation to the Old Testament as the
Acts of the Apostles, and the Book of Revelation hold to the New Testament. The
Book of Judges shows the operations of the Holy Spirit in some of those "
Saviors" who were raised up from time to time to deliver Israel, and the
Book of the Acts displays the workings of the Holy Ghost in the Apostles, the
judges of the twelve tribes of spiritual Israel, enabling them to overcome the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, and
extend the inheritance of the Church. The book of Revelation reveals the sin of
human pride and ambition. The Book of
Judges, though full of encouragement to the Church that the gifts of the Spirit
will not fail even in the darkest days, is also filled with grave warnings
against the abuse of those gifts, and displays a depressing picture of the
defection of Israel, and the unfortunate consequences that followed. The Old Testament speaks to us of Christ, His
Person, His Work, His Glory.
In the Book of Judges, there are as many
types Christ as there are leaders." The history of the Judges is full of
mysteries; after Joshua, the Judges succeed and after Christ, the Apostles. Here is a list of all the judges and the
meaning of their names.
·
Othniel-
"God's strength, God's lion." (3:7-11) 1st Judge after
Joshua's death.
·
Ehud- "love; pleasant; united."
(3:12-30) Fought the Moabites.
·
Shagmar- He is here a stranger (3:31) Led
Israelites against the Philistines.
·
Deborah- Bee 4:5 Prophetess, guided Barak,
she was the only female judge.
·
Gideon- He who cuts down". (6-8)
Defeated Midianites with 300 men.
·
Abimelech- My father, the King (9) Only
judge to win leadership through treachery.
·
Yair- He will enlighten (10: 1-5) Judged
Israel for 22 years.
·
Jepthah- Whom God sets free (10:17-12:7)
Defeated Ammonites.
·
Ibzan- Father of a target (12:8-15) Judged
people for 7.
·
Elon- Oak (12:8-15) Judge for 10 years.
·
Abdon-
Servant (12:8-15) Ruled for 8 years.
·
Samson- Sun (13-16) Fought Philistines
singlehandedly.
·
Eli- High (1 Samuel 1:9) Priest, ruled
people from the sanctuary at Gilo.
·
Samuel- God heard Last judge before the
kingdom came under the rule of Saul.
God
gave the judges a mission, and they performed it with unwavering faith; the
performance of it constituted their trial, and on their going through it their
final justification. It was for their faith they are praised, and their names
are in the Book of Life. The Apostle
says, "through faith subdued kingdoms," as Barak, and Gideon, and
Jephthah ; “wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions," as
Samson; "escaped the edge of the sword," as Gideon and Samson ; "out
of weakness were made strong," as Deborah and Jael; "waxed valiant in
fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens," and so displayed the
working of the Divine Judge and Savior of Israel, in His own Person as the
God-Man, and in His servants the Apostles and elders of His spiritual body the
Church.
The
Book of Judges also displays the disastrous condition of a nation, or an
individual soul, who forsakes God. The
death of Joshua is the date of degeneracy in Israel; so, in spiritual respects,
as long as the True Joshua (Jesus) lives in the soul, there is health. Paul
says, " I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;" but if Christ
dies in the soul, that death is the death of the soul. The first victory of the tribe of Judah
reveals to us what Israel might have done with God's help if they had been
steadfast in their allegiance to Him.
It should be noted that the conquest of Canaan would be based on the
moral character of Israel. It was not the superiority of the Israelites over the
Canaanites, that made them victorious but the purity and integrity of their
obedience to God's law, and their righteous.
They held the country as it were by a lease based on their willingness
to serve the LORD, and forfeited their title when they defied God.
Abimelech, the son of Gideon, has been regarded as having the spirit of
antichrist. When the men of Shechem made him king, they were defying God. Abimelech was made king by the plain of the
pillar that was in Shechem, the very spot where Joshua had made a covenant with
Israel as subjects of Jehovah, their king.
This was the place where the people had said, "The Lord our God
will we serve, and His voice will we obey.”
This was a foreshadowing of the future fulfilment of Paul's prophecy
concerning the man of sin.
Jotham was Gideon's youngest son and the only one that escaped the
sword of Abimelech. In his Parable of the Trees, he predicts the downfall of Abimelech. The curse of Jotham was speedily fulfilled,
both Abimelech and the men of Shechem, were killed by fire. God brought an end
to the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father in slaying his
seventy brethren: and all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon
their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham, the son of
Jerubbaal." He made Abimelech an instrument for punishing the wickedness
of the men of Shechem, and He punished Abimelech, in the hour of victory, for
his sin against his father and his brethren, and against the Lord. No mention
is made of the burial of Abimelech; though of the following judges it is said
that they died and were also buried, and because, in contrast to Abimelech,
they had hope in their death and were buried in peace, and in the faith of a
resurrection, as Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.
There were five Judges of Israel Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, of
whom nothing is recorded, because, as some say, they did nothing, or, because
writer knew nothing about them. Jair's thirty sons, riding on thirty ass colts,
the emblems of peace as contrasted with the war-horse of battle are a type of
the future Judge of Israel, riding on the foal of an ass, to His own city
Jerusalem, the city of Peace, a type of Heaven, that the children of the true
Jair, a name derived from " light," will follow Him in His meekness,
and reflect His glory. Jesus is the
Light that lighteth every man and we are a reflection of that Light.
The book of Judges is not a history book that is recording every event
that took place over the leadership of the judges. These recorded events are chosen because they
relate directly or indirectly to the Jesus Christ and our salvation.
Since Samuel is covered in the two books bearing his name, I will cover
Samuel later. The main judge for this
message is Samson. Samson has many
events in his life that parallel with the life of Christ.
The Angel of the Lord, the Son of God,
appears to Manoah's wife. The promised child is to be a Nazarite from his
mother's womb. A type of Christ
sanctified from birth. Monoah’s wife
bare a son and called his name Samson.
Samson was a figure of Christ in the annunciation of his nativity by an
Angel. He typified Christ in his
sanctification to God and in his name which signifies the Sun. He became the
deliverer of Israel and in the destruction of their enemies by his death.
Samson was a difficult son. He
went against his parents when he married a Gentile bride. Samson’s parents argued with him for not
choosing a wife from his own people. Some writers see this as the Gentile
Church. Samson's choice had been directed by God.
And Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the
daughters of the Philistines. And
he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman
in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now, therefore, get her for me
to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a
woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou
goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his
father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not
that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Judges 14:1-4
Let me wander off for a little
bit. God is the One who ultimately judges
the nations. The psalmist wrote. But it
is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another (Psalm
75:7).
Daniel told king Nebuchadnezzar that the God of the Bible is Lord over
all.
You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be
with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and
seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has
sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will (Daniel 4:32).
Daniel stressed the fact that God will give the kingdom to whomever He
wills. He can withdraw kings as well as raise them up.
It is God who sets the various boundaries of the kingdoms of the world.
From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he
allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where
they would live (Acts 17:26).
All authority is ultimately under the control of God. Paul wrote. Let
every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority
except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God (Romans
13:1).
Egypt The Bible says that God’s dealings can be seen in His workings
with Egypt. Paul wrote.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even, for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. Rom. 9:17
Pharaoh made the choice to defy the LORD. His choice resulted in the loss of his
kingdom and his army. He could have
repented but he didn’t. This Pharaoh
considered himself a greater god than the LORD.
Pharaohs were considered one of the more important of all the Egyptian
gods. While a pharaoh was ruling, he took on the "incarnation" of the
god Horus and the son of Re. That is why
the cultural significance of the gods relied heavily upon the beliefs of the
pharaoh who was ruling. It was believed that the fate of the nation lay
strictly with the pharaoh. It was this
Pharaoh that the LORD chose to destroy the false gods of Egypt and bring the
empire of Egypt to a close.
Babylon-- Babylon, the nation
that God used to judge Israel, would find themselves judged by God. This would
happen through the Medo-Persian Empire – particularly by King Cyrus. God said of
Cyrus.
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have
grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open
doors before him — and the gates shall not be closed: I will go before you and
level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through
the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden
in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of
Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel
my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am
the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though
you do not know me (Isaiah 45:1-5).
The Medo-Persian Empire was God’s instrument to overthrow Babylon.
(Daniel 1-5, Jeremiah 50-51, and Isaiah 47-48).
The Medo-Persian Empire, which followed the Babylonian, was also a
target of God’s judgment (Isaiah 44:24-45:1-7; Daniel 2, 7). He is the One who
allowed them to rise and He is the One who caused them to fall. Their destiny
was completely in His hand.
Greece After the Babylonian Empire, and the Medo-Persian Empire, came
Greece. Greece rose and fell according to God’s time frame (Daniel 8:1-25;
11:1-35). Again, He was the one in control of their destiny.
Rome The Roman Empire, according to Scripture, would rise up after
these three previous world empires (Daniel 7:7,23, 9:24-27). This happened
exactly as the Bible predicted. Again, the Lord was in total control.
History tells us that the LORD has been working behind the scenes. The
rise and fall of nations is at His desire. It is ultimately He who decides
their fate. We discover this in the history of Egypt, Babylon, Media-Persia,
Greece, Rome, and even now the Islamic nations.
Back to Samson.
Samson, married a Gentile woman to get close to the enemy of
Israel. This was God’s plan to bring
judgment on the Philistine kings.
His first deed of skill showing his strength was his encounter with the
lion, recalls the words of the Psalmist,--Thou shalt go upon the lion, and the
adder: The young lion and the dragon shalt Thou tread under Thy feet. Just as Christ, trod under His feet the
roaring lion, when, " moved by the Spirit," as Samson was, He
encountered the tempter in the wilderness and was with the wild beasts.
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and
came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he
would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his
father or his mother what he had done.
When Samson killed the lion, he did not brag
about the lion and its death. If you
recall Jesus did not want to call attention to the things, He did. It was several days later, Samson came back
on his way to get married. The lion that
he killed was still there with a swarm of bees in its body. They had made some
honey. Samson got some of the honey when he arrived at his parents, he gave
them some of the honey, and they ate it too. But Samson did not tell his
parents that he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion.
It was prophesied of Christ that in a
spiritual as well as in a literal sense, " Butter and honey shall He eat;"
and " O how sweet are Thy words unto my throat," says the Psalmist,
" yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth."
Samson’s wife along with her father and
family were burned to death by the Philistines.
This made Samson very angry. He
goes fox hunting and catches 300 live fox.
He ties them together in pairs and put a torch between their tails and
send them running into the fields and vineyards of the Philistines burning
their crops to the ground. The
Philistines, now are angry and go to Judah to get their revenge. The conduct of the men of Judah, in saying
that the Philistines were their rulers, and delivering Samson to them, was like
that of the Jews, saying, " We have no king but Caesar," and
delivering up Christ to the Romans. Samson's victory over them with the
jaw-bone of an ass typified a triumph over the enemy.
Samson allowed himself the glory which he
ought to have given to God. With the
jaw-bone of an ass,' he says, - have I slain a thousand men.' He erected no
altar, he offered no sacrifice; but forgetful of the duty of praise and
thanksgiving, and assuming the honor of the conquest, he chanted a hymn of praise
to himself, and consecrated the place to his own name, and called it Ramath-lehi
(the lifting up of the jaw-bone.)" But God mercifully made him feel his
dependence upon Him, and "he was sore athirst;" and then indeed he
ascribes his deliverance to God and prays for help against his enemies; and
" God carved an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water
thereout," when on the Cross Christ
said, " I thirst," can make His grace to flow even from the most
despised instruments. " God brought water out of the rock for Israel and
brought water out of a bone for Samson. He gave him honey from the mouth of the
lion, and water from the jaw bone of an ass. life out of death?
In the next event of Samson's history, his
carrying off the gates of Gaza, we are reminded again of that truer Samson,
Who, when His enemies thought that He was lying a prisoner in the grave, arose
from the sleep of death at midnight, and broke the bars of death and hell the
stronghold of Satan. He carried the
gates far beyond " the hill that is before Hebron," where lay the
bodies of the Old Testament Saints, even to Hebron itself, giving assurance to
all the seed of Abraham in the words of the prophet Micah, the Breaker is come up before them ; their
King shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them ;" for
" He hath broken the gates of brass and smitten the bars of iron in
sunder."
Three times in the history of Samson is
Christ's Passion prefigured when he was shut in at Gaza, when he was bound on
the top of the rock Etam, and when he died with the Philistines. We see the
Lord's temptation in the wilderness in the story of Delilah.
Three times was Samson tempted to betray the
cause of his people, " If they bind me with seven green
withs,"—" if they bind me fast with new ropes,"—" if thou
weavest the seven locks of my head with the web." Satan would have bound
our Lord with the ropes, as the prophet calls them, of the seven sins, which
are the heads and fountains of all sins: " And he brake them from off his
arms like a thread."
Delilah, the familiar friend in whom he
trusted, is bribed by money to betray Samson, as Judas was to betray Christ and
Samson replied to Delilah's temptations by three lies, but Christ responded to
the temptations of Satan by three sayings from the Scripture of truth. And now Samson reveals his secret. He had no
idea indeed that anyone would dare to approach him so carefully as to shave off
his seven locks; but the Spirit of the LORD left him and what he did not
imagine to be possible, now came to pass.
Delilah called for a man to shave off the
signs of his dedication to God, but it was not till after Samson himself had
suggested and permitted that those seven locks should be woven in her web.
Samson "wist not that the Lord was departed from him," for he was
already morally and spiritually blinded by sin; and as his eyes were the first
offenders which betrayed him to evil desires, it is in them that he is
punished, and the very scene of his sin is made the place of his punishment.
As the hair of his head began to grow again
after he was shaven, and his repentance and prayer, to God would bring
redemption to Samson, but it would cost him his life. The blinded Samson was
brought out to be mocked by his enemies at a great religious festival and where
was that banquet-- in the house of Dagon.
When the thirty pieces of silver were paid
for Christ, when the band of men came with their swords and staves from the
chief priests and elders of the people, when all was arranged so that there
should be no uproar among the people, when they had chosen the place, the
garden of Gethsemane, when they had fixed the time, the midnight before the
Passover began,—indeed those hosts of evil angels then said, " our
god," even the god of this world, — " hath delivered into our hands
our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us." And
not only they, but the chief priests, and scribes, and elders, the Pharisees
and the Sadducees, the governor and the soldiers, were gathered together to the
spectacle, little thinking that the more illustrious the assemblage, the more
complete the victory.
This chapter from the Book of Judges might
well be a page from the conclusion of the Gospels. " And it came to pass,
when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make
us sport." "Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
common hall and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they blindfolded Him, and bowed the knee
before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews."
It would be by that very sport, the five
lords of the Philistines provided the way to their own destruction. They lifted
Christ on the Cross, as the Philistines put Samson between the two pillars to
make-sport of him, this was the moment of victory. Samson, exposed to the
ridicule of the people, his arms stretched out grasping the two main pillars of
the house just as Christ had His arms stretched out on the wood of the Cross.
Samson’s hands gripping the two main posts of the House of Dagon bowed His
head, not in the weakness of death, but with all the strength of full life
brought down the temple of evil. Just as
Christ cried with a loud voice to show that no man took that life from Him, but
that He laid it down of Himself, that He had power to lay it down, and that He
had power to retake it. When Christ said, it is finished the house of Satan fell,
and the ruin of that house was great. He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost."
" So, the dead which He slew at His death were more than they which He
slew in His life." Christ in His
dying destroyed death, hell and the grave.
He led those held captive free from the captivity they were kept in. The
law, sin, death, hell, had never been vanquished but by the death of Christ, he
gave to all mankind the hope of salvation.
That hope is offered to everyone. If you have not accepted the gift being
offered by Jesus Christ, He calls to you today. Hear the Spirit of the LORD and answer His
call, and accept His salvation now.
