50. Beginner Bible Course: The Judges of Israel, Pt. 2

EPISODE 50  The simple Bible overview of…THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL, PT 2

In our last episode...

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...we met Boaz and Ruth, a splash of joy in the middle of cesspool. Judges we now return to the cesspool in progress, the Judges cycle, where every man does what's right in his own eyes. Allow me to introduce you to two more Judges before we hit rock bottom with two tragic stories. When the Israelites are in deep trouble from the Ammonites, God raises up Jeff The. The Gileadite. Jeff does mostly known for a rash vow. He made before going into battle against Ammon. He told God, if you give me the victory, the first thing that comes out of my house, I shall offer to you Lord, as a burnt offering, he's victorious in battle and what should come out to meet him first.

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When he comes home, his only daughter, daddy, how did it go in the tragic verses it follows. It appears The embraced the Canaanite practice of child sacrifice, which God was clear. I hate the tragic thing. Here is God in the family rules had already given instruction on what to do with rash vows. While vows were to be taken very seriously, rash bow is, could be repented of and a sacrifice for sin made. I truly hope Jeff The saw the light, but the text suggest he didn't next judge, up on our Judges rollercoaster list is Samson. The Philistines are oppressing Israel.

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At the time we're told of men Noah and his wife from the tribe of Dan, an angel appears to Manoa's wife and says, she's going to have a little boy. And he has to be a NAZA right in the family rules. God laid out what a Nazarite was. It was someone dedicated to God for a period of time. In this case, it was to be for life. The three main rules for a Nazarite no touching the dead. He represented the God of the living. Don't cut your hair, probably to identify you as a person devoted to God under a Nazarite vow. And third don't drink any alcohol we saw with both Noah and lat. What kind of trouble men get into when they drink too much?

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When Manoah his wife explains the visit and the announcement Manoah wants that person back to confirm. You'll read about that person coming back. And when Manoah makes a burnt offering, sacrifice the visitor and angel wicks up the flames and the smoke, that would be something. They have a baby boy and they named him. Samson Samson might make the top 10 old Testament, Sunday school stories for children, mainly because of his great strength and what God did through that strength to deliver God's people from the Philistines. What they didn't tell you in Sunday school, where some of the details Samson was a modern guy. What he wanted.

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He took one day, he noticed a certain Philistine woman. He went to his parents and said, get her for me. God told them to marry among their own people. Details, details on a trip to see his lady in waiting. He reaches into the carcass of a deadline to grab some honey. Remember Nazarites were not to touch anything dead. Again, details. He's a gambler. He wagers 30 changes of clothing with this Philistine buddies bedding them. They can't solve one of his riddles. His Philistine girlfriend nags the answer to his riddle out of him to pay off his gambling debt. He goes and kills 30 Philistines and takes their clothes.

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You can't kill 30 people without wait for it. Touching dead bodies. After going home to his parents to powder, while he comes back to find his girlfriend, her Philistine father has given her to another man in marriage. So Samson burns down their fields to retaliate the Philistine village goes to an Israelite village and attacks when they asked what their problem is, the Philistines reply we want. Samson the quick story is Samson turns himself in to them and gets tied up. When the Philistines come to get him, he breaks free from the ropes, grabs the job bone of a donkey and kills a thousand more Philistines with supernatural strength.

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Soon, another Philistine lady pops up Delilah. The Philistines want her to find out where Sampson's amazing. Strength comes from all over the course of days. She begins to nag at him. If you love me, you'd tell me as you read the story, each time he tells her a lie, he tiptoes closer to the truth. Finally, he tells her about the Nazarite vow and his great strength comes from his long hair. That's never been cut. It certainly didn't come from him. Obeying don't touch the dead. She gives him a head rub. He falls asleep and she hacks off his hair. The Philistines come capture him, put out his eyes and throw them in a Philistine in jail.

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Every once in a while, they'll pull them out at public celebrations or worship services to their God and make sport of him. The Eilis buffoon of Israel. I'm sure the Philistines had a few things to say about the Wolf, the God of Israel. He represented as well. Apparently a few years of being the buffoon pass Samson's hair grows back out at a major festival with Philistine dignitaries from all over gathered. They summoned Samson to come and entertain them. Samson asses guard escorts to let him rest against the pillars of the temple, where the party's being held. Then Samson asked God, give me my strength back one more time so that I may have been your great name.

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Well, that's not exactly what he said. The first part of that is right. Give me my great strength back one more time. But the second part was to avenge my eyes. It's all about me. God returns, strength and Samson is able to push down to supporting pillars and the temple bringing down the house Judges tells us he killed more at his death than he did all during his life. And some of the most powerful Philistine rulers in the land. As we near the end of the book of Judges, the writer stops talking about the Judges and starts talking about the condition of the people. He gives two stories. Micah the referee might and the tribe of Benjamin first.

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Micah the <inaudible> might Micah steals a thousand pieces of silver from his mother. She curses the thief. Then Micah says, mom, I'm the thief of the sun. That's okay. Let's take the silver and make an idol. This gives Micah the effort to might an idea. I'm going to set up my own little church here on the farm. So he sets aside a special room with the idol and makes an EFI to determine God's will. Now mind you he's in <inaudible>, which is where the tabernacle is at Shiloh, probably only a few hours away details. One day Micah hits the Motherload.

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A seminary student comes by his little farm that's right. A young Levi site, really with nothing to do. He is looking for a place to land. Micah says, Hey, stay here to be my priest. Check it out. I've got a ready-made church right here for you. Promise room bored. And the little spending money the seminary student settles in were then told that five spies from the tribe of Dan came by. Micah his little farm. When they saw the priests there, they asked, would you please ask God if our journey will be successful. Remember, these folks were only a few hours from Shiloh where the tabernacle was details.

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Despise, go back to their Danite camp. Mobilize the Danite son. They had North to attack a city. As the tribe goes by Micah as farm. They've got an idea. Wouldn't it be nice if their city had its own church, they go to Micah his farm and take the idle in <inaudible>. When the seminary student objects, they said, Hey, God's calling you to a bigger church, a whole tribe, come on. And he goes, Micah hears and comes on glued. He approaches the Danite tribe about their theft. It's like a scene from the godfather. Hey, calm down. These men are really trigger. Happy. You could end up dead.

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Guess you could say they made him an offer. He couldn't refuse. So Micah goes home. It was right in the eyes of the Danite tribe, unwilling or unable to take their own territory. The Danite then attack and murder and the entire city of unsuspecting people. Then we hit the story of the tribe of Benjamin. The bottom of the judge's barrel. This is your official yuck alert. If you haven't listened to episode 27 on the first yak alert regarding Saddam, you might want to do that first. If you've just eaten, you may want to wait and listen to the rest of this. When your stomach has settled a bit you've been warned here goes alleviate of the tribe of Benjamin has a concubine that's right, sort of wife slash mistress.

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She runs away to Bethlehem. He goes to retrieve her. When he gets to her home, he's delayed five days by a zealous father who doesn't want her to leave. We call it a Norwegian goodbye where I live on day five after lunch, he finally grabs his concubine and heads out of town. It's nearing dark when they reached J best, which is Jerusalem. The Jebusites occupied it. The Levi is not willing to stay in a pagan town for the night. So he decides we'll continue on and get to a Jewish town. A few hours later, as darkness sets in, they arrive at Gibeah in the tribe of Benjamin.

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They're planning to sleep in the city square at night until an old man comes in from the field and urges them to come to his house. Some wicked men of the city, surround the house and call out to the all man to send the man out for sex. Again, you may want to listen to episode 27. This time the man sends out his concubine in the morning, he finds her dead on the front step. The quick story is he cuts his concubine up into pieces and FedExes the pieces to the rest of the tribes of Israel. Along with an explanatory note of what's happened in Gibeah of Benjamin enraged, the Israelites assemble and demand.

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The perpetrators be handed over for punishment Gibeah and the larger tribe of Benjamin. Tell him to mind their own business and get lost. What follows is three days of bloodbath, tens of thousands of Israelites soldiers drop in the first two days of battle as Benjamin in its marksman prevail. But on the third day, Benjamin is almost entirely exterminated. The entire tribe stirred up. The men of Israel had made a vow. We'll never give our daughters in marriage to Benjamite men. After the battle, the Israelites discover there are 600 Benjamin soldiers who are survivors. They realize one of God's tribes Benjamin's tribe will be completely wiped from the face of the earth because of their vow.

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We'll never give them wives for marriage, but this is the time of the Judges so they can figure something out. That's right in their own eyes. They ask if any cities didn't heed the call to battle against Benjamin one city Jewish Gilliad didn't report. So they go to the city and kill everyone. But the young women, these are their own people who failed to show up for battle, who knows maybe they didn't even get the message or maybe they did what was right in their own eyes. They find 400 unmarried young ladies in J Bush Gilliad. And they give them to 400 of the Benjamite survivors. But that leaves 200 Benjamite men with no brides.

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So they come up with the second plan. So Israelite fathers had pledged. We'll never give our daughters in marriage to Benjamite men, nobody ever pledged. They couldn't be taken like kidnapped. So that's what they instructed. The 200 Benjamite men to do at a special holiday for young unmarried women. The 200 Benjamite men like caveman waited in the woods, then jumped out and grabbed themselves a bride. They kidnapped them. If you're interested in God's laws, kidnapping carried the death penalty details. Judges abruptly ends with this verse, the theme verse. In those days, there was no King in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes.

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Indeed, that statement is the summary statement, but it also sets us up for our next book for Samuel, the 330 years of loose Confederacy, where the people of Israel didn't follow God, but followed their own whims has not been a smashing success. These encourageable children of Israel need a parent, a strong leader. God has one more judge in mind and more than a judge, a godly prophet, his last ditch attempt to get their attention and turn their eyes back toward him. As their leader will meet this last judge and prophet in our next word picture.