Continuing on from Chapter 11 of the Book of Judges, we now come to Chapter 12. There are some rough parallels between Gideon and Jepthah. We saw a major one in that both had their hopes of a dynasty crushed before they even started. Gideon’s son would not kill Zebah…
In Judges 10, we saw again how Israel fell into idolatry soon after the death of one of the judges. Going on into chapter 11, we were introduced to Jepthah the Gileadite, who was born out of wedlock. Gilead’s legitimate sons ran him off in order to keep him from…
In Chapter 9, we saw how the lust for power of Abimelech and Gaal came to a violent ending. Things have not changed much today, as people grab for power, but unfortunately it isn’t limited to the world. Paul and Jesus both warned of such things coming from within the…
We ended Chapter 8 noting that as soon as Gideon was dead, the people fell into syncretism (the act of blending paganism with their religion). They forgot about Gideon and his family, and they forgot about God. We also noted that Gideon may have brought some of this trouble down…
Two items from Chapter 7 carry over into this one. Of course, the background is that Gideon, aka Jerubbaal, had just routed the enemy, the Midianites and the Amalekites, and was now pursuing them towards the Jordan. Remember that Gideon called for help from the surrounding tribes, including Ephraim (7:24). …
We left off Chapter 6 right before discussing the laying out of the fleece. Gideon, who now has the nickname Jerubbaal after destroying the altar of Baal and the surrounding grove, blew a trumpet to marshal the Israelites in the surrounding region. All along, we see God gently guiding Gideon…
We left off Chapter 5 with forty years of peace after the triumph of Deborah and Barak over Sisera. 1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. ~ Jdg 6:1 This time, they…
Chapter 5 continues what we read in Chapter 4. It is a celebration over the victory of Barak and Deborah over Jabin. Having beaten the enemy, Deborah and Barak now sing a song of praise to God. They praise Him for avenging His people. 2 “Israel’s leaders took charge, and…
We left chapter 3 with the account of Shamgar, who must have been either a contemporary of Ehud or Deborah, or both. We see him mentioned later on. Chapter 4 begins with the usual telling of “the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD” (v…
The last study covered most of chapter 2 and into the first four verses of chapter 3. Again, chapter breaks and verses were not part of the inspired text, and they can be useful for logical breaks. However, sometimes the break is placed where it can cause confusion instead. It…