A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

TWENTY-EIGHT
JUDGES:
Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah
(Judges 1:1-5:31)
After the death of Joshua, there was no strong leader to provide leadership for Israel in
the land. But there did not appear to be a need for a strong leader for some time. The influence of
Joshua was felt long after he was dead. “So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord,
which He had done for Israel” (Jud. 2:7). So long as they continued to follow the Lord, the elders
of the various tribes and families could and did administer the affairs of state.
Israel was not a unified nation with a capital city into which they could rally during a
time of invasion (i.e., a city-state). They were a confederation of twelve tribes, comprised mostly
of farmers and herdsmen. There was no central leader, only patriarchal family heads to lead their
extended families.
But though they were the designated people of God in the Old Testament, they were as
human as men today. It is always easier to follow the Lord when there is a cause or crisis than to
maintain a walk with God after the initial crisis is past. And so in their strength, Israel became
weak by failing to complete the task God had assigned them. “But the children of Benjamin did
not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem” (1:21). “Manasseh did not drive out the
inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor
and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and
its villages” (v. 27). “Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer” (v. 29). Nor
did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol” (v. 30). “Nor did
Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah,
Aphik, or Rehob” (v. 31). “Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the
inhabitants of Beth Anath” (v. 33).
Someone has said, “The one thing man learns from history is that man does not learn
from history.” Sociologists, those who study trends in society, have noted societies tend to
revolve in cycles. Certainly that was true in the history of Israel. In the Book of Judges, there is
an obvious repetition of the social cycle which was the experience of Israel. From generation to
generation the people demonstrated by repeatedly passing through the cycle of judgment. and
restoration that they had failed to learn anything from the experience of the previous generation.
So pronounced is this pattern in the Book of Judges that it actually provides the key by
which the history of events is recounted. Though there are several minor judges mentioned in the
book, the history of Israel from the Conquest to the establishment of the monarchy really
revolves around the conditions leading to the rise of seven major judges who were the key to the
deliverance of Israel from the hands of her enemies and their subsequent ministry. Six of these
judges are described in the Book of Judges. The last of the judges was Samuel the prophet and
faithful priest at Shiloh.