STUDY GUIDE FOR JUDGES FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTER CHRISTINE
*hard questions v=verse
Christine: This is a hard book for adults, me included, and a very hard book for a young lady. I am proud of you for wanting to study all of God’s word—even the really hard parts. I still have lots of questions about this book, but I am going to keep on studying too. We can still learn a lot from God’s word even though we can’t begin to understand it all at once. I think God made it that way so that we would want to keep on reading and studying it. If you need help, you know you can call me any time?
Chapter 1
Was Joshua still the leader of the people?
Why did they cut off Adoni-bezek’s thumbs and great toes?
How did Othniel get his wife?
Did the people drive all the Canaanites out of the land?
Chapter 2
Was the Angel of the Lord pleased with the people? If not, why not?
How old was Joshua when he died?
*Why do you think the generation of people after Joshua did not know the Lord? (v10)
How did God punish them for serving Baal (idols, false gods)? (v14)
Who did God raise up to lead the people for Him?
What did the people do that made God angry? (v20)
Chapter 3
What did the people do to make God angry in addition to worshipping idols?
What did God do when the people cried out to Him for help?
Who were the 3 judges God raised up to lead the people in this chapter?
Name and describe the King of Moab.
Who killed the King of Moab?
What did Shamgar do?
Chapter 4
Who was the first woman judge?
She asked Barak why he hadn’t obeyed the Lord and gone to fight Sisera. What was his answer?
Who was Sisera? Who killed him? How?
Chapter 5
What did Deborah and Barak do after defeating the enemy?
*What was the song about?
How long did the land rest after this victory?
Chapter 6
The people of Israel started doing evil again. Who did God deliver them to this time?
Who was the judge that God raised up to save Israel this time?
Was he eager to obey God?
What did he do first? (v18)
*What was Gideon’s response to the miracle of the Angel of the Lord?
Why did he respond that way?
What did the Lord tell Gideon to do?
How did the people respond to what he did?
What did Gideon ask God to do to give him confidence?
Chapter 7
How did God tell Gideon to choose what men to take into battle with him?
Why did God not want Gideon to take a large army into battle?
How many men did God allow Gideon to take?
What did God tell Gideon to do to give him more confidence?
How did Gideon divide his men?
What did he give each man?
What did they yell when they attacked?
Chapter 8
*Why did the people of Succoth and Penuel refuse to help Gideon?
Gideon and his 300 men were chasing the armies of Zebah and Zalmunna who had how many men left?
What question did Gideon ask the kings when he captured them?
Who was Jether? Why did he disobey his father?
What did the men of Israel ask Gideon to do? What was his answer?
How long was the land quiet this time?
How many sons did Gideon have?
*Who was Abimelech?
*What is a concubine?
What did the people of Israel do after Gideon died?
Chapter 9
What evil thing did Abimelech do?
Why do you think he did it?
Who was Jotham?
What did Jotham do after the people made Abimelech the king?
What did God do after 3 years?
Who wanted to kill Abimelech and become the king?
What did Abimelech do when he heard that all the men of Shechem were in the tower stronghold of the temple of the god Berith?
How was Abimelech killed?
Chapter 10
What judge arose to save Israel after Abimelech died?
How long did he judge?
Who was next? For how long?
Who conquered Israel when they started doing evil again? For how long?
How did God answer when they cried out for His help? (v11-14)
What did the people do next?
Who was Jephthah?
What did the elders of Gilead want him to do?
What was Jephthah’s answer?
Jephthah tried to negotiate with the King of Ammon by sharing some of the history regarding events in connection with how the neighboring nations treated Israel on their way to taking the Promised Land. Did that cause the king to cooperate?
When the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, what vow did he make to God?
What happened when Jephthah returned home in victory?
*How do you think he fulfilled his vow?
Chapter 12
*The men of Ephraim were mad at Jephthah for fighting Ammon without them. Jephthah responded that he asked for their help, but Ephraim did not come. They ended up in a fight. How did the men of Gilead identify the men of Ephraim?
How many men of Ephraim were killed?
How long did Jephthah judge Israel?
Who was the next judge? For how long?
Who was next? How long?
Next? How long?
Chapter 13
Israel did evil again; so who did God let conquer them?
How long did they rule Israel?
Who did the Angel of the Lord appear to next?
What did He tell her?
What special instructions did He give her?
What did her husband do when she told him?
What did the Angel say when Manoah asked His name?
Why did Manoah think he had seen God?
What did they name their son?
Chapter 14
Things aren’t always what they seem to be to other people. What is the first thing we are told that Samson did that would seem to be wrong to us?
Was this part of God’s plan?
What did Samson do in the vineyards of Timnah?
*Was it wrong for Samson to eat the honey? Why?
Samson told a riddle to 30 men and promised them a reward if they solved it. What was it?
Did they solve it? If so, how?
Samson was angry when he found out what they had done. So what did he do?
Chapter 15
What did Samson do when he found out the girl was married to someone else?
The Philistines went against Judah to capture Samson. How many men went to arrest Samson to give him to the Philistines?
Did Samson go with them? If so, how?
What happened when the Philistines came shouting against Samson?
How did God relieve Samson’s thirst?
Chapter 16
*What is a harlot?
How did Samson get out of Gaza?
Who did Samson fall in love with?
Did she love him? How do you know?
Delilah was persistent. How many times did Samson trick her with his answer as to why he was so strong?
He finally told her the truth; what was it?
What did the Philistines do to Samson when they captured him?
Did God forgive Samson and answer his prayer to take vengeance on the Philistines?
What happened?
How long did Samson judge Israel?
Chapter 17
What did Micah steal?
What did his mother do with the money that was returned to her?
How does scripture describe the actions of the people of Israel at that time?
Why did Micah think God would bless him?
Chapter 18
What did the men of Dan want? (v1)
What land did they decide to take as their own?
What did they do when they came back to Micah’s house?
When Laish was conquered, what did they name it?
Did the Israelites of the tribe of Dan who conquered Laish worship God?
Where was the house of God, the Tabernacle, at that time?
Chapter 19
What happened when the Levite went to get his concubine that had gone back to her father’s house? Was he welcomed?
On the way home they stopped in Gibeah. What tribe lived there?
Were they welcomed? (v15)
An old man finally invited them into his home. What happened while they were eating?
Note: These are not fun things to talk about, but God tells it like it is. Men are often wicked when they don’t love God. These men were wanting to do sexual things with the man. That is what defines a homosexual.
What did the old man and the man staying with him do?
What did the man do with his dead concubine?
Chapter 20
The men of Israel were outraged and took action. Where did they meet?
How many soldiers were with them?
The men of Israel demanded that the people of Benjamin give them the men of Gibeah that abused and killed the concubine. What were they going to do to them and why?
Did Benjamin comply?
What was special about 700 men of Benjamin?
How many days did Israel have to fight against Benjamin before God gave them the victory?
How many men from Benjamin escaped?
What did they do to the cities of Benjamin?
Chapter 21
What is an oath?
What oath did the men of Israel swear?
Were they happy about it?
They didn’t want one of the 12 tribes to die out, but they could not break their oath. They figured out that one group of people had not helped them fight Benjamin or taken the oath. Who was it?
How did they punish those people?
How did the few men left in Benjamin get wives? (v14)
How did they get wives for the rest?
Who was king in Israel?
How did the people act?
Summary
One of the main things that Judges focuses on is the difference in Israel when they obey God and disobey God. What is the difference?
What is the main thing the Israelites did to disobey God when they conquered the land?
What did this result in?
Note: People often think God was being cruel to tell His people to kill all the Canaanites, but He wasn’t. He knew that those wicked people would cause His people to turn away from Him and worship their idols. His instructions were meant to protect His people. We can also learn from this.
God’s commands are always made in love to protect us.
We should choose friends that love Jesus and will encourage us to do what is right.
One great theme in this book is God’s mercy. Every time the people repented, God delivered them.
Another great theme is God’s faithfulness to His promises (covenants); He always keeps His promises. He made a covenant with Abraham that He will keep in spite of how the people of Israel (Abraham’s descendants) try His patience and continue to reject Him. He will continue to judge them until a remnant (a small group compared to the whole) of Israelites finally emerge that embrace Him as Lord and Savior. That will happen at the end of the tribulation, the final 7 years on planet earth before the Lord comes back as King (bringing us with Him).
Addendum of previous notes taken while reading through this book.
1 – The people disobeyed God by not driving out and destroying the inhabitants. (cf Deuteronomy 7:1-5). They allowed the Canaanites to dwell among them.
2 – As long as Joshua lived and led them, the people served the Lord. Verse 10—The next generation “knew not the Lord” nor did they know the works God had done for Israel. They had not been taught and evidently neither had their parents served as examples. They turned to idols/false gods. They did repent when God raised up judges—but only during the lifetime of the judge.
Godly leadership and instruction are vital to the life of a believer.
3 – Israel intermarried with the Canaanites. They fell into servitude in between judges. The Lord always responded to their cry for help.
4 – A woman, Deborah (wife and prophetess) served as judge due to a lack of a “qualified” man of faith. Jael, another woman, killed Sisera, the enemy king.
5 – The Lord delights in responding to His people when they willingly submit to Him as Lord. Deborah sings a beautiful song of praise to God.
6 – When Israel cried for help, the Lord sent a prophet. He declared their disobedience. The “angel of the Lord” appears to Gideon. Our might is sufficient when acting in obedience to God. Our status in society matters not. Gideon was poor and the least in his family. Gideon obeys the Lord’s instructions in the face of possible opposition from his family by working at night.
He tore down the idol of Baal and built an altar to the Lord. Regarding the fleece—Gideon knew God was able; his faith was weak that God would act according to His word. God responded to the fleece to increase his faith.
7 – God wants to work miraculously through children/men of faith. God doesn’t berate Gideon for fearing; He again provides to strengthen his faith. Often, the enemy is quicker to acknowledge God’s power and authority than we are. (v14) Gideon’s heart was attentive and ready to hear.
8 – Gideon again shows humility (before Ephraim). The masses were afraid to support Gideon’s troops as long as the enemy was still alive. As Gideon experienced victory, he began to have more confidence. He then asked his son to act with a fierceness toward the enemy without showing him the same patience and teaching that God had shown him. Gideon recognized that the Lord was King enough for Israel and refused to be king. Gideon used his own “wisdom” to make an ephod and position it so that it eventually was worshipped as an idol. He also gave in to the flesh by taking many wives.
The man of God must seek continual communion with the Lord to maintain obedience. We can never rest on past victories. God wants us to trust Him in faith. A good intention never accomplishes “good” when it is done without God’s direction.
9 – Abimelech was a child of Gideon from his concubine—out of wedlock. He was willing to kill Gideon’s 70 sons to fulfill his lust for power. One escaped—Jotham. The people made Abimelech king. He went to the top of Mt. Gerizim and pronounced a curse on them if they had not dealt justly with Gideon’s family—Gideon who had done so much for them. God allowed Abimelech to reign three years before sending an evil spirit against him through the men of Shechem. When the fight began, Abimelech appeared to be winning (as is often the case with the enemy). He even destroyed about 1000 men and women who hid in the tower of Shechem by burning the tower. (Note that they had participated in Abimelech’s original scheme against Gideon’s household). When he attempted to do the same at the tower of Thebez, a woman dropped a millstone on his head. It was a fatal wound, but he was able to get his servant to thrust him through with a sword to avoid the shame of dying at the hands of a woman. This act didn’t change the truth.
Our perceptions aren’t what matters; it is the truth that counts.
God punished Abimelech and the men of Shechem. Jotham’s curse was fulfilled becaue it represented truth.
10 – After two judges over 45 years (Tolah and Jair) Israel again “did evil.” Israel cried out to God and acknowledged their sin. The Lord recited his past deliverance and their faithlessness. He told them to cry out to the “gods” they had chosen (v14). The people acknowledged their sin and expressed willingness to accept God’s judgment/chastisement in return for deliverance. They backed up their words with action. They put away their “strange gods” and served the Lord. The misery of His people touched the Father’s heart. The princes of Gilead determined to identify a leader from among them to lead the attack on Ammon (descendants of Lot).
11 – Jephthah was identified as the chosen leader. He was known as a man of might and valor. He was the illegitimate son of Gilead. He was ill treated by his “legitimate” brothers and fled to Tob where he formed his own gang. To their credit, the Gileadites humbled themselves and asked Jephthah to lead them as their captain. He accepted. First, he tried diplomacy. Ammon accused Israel of taking their land which Jephthah flatly denied. The land in question had been given to Israel by God in judgment on the Amorites. They should ask their own god (Chemosh) for land. Moab (also descendants of Lot) hadn’t questioned their right for the last 300 years and neither had Ammon—until now……why?
Jephthah appealed to God as The Judge between them. Ammon refused. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Jephthah. He rashly makes a vow to sacrifice to the Lord the first thing out of his house if he returns in victory.
Show doubt – lack of faith
Shows thoughtlessness in declaring his vow
God gives him the victory. When he returns home, his only child, a daughter, is first out the door rejoicing. He remembered his vow and knew it a serious matter before God. His daughter had been taught and understood the same. She asked for two months to mourn that she would never have a family. Gilead evidently fulfilled his vow when she returned.
A custom was established for the daughters of Israel to mourn this young woman four days each year. (Note Leviticus 27 provides for redemption of person for vow.)
12 – As with Gideon, Ephraim shows up after the fact angry that they had not been asked to join in the fight. Jephthah declared that he had asked and been refused. He gave the Lord credit for the victory. War broke out among them. Gilead had the upper hand and controlled passage across the Jordan. They could always identify the Ephraimites for their inability to pronounce Shibboleth.All Ephraimites were destroyed when identified. Gilead judged for six years, Ibzan for seven years, Elon for ten years, and Abdon for eight years……for a total of 31 years.
13 – Israel again turns to evil and the Lord delivers them to the Philistines for 40 years. The Angel of the Lord appears to the barren wife of Manoah. He tells her she will have a son, and that he is to be a Nazarite (Numbers 6:2-7) “from the womb.” She is not to drink wine or eat anything unclean during her pregnancy. She is told that her son will begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
She identified the angel to her husband as from God—one whose countenance was “terrible.”
Manoah prays and asks God to send “the man of God” back to instruct them. God did, but the woman was alone again; so she ran to get him. Manoah asks for instruction.
The wife was not to eat anything of the vine or drin wine or strong drink or any unclean thing.
Manoah asks the “angel of the Lord” to stay and eat with them. Manoah didn’t know the man was an “angel of the Lord.” He asked the man his name? The refused to eat, but suggest the kid be sacrificed as an offering to God. Manoah did express that he believed the man’s message. The “angel of the Lord” declares His name is secret (wonderful? Is 9:6)—direct connect to YHWH.
Manoah offered the kid as a sacrifice, and the angel ascended in the flame of the fire. V22—Then Manoah knew they “had seen God.” He feared death. His wife pointed out that if the Lord wanted to kill them, He wouldn’t have received their offering nor would He have given them the message about the child.
The woman is never named. Samson was the child born to them. A he grew, he was moved by the Spirit “at times.”
14 – Samson has a weakness for women. He chooses a Philistine wife. His mother and father disapprove, but comply. Verse 4 tells us this was of the Lord, so Samson can begin to begin (cf 13:5) deliverance of Israel.
On the way to arrange the marriage Samson is attacked by a young lion. The Spirit empowers him to kill it easily with his bare hands. His father and mother knew nothing of the incident. When they returned “after a time” to take his wife, Samson checked out the lion’s carcass and saw that the bees had made honey in it. He took some and ate it and gave some to his parents, but didn’t tell them where it had come from (an unclean source that broke his vow—thus, the trouble that follows). When they got to the woman’s home, Samson gave a feast according to custom. Thirty “companions” joined him.
Samson decides to pose a riddle and offers to give them 30 sheets and changes of garments if they solve it during the seven days of the feast. If they can’t, they must give him 30 sheets and changes of clothing. They agree.
On the 7th day they told the bride to “entice” Samson and get the answer or they would burn the house down. (Discrepancies: 3 days – in 7 days – on 7th day – she weeps 7 days)
She succeeds and tells them the answer. Samson realizes that his bride betrayed him.
The Spirit of the Lord empowers him to go to Ashkelon, kill 30 men and take their spoil to pay his debt. He was angry and goes home leaving his bride behind. His bride is then given to the best man.
15 – After a while, Samson decides to go claim his wife. The father informs him that he gave his daughter to the best man since Samson had rejected her. He then tried to give Samson the younger sister. Again, the Philistines will be judged. Samson catches 300 foxes. He ties a fire brand between the tails of two foxes and turns them loose into the corn fields and vineyards and olive groves of the Philistines.
The Philistines respond by burning the woman and her father with fire. Samson declared he was not yet appeased. He destroyed many more “hip and thigh” (ferociously, viciously).
Samson then retires to the “top of the rock Etam.” The Philistines camp in Judah in pursuit of Samson. The 3000 men of Judah find out what’s going on and go to question Samson why he is provoking those in rule over them. They tell Samson they are going to bind him and deliver him to the Philistines. Samson agrees to cooperate if they promise not to harm him themselves. They promise. He is bound with new ropes and taken down. When the Philistines “shouted against him,” the Spirit came upon him; and he easily broke the bonds. He found a new jawbone of an ass (not brittle) and killed 1000 men with it. He was very thirsty and asked God for water while acknowledging that his victory was from God. God gave him water from a hollow in the jawbone.
Samson judged Israel for 20 years.