However, when you step back from these individual stories and see the book as a whole, you begin to see that judges is not merely about individuals, but that its about israel as a nation. Jan 08, 2012 some teachers i know dread teaching the book of judges to children. It is a record of alternating defeat and victory, corresponding to the experience of most christiansespecially in the early years of their christian life when they alternate between succumbing to. You remember they were faithful as long as men like joshua, caleb and eleazar were alive. Oct 12, 2012 deborah was one of the 12 judges and in her account in joshua chapters 4 and 5 we see the faith, strength and leadership of a faithful woman of god. Some teachers i know dread teaching the book of judges to children.
Being a prophetess must have helped deborah to solve these disputes spiritually rather than simply politically or judicially. The book of judges is the second book in the deuteronomic history, a history that begins with the farewell address of moses in deuteronomy and ends with the exile of judah in 587 b. Last week we talked about what happened after the israelites got into the land of canaan. The book of judges is the seventh book of the bible the jewish structure holds judges in hebrew, shoftim to be the second book of the neviim prophets, the second part of the tanakh. During this time there was no single national leader and no centralized governmental system. The account of his life is brief and straightforward judges 3. Jul 20, 2015 many christians are familiar with some of the judges highlighted by the samuel, the traditionally accepted author, especially deborah, gideon, and samson. Their deliverance is concerted between deborah and barak v. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. Before her were othniel, ehud and shamgar, the latter only for a short time. Deborah and barak sing about their victory over the canaanites. Because of this, the lord left them in the hands of the destructive midianites for seven years.
Is america following israels example in the book of judges. Second, the book of judges shows us the mercy of god to help those who cry out to him. I will lure sisera, the commander of jabins army, with his chariots and. The book of judges is the seventh book of the bible. The prophetess deborah a strong woman of god beginning. Jael kills sisera 17 meanwhile, sisera had fled on foot to the tent of jael, the wife of heber the kenite, because there was peace between jabin king of hazor and the house of heber the kenite. Gideon is chosen to lead the people out of bondage to the midianites. Gideon pulls down an asherah pole and builds an altar to the lord. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan. Any list of the powerful leaders of ancient israel would have to include the kings and judges, and we cannot overlook the fact that deborah stood in the line of judges of israel. His story is about a man who learned to trust in gods power instead of being overwhelmed by the task god had given him. While its not entirely clear why deborah is not listed in hebrews 11, we. The method of the history of deborah and barak the heroes in this chapter is the same with that before here is, i.
And where he expected shelter he had his life stolen from him by jael while he was asleep judges 4. Yet the writer of judges refers only to deborah as the judge to whom the word of the lord came judges 4. It also recounts a number of battles and events that take place amongst the israelites themselves. God instructed the israelites to wipe out the canaanites completely from the land of israel but they failed in doing so. This shows us how god consistently and mercifully responds to even the most horrible of people. Ppt the book of judges powerpoint presentation free to. Deborah is the exception that proves the rule of woman submission. The book of judges chapters 45 the book of judges chapters 45 old testament bible studies true love. Its filled with just the kind of stories kids love. Well cover the 4th and 5th chapters in this book today. Known as the song of deborah, judges 5 is believed to be one of the oldest biblical passages.
The author of the book of judges includes the story in order to teach us some lessons. A woman named jael kills the sisera the canaanite army commander. While deborah went with the army, she did not engage in battle. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. The fourth of the judges who ruled over the jewish people after the death of joshua, was not a man, but a woman, one of the most famous of all times, the prophetess deborah. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. Those that remain behind turn israel toward the worship of their idol gods not those.
Deborah was only a leader for a brief period of time c. Perhaps the new testament writer meant to list only those who literally conquered kingdoms. The glory, however, goes to jael the kenite for killing the canaanite general with a tent peg. Sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. On an ordinary day while conducting her duties as judge, deborah delivered gods message to barak to take 10,000 men to battle against sisera, the commander of jabins army. The book of judges old testament bible studies true love church of refuge prophetess delisa lindsey april 1, 2009 introduction the book of judges picks up where. The book of judges outlines events and people that occurred between the death of joshua moses successor who led the hebrews into the promised land and the establishment of saul as the first human king of israel god was always their king of kings. The book of judges depicts the life of israel in the promised land from the death of joshua to the rise of the monarchy. The children of israel again did that which was evil in the sight of yahweh. The fourth of the judges who ruled over the jewish people after the death of. However, in the line of judges or deliverers, we also find othniel.
It appears in the tanakh and in the christian old testament. At that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel. Deborah held court beneath a palmtree, in the open air. Ehud and deborah both take their turns delivering israel from the cycle after this. The book of judges ends with two stories that show how depraved the people had become in their idolatry and immorality which resulted in anarchy. Deborah and barak rescue from canaanites but the israelites again did evil in the. Since deborahs name is mentioned first, it seems likely that she composed the song v. In the midst of the sin and idolatry, deborah remained true to g. Barak says hell only go to battle if deborah comes, and she does, but lets him know that it wont be him who kills sisera, the captain of jabins. Canaanite king jabin oppresses israel prophetess deborah and judge barak 416 jael kills army chief sisera 1724 5. Judges 4 commentary matthew henrys complete commentary on. Deborah s prophecy continued, and i god will deliver him into your hand judges 4. Deborah and barak summoned the israelites from kedesh.
Judges were not military commanders, but were civil servants appointed by god to help meet local needs. The book of judges chapters 4 and 5 record the history of the nation of israel in the time of the prophetess deborah. Deborah tells barak, an israelite general, that god commands him to take 10,000 soldiers from the tribes of naphtali and zebulun and attack jabins army. Judge deborah, a prophet and warrior, came after shamgar who followed ehud in the book of judges. Deborah was in the period of judges which is showing chaos not the way it should be b. Jehovah tests israel 16 othniel, the first judge 711 judge ehud kills fat king eglon 1230 judge shamgar 31 4. What are the campaigns of israel in the first chapter of the book of judges. Barak agreed to do so only if deborah would accompany him. Before her were othniel, ehud and shamgar, the latter only for a short time after ehuds death the jews forsook the ways of the torah and adopted many of the idols of the people about them. Reading the book of judges, with its battles and mighty warriors, can sometimes feel like reading about comic book superheroes. Judges 4 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Its difficult to explain, and theres a lot of violence and sinfulness going on. Deborah was a judge that mainly settled disputes holding court under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the mountains of ephraim judges 4. Book of judges religionwiki fandom powered by wikia.
The commander of his forces was sisera, who lived in haroshethhagoyim. The book of judges relates the history of israel after the days of joshua until the time of samuel and the choosing of the first king over all of israel. Its the story of another judge another tribal leader. The jewish structure holds judges in hebrew, shoftim to be the second book of the neviim prophets, the second part of the tanakh. The lord was with the people of judah, and they took possession of the hill country. The story of deborah and how she helped deliver israel from the oppression of the canaanites is found in the fourth and fifth chapters of the book of judges. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the. You remember they were faithful as long as men like joshua, caleb and eleazar were ali. Analyzing deborahs word choice and the way she describes israel she only mentions 10 of the 12 tribes of israel, for example, scholars believe it could date back to the ninth or tenth century bc. Old testament times, see enrichment section f, idolatry. A free powerpoint ppt presentation displayed as a flash slide show on id.
In honor of her works, it became known as the palm of deborah judges 4. The spirit of god comes on jephthah, but the military leaders efforts still. He comes at the beginning of this long sequence of. See more ideas about bible for kids, sunday school crafts and bible crafts. With joshua, samuel and kings, they form the neviim reshonim first prophets, in opposition to the neviim acharonim later prophets, called the minor prophets in some circles because there are a lot of. As stated earlier, the book of judges takes place between the time of joshua s death and israels first king, saul. He himself escapes on foot, while his army is pursued as far as harosheth of the gentiles and destroyed.
This suggests that judges were seen as gods people, and their gender was unimportant. The first of the ten commandments reads, you shall have no other gods before me exodus 20. Sefer shoftim is a book of the bible originally written in hebrew. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders. God raises up deborah and barak to lead the israelites out of the hand of jabin. These lessons apply to us today when we have to accept gods solutions in the face of physical weakness.
But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology. After this we read of no more military action of the canaanites against israel in the book of judges. First, it is clear that worshiping idols stands in opposition to gods commands. The book of judges shows a pattern in the lives of the israelites. Many commentators roughly compare them to mayors of today. Deborah and barak led the men of israel into battle. Micah and the danites judges 1718 to quickly summarize the first story, there was a man named micah in the hill country of ephraim that stole eleven hundred pieces of silver from his. Judges 4 commentary matthew henry commentary on the.
Gideon or gedeon, also named jerubbaal and jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the midianites are recounted in chapters 6 to 8 of the book of judges in the hebrew bible. The people of israel do evil again and the lord gives them over to a band of midianites. Judges 4 commentary matthew henrys complete commentary. Deborah agreed, but told barak that because of his lack of faith in gods promise of victory, the honor of killing sisera, who commanded jabins army, would fall not to barak but to a woman judges 4. They praise yahweh, the israelite warriors, and jael, but. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. On the one hand, it is an account of frequent apostasy, provoking divine chastening. After ehuds death the jews forsook the ways of the torah and adopted many of the idols of the. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the book of judges. Deborah assures barak theyve got god on their side.
Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum. Yahweh sends deborah the prophetess and barak the warrior to destroy the canaanite army. As deborah prophesied, a woman settles the score with sisera. Deborah and the book of judges by avi lazerson the story of deborah the prophetess which is told in the book of judges shoftim in hebrew is a story that has a special relevance for our generation. Judges 48,judges 1116,1 samuel 126 amp deborah and barak. The book of judges follows the book of joshua which is the sequel to the five books of moses. The woman gets honor deborah was a godly judge and prophetess in israel during a twenty year oppression by the canaanites. Th story starts out by proclaiming that the lord was angry with the israelites for falling into sin again and worshipping false gods and idols. Sisera learned of baraks approach and led his huge army against the jews. During this period the israelites, now in the promised land after the military conquests of joshua, went through a constant cycle of falling into sin, being punished by god via an attack by enemy invaders, crying out to the lord in repentance and a judge being raised up to lead. What can we learn from the account of micah and the idol. Their deliverance is concerted between deborah and barak, judges 4. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains, who had iron chariots.