Judges Lesson 1

OUTLINE TO JUDGES

“EVERY MAN DOING RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES”

KEY VERSES: Judges 17:6, 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

THEME: The failure of Israel and God’s faithfulness to deliver them when they turned to Him in repentance. Joshua pictures “walking in the Spirit.” Judges pictures “walking in the flesh.”

DATE: 1400-1100 B.C.

WRITER: Probably Samuel-or a contemporary of Samuel.

WRITTEN: In the early days of Israel’s history as a nation when King Saul or David came into power, and before David’s capture of Jerusalem (II Samuel 5:6-9).

THE BOOK: Number in the Bible: 7th of 66 books of the Bible. Number of chapters: 21. Number of verses: 618. Number in order of writing: 2nd of 12 History books of Bible. The book of Judges begins with compromise and ends with confusion.

PURPOSE: To bridge the gap between the two great periods of Hebrew history, from Moses’ and Joshua’s leadership to the kings’ and prophets’ leadership. To show revelations of divine truth through the ghastly, depressing stories of Judges.

DIVISIONS: A Three-Fold Division in Judges 1. The Conditions of the Nation of Israel After the Death of Joshua. Apathy (Chapters 1-2) 2. The Repeated Cycles of Rebellion, Retribution, Repentance, and Restoration. Apostasy (Chapters 3-16) 3. The General Condition Existing During the Days of the Judges. Anarchy (Chapters 17-21) Seven Periods of Oppression: 1. First Oppression: 3:7-11, 2. Second Oppression: 3:12-31, 3. Third Oppression: 4-5, 4. Fourth Oppression: 6:8-32, 5. Fifth Oppression: 8:33-10:5, 6. Sixth Oppression: 10:6-12, 7. Seventh Oppression: 13-16

FACTS: In Judges we find… 1. Twelve separate, independent tribes or states. 2. Civil war among themselves. 3. Surrounded by enemy bent on extermination. 4. One-hundred eleven years of oppression. 5. Two-hundred ninety-nine years of rest. 6. Total of four-hundred ten years (some overlap).

OUTLINE: I. Israel’s Initial Victories (1:1-20) II. Israel’s Fatal Compromises (1:21-34) III. The First Judges (3:5-5:31) IV. The Feats of Gideon (6:1-8:32) V. The Revolt of Abimelech (9:1-57) VI. A Succession of Judges (10:1-12:15) VII. The Tragedy of Samson (13:1-16:31) VIII. The Religious Chaos in Israel (17:1-18:31) IX. The Moral Decay in Israel (19:1-30) X. The Deadly Civil War (20:1-21, 25) Judges page 2

MISCELLANEOUS: The book of Joshua typifies “The Heavenlies” The book of Judges typifies “The Earthlies”. The book of Joshua shouts “The Victory”. The book of Judges sobs “The Defeat”. Six or seven times, the cycle of “Ups and Downs” are recorded. First- Rebellion of Israel, Second- Retribution of Israel, Third- Repentance of Israel, and Fourth- Restoration of Israel. It is interesting to see how God used the ‘weak things” to bring deliverance in this book: 1. The left hand of Ehud (3:21) 2. The ox goad of Shamgar (3:31) 3. The woman Jael (4:21) 4. The nail in her hand (4:21) 5. The pitcher and trumpet of Gideon (7:20) 6. The piece of millstone (9:53) 7. The jawbone of a donkey (15:15) (See I Corinthians 1:27 and II Corinthians 12:9) See Also…1. The lad with five loaves and two fishes (John 6:9) 2. The needle and thread of Dorcas (Acts 9:39) 3. The rod of Moses (Exodus 4:2-4) 4. The widow’s mites (Mark 12:43). The Book of Judges records seven national apostasies from the Lord and the consequences of these spiritual revolts. The Judges of Israel listed in the book are: 1. Othniel 2. Ehud 3. Shamgar 4. Deborah 5. Barak 6. Gideon 7. Tola 8. Jair 9. Jephthah 10. Ibzan 11. Elon 12. Abdon 13. Samson 14. Eli 15. Samuel ~Dr. Tom Wallace

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