We read of Ehud, the left-handed leader who concealed his 18-inch swordblade by strapping it to his right leg. Since most people were right handed, it was customary to check the left leg for weapons. He was thus able to take his weapon into a private meeting with the King of Moab and plunge it into the King’s belly!
We read of Shamgar, who killed 600 Philistines with an ox-goad.
We read of Deborah and Barak. Deborah was a prophetess, married to Lappidoth. Her name means ‘Busy bee’ and Lappidoth means ‘Flash’ in Hebrew! Deborah would settle disputes by hearing the answer from the Lord, and on an occasion recorded in Judges she told Barak to lead the people into battle. Barak refused to go into battle without her. Senior officers in Israel, then and today, always lead the troops into battle. God was angry with Barak’s refusal and told him that the enemy Sisera would fall to the hand of a woman in order to humiliate him. And so it proved.
The next story concerns Gideon, one of the most fearful men in the Bible. He put some meat on an altar and fire from heaven burned up the meat. Then he asked the Lord for a sign from heaven, as if the fire was not enough! God graciously provided a further sign through a fleece which was dry one day and wet the next. Gideon had to learn that it is by God’s strength and strategy that battles are won. God reduced his army from 300,000 to 300 so that Gideon would learn not to put his trust in human resources.
The next character we read of is Abimelech (more of him later); then comes Tola, who receives only the brief comment that he led Israel for 23 years. After him Jair led Israel for 22 years and had 30 sons who, we are told, rode 30 donkeys and controlled 30 towns. A little interesting detail, but nothing more!
There is a longer section recounting the story of Jephthah, the head of Gilead. He made the rash vow that he would sacrifice to the Lord whatever came to meet him when he returned from battle and ended up having to sacrifice his only daughter.
Ibzan of Bethlehem had 30 daughters and 30 sons who all married outside the clan of Judah. Elon led Israel for 10 years. Abdon, who came after him, had 40 sons, 30 grandsons and 70 donkeys! Again no more details are given.
When we come to Samson, however, we learn far more. His name literally means ‘sunshine’. He was brought up as a Nazarene, which meant that he was not allowed to take alcohol or cut his hair. It is an extraordinary tale of a man who had trouble with women. He married, but his marriage broke up before the honeymoon. He moved on to a nameless prostitute before finally joining with a mistress called Delilah. Although having great physical strength, Samson was actually a weak man. His weakness was not primarily his relationships, but stemmed from a weakness of character. His charismatic anointing enabled him to accomplish many amazing feats of strength, but then the Spirit of the Lord departed from him. He was captured by the Philistines, blinded and put on a tread-mill, the laughing stock of the Philistines.
Many years ago I preached a sermon called ‘Samson’s hair is growing again’. It became well known and one young woman who heard it wrote a poem about the blind Samson being led by the little boy to the pillars of the temple, where he pulled the whole temple down.
The boy who held his hand
They gouged them out,
At first
I could not bear to look:
Empty and raw and cruel.
I would not look:
The shock of emptiness,
Knowing that he would not see.
I watched the shaven head bowed low
Rocking with the rhythm of the grindstone.
Round. Round. Round.
I watched the needless shackles:
Heavy and hard,
Biting the flesh that needs no binding.
Now
It does not matter that his eyes are gone:
I am his eyes,
He sees through me.
He has to see through me, there is no other way.
And I have wept the tears he cannot weep,
For all those careless years.
And I have learned to love this broken man,
While he has learned at last to fear his God.
So
I am not afraid to die:
Happy to be his eyes this one last time.
Taking his hand,
Leading with practised care,
Step by guided step
Into the place where he can pray,
‘Lord,
O Sovereign Lord.’
And as the pillars fall, I cry
‘Amen.’
In his last five minutes Samson did more for his people than he had done in all the years of his life.
HUMAN WEAKNESS
The Bible is always honest about the failings and weaknesses of the individuals it describes and Judges is no exception. The characters in the book reveal a number of flaws: Barak was not manly; Gideon was fearful, constantly asking for signs, and towards the end of his life made a gold ephod, a priestly ‘pullover’, which later proved to be a ‘snare’ to Israel, a relic which had become an object of devotion. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute who made a reckless vow; Samson treated his wife poorly, slept with a prostitute and took a mistress. They were not strong characters, nor were they holy people, yet God used them!
DIVINE STRENGTH
How did these less than perfect people manage to achieve so much? It was not through their own power. Their secret was that the Holy Spirit came on them – they were all ‘charismatic’ people.
Judges gives us vivid examples of divine strength working through weak people, as we read how these individuals were able to perform supernatural feats. Samson was perhaps the most graphic example of this, but there are many amazing stories. This is an especially important point to note, because the anointing of the Holy Spirit only comes on a few in the Old Testament. In Judges such anointing was experienced by just 12 people out of the 2 million who populated Israel at that time. We note too that the Holy Spirit comes on them temporarily, not permanently: for example, the text states that the Holy Spirit left Samson. In the Old Testament it was an anointing Spirit that touched them for a time rather than an indwelling Spirit who stayed with them.
WHAT WERE THE JUDGES?
Our consideration of some of the individual stories of the judges has omitted an important question. What exactly were the judges? Who were they and what did they do?
In English they are called ‘judges’, but this expression does not really capture the essence of the word originally used to describe them. When we read that Samson ‘judged’ Israel, or that Gideon ‘judged’ Israel, the idea behind the Hebrew expression is that they were ‘troubleshooters’ who saved the people of God from themselves and others. They are never given a title as such, but are described in terms of what they did. Indeed, the only person to whom the noun is applied in the book of Judges is God. He is the Judge, sorting out their problems. It would therefore be more correct to say that God is the rescuer or troubleshooter who operates through these heroes, by his Spirit, for the benefit of the people.
They are concerned with justice within the nation, but mainly with external problems, since the people are surrounded by hostile nations who attack them at various times: the Ammonites (three times), the Amalekites (twice), the Moabites (once), the Midianites (once) and the Philistines (three times). There is also specific mention of the Kings of Jericho, Moab and Hazor.
The people of God had come into a highly populated area, to peoples largely hostile to their presence. They were perceived