Judges 17-18  There is a change in the narrative for these last 5 chapters of the book of Judges. For 350 years, the tribes of Israel had lived their own way. Each tribe had become independent of the others.  They had all forgotten the Law of the Lord.. they no longer went up to the tabernacle in Shiloh to worship together... " In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." (17:6)

One of these men..was a man in Ephraim named Micah. Micah stole money from his mother but then gave it back to her when she cursed the one who stole it.  Interestingly enough, Micah's mother then blessed him and took some of the silver and had it made into an idol.  Micah set up a shrine to this idol and made an ephod.  He set up his son to be a priest at first.  Later, a Levite who lived in the territory of Judah traveled into this territory of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.  When Micah found out this man was a Levite, he asked him to be the priest for him there.  He gave him wages, clothes, and a home.  Micah felt blessed, "Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest." 

This is so sad! Shiloh was located in Ephraim. The tabernacle was there. The priests of the Lord were there. True worship was supposed to be done in Shiloh.  The Israelites were never supposed to make graven images or worship false gods.  A Levite was never meant to become a priest for an idol worshipping Israelite. This was so wrong.  And.. more evil was coming to Micah's house. 

Chapter 18 Again we are reminded "In those days there was no king in Israel.. "  The tribe of Dan found themselves in difficulty because the land they were supposed to inherit had been taken over by the Philistines.  Joshua 19:40-48 tells us that the territory given them included "Zorah and Eshtaol.. Timnah.. over to Joppa".   Samson grew up in the area between Zorah and Eshtaol. Timnah is where he found his first wife.  From this area "the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; "  These men set out on this journey.. away from the land God had given them.. and headed north. 

When the men came to Micah's house they stayed there. Hearing the Levite they recognized his voice.  The young man explained how he had become a priest in Micah's house. The Danites asked him to inquire of God... "please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous."  The priest replied, "Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the Lord's approval." So off they went. 

The men continued their journey until they came to Laish.  This area was the northern most part of Israel.  It was home to a small group of peaceful people who lived "in security".  They were similar to the Sidonians but far enough away from them that they had no dealings with them.   The 5 Danites were quite pleased with this area, so they went on the long journey back to their home and convinced the whole tribe to move to this wonderful new land.. " a place where there is no lack of anything that is on earth." 

Dan had 600 armed men with them as they all traveled back to Laish. They came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim on the way. When they were told about the priest, the graven image and the ephod.. they went in to take it. They also convinced the priest to come with them. When Micah found out what they had done he went after them.  Micah cried out to them. They answered him, "What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together.?"   Micah answered "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, 'What is the matter with you?' "  Micah could not fight that battle, so the Danites took his idol and went to Laish. 

The men of Dan struck down the people who lived in this new area and settled there. They called it Dan. They set up their idol and stayed there until they were taken into captivity. 

Father, there is so much that we don't know about why things happen like they do... Why did Micah set us his own idol when he  could have and should have gone up to Shiloh and worshiped You?  Why did the Danites take Micah's  false religion, go to a land that was not given to them, and slaughter a quiet, peaceful people? Why did You not stop them?  Why do people.. why do we ..continue to "do what is right in our own sights" and forget that we have a Mighty, True God  who has given us the way of Life? Forgive us Father  for choosing what is pleasing to ourselves but evil in Your sight.  Transform us.. HolySpirit.. invade our lives and our minds that we might choose Your ways and do what is right in Your eyes..  We ask for Your will to be done, Father God.  We yield to You humbly and completely.. help us we pray.. in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

 Judges 16  One last story about Samson is given to us in this chapter of Judges.  The first few verses describe a conquest in Gaza. Samson went there and found a harlot.  The Philistines planned to attack him in the morning, but Samson slipped away at midnight, taking the gates of this city to the top of the mountain. 

Then, Samson met Delilah.. and he fell in love. Delilah was approached by the Philistine lords and offered a large sum of money to betray Samson by finding out the source of his strength.  Three times Delilah asked Samson how he could be bound.. three times he told her a false story.. three times she fell for it and tried it!  Samson did not learn his lesson.. so when Delilah asked again.. nagging him to tell the truth.. he foolishly told her the whole story.  He was a Nazarite. to God..  His hair had never been cut. If his head was shaved he would lose his strength. 

Delilah betrayed Samson.  His hair was cut. The Philistines came.. and he was weak. ".. he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.."  They seized him. They blinded him. Then they took him to Gaza and imprisoned  him.  "However, the hair of his head began to grow again...."

  Taken to entertain the Philistines at a feast for their god, Dagon, Samson was allowed to rest his hands on the two main pillars in their temple. With one last prayer Samson pulled down the pillars causing the whole building to collapse.  Samson died..  killing thousands of the drunken Philistine nobles.  

" O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." Samson prayed... and God answered. 

This man had every opportunity to do great things for the Lord God.. but he wasted the gifts that God had given him.   He was a Nazarite.. set apart for the Lord.  His purpose had been proclaimed by the angel of the Lord.. ".. and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines."  Despite Samson's foolish choices with women.. he did "begin" to conquer the Philistines.  We will never know, this side of heaven, whether Samson could have accomplished much more had he been faithful to God in all his decisions.  I guess in the same way, we could all think the same thing about our own lives.. If we had been more faithful.. more devoted.. more trusting.. and more obedient to the Lord.. what more could our God do in us and through us? 

Father in heaven, pour out Your Spirit upon us so that we might not waste one more minute of our lives, but serve You and love You with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength.  All we have comes from You. You have a plan for our lives and have set us aside to be Your servants.. Your children.. and to accomplish Your purposes in each of us.  Have Your way O Lord!  Remember us! Strengthen us to do Your good and perfect will. We ask this in the Name of our Risen Lord. Amen. 

 Judges 14-15  Samson grew up in Zorah, near the border of Judah's territory. The Philistines were ruling over Israel at that time because of their sinfulness. Samson went to the city of Timnah and found a woman that "looked good" to him and asked his parents to arrange a marriage.  They did not want him to marry a Philistine woman, but he was determined, so they made the arrangements.  We are told that "it was of the Lord" for this to happen for "He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines." 

Samson and his parents went down to Timnah where Samson confronted a lion and killed it with his bare hands.  He didn't tell anyone, even his parents about the lion.  Later, he went back down again and found honey in the carcass of the lion, which he ate on the way to his wedding feast.  The Philistines brought 30 companions to be with Samson for his wedding.  He made a wager with them for 30 linen wraps and changes of clothes, if they could figure out his riddle. "Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet." 

Of course, the men could not answer the riddle, so they threatened Samson's new bride. She wept for the rest of the wedding feast.. 7 days!  Finally, he told her the answer and she told the men. Samson was angry!  He went down to another city, killed 30 men and brought back the spoil to give the 30 men their changes of clothes. Then, he left and went home.. without his wife. 

Later, Samson went back to Timnah to claim his bride, only to find out that her father had given her to his best man.  Samson was so angry that this time he took 300 foxes, tied them tail to tail in two's, set a flaming torch between them and let them all go into the vineyards and groves of the Philistines. Everything was destroyed. The Philistines found out that Samson had done this because of his wife's father.. so they went up and burned both Samson's wife and her father.  In retaliation, Samson slaughtered a great number of Philistines and left to go live in "the cleft of the rock of Etam." 

Trouble followed Samson.. the Philistines came to Etam and confronted the men of Judah who lived there. Judah responded, not by defending Samson, but by binding him with rope and giving him over to the Philisitnes.  But.. the Lord intervened once more.. "And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands, "  Samson took a jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand men with it. 

Samson called upon the Lord who came to his rescue once again, giving him water from a "hollow place" so that he was revived. "So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines." 

Samson is anything but a typical man, let alone a man who is wise or "godly" or anyone that we would choose to be a leader... but, God chose him.. in a really remarkable way.. and used him to inflict destruction upon the Philistines. The Lord was with Samson through it all. And.. through it all, Samson continued to call out to the Lord to remember him and help him. 

Father, You are the source of our strength and our hope. You will not forget us or forsake us when we call on You.  Help us to learn from the lives of the judges.. help us to never lose hope in You,  our God who does great wonders, who chooses us to do Your will throughout our lives.  We are not perfect, we make bad choices, we are weak, and we recognize our great need for the Savior. We bring our burdens and lay them at Your feet.. and we take up the yoke of Jesus Christ, relying fully on Your grace and mercy.  Have Your way, Lord, in us today we pray.  In Jesus' name. Amen. 

 Judges 13 "Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years."  

We know the story of Samson.. but this chapter is about his parents. Manoah and his wife were from the tribe of Dan. They lived in Zorah, an area near the border of Judah, and also near the territory where the Philistines lived.  This couple were barren until the day that the angel of the Lord approached Manoah's wife while she was alone. "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son." he told her. 

Manoah's wife was never named in the Bible and yet, she was the one that the angel came to.. and she is the one who took heart to do all that the angel of the Lord said.  This child would be a "Nazarite".. a consecrated one.. devoted to the Lord. His mother was commanded to "be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing."  The child would be set apart for the Lord.. "..no razor shall come upon his head for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." 

The woman immediately went to her husband and told him what happened. This led Manoah to pray, asking the Lord for wisdom to raise this child. " O Lord, please let the man of God whom Thou has sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born."   And God listened. The angel of God came again to the woman.. while she was alone in the field.  This time she ran and got her husband, and they went together to speak to the angel of God. 

Manoah had some questions.. 

"Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" he asked.  "I am" answered the angel of God. 

"Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation?"  He wanted to know the future...  or perhaps he was testing whether this was actually the truth..  but the angel was focused on the present.. "Let the woman pay attention to all that I said... " 

Manaoah wanted to bring a meal for the angel, but he answered, " I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord."  Then Manoah wanted to know the angel's name, but the angel answered, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?"

If Manoah had any doubts about the identity of this "man" he soon understood! For when they offered the burnt offering... the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire!  "Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord."  This caused him to fear.. "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." he told his wife.

But.. his wife was not afraid.. "If the Lord desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time." 

The next thing that happened is that Samson was born.. "and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him." 

Samson judged Israel for 20 years.. but his life was nothing like any of the other judges.  He won victories, but experienced defeat. He failed to be faithful to the Lord in his marriage.. but ended up acting in faith at the end of his life.  There are only 4 judges mentioned in the Hebrew's list of men of faith.. Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and Samson.  There are things we don't know about Samson's parents.. but we know that when they were visited by the angel of the Lord... their lives were changed forever.  Some believe that this "wonderful" one was Christ.. before His incarnation.  Manoah's wife must have been a very special woman.. what a blessing to have been in the Presence of God.. whether an angel or the Lord Jesus, Himself! 

Father in heaven, teach us to have the faith of this unnamed woman of old.  She believed and she obeyed Your commands.  She raised a son in a difficult time and watched him do great things.  She also watched him make a great error in choosing a wife.  We also have watched our loved ones do great things and sometimes make grave errors.  We pray for those who are not walking in faith and obedience to Your Word. We ask that You would bring them to seek Jesus today.. that they might come into Your Holy Presence. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

 Judges 12 Jephthah was not finished with his struggles after defeating the Ammonites. The tribe of Ephraim decided to take issue with the fact that Jephthah and the Gileadites had defeated the enemy without their help.. "Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with you?" 

The fact was that Ephraim should have come to the aid of all of Manasseh, including Gilead, but they didn't.  Jephthah called them on it, "And when I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and crossed over... and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come to me this day to fight against me?" 

The two tribes fought against each other with the Gileadites defeating Ephraim.  Gilead took control of the "fords of the Jordan".. which divided Ephraim from Gilead.  They would not allow any Ephramite  to cross over into their territory. They devised a little test to determine if a man was from Ephraim.. For some reason the Ephramitse could not pronounce the word "Shibboleth" correctly.. saying "Sibboleth" instead.  When they would try to cross they were taken and killed. "Thus fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim." 

Jephthah judged Israel for  6 years. The next judge came from Bethlehem.  Ibzan lasted 7 years and all we are told is that he had 30 sons and 30 daughters.. and they intermarried with outsiders.  After him a man named Elon, from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for 10 years.  After him was Abdon, a Pirathonite. Pirathon was in Ephraim's hill country.  He judged Israel for 8 years, but all we know about him is that he had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, who all rode donkeys! 

It is noted in some sources that some of these judges could have served at the same time. They were from various tribes and acted as leaders in various ways.  Some led armies.. but some just judged and had lots of children. But.. things were about to change again for God was about to bring to Israel another judge by the name of Samson. 

What is clear about the judges in Israel was that they were limited in what they could do.. changes did not last.. evil was not conquered.. and Israel remained divided and sinful. We don't hear anything about the priesthood or the tabernacle at that time. Worship of the Lord was almost unheard of.   What Israel needed more than anything was a Redeemer! 

Father in heaven, in all the years that have passed since the times of the judges, there has not been much that has changed in  this sinful world.. in many ways.. but we are so thankful that You have given to us a Redeemer, Jesus Christ who has come to seek and save the lost.  We  are not without hope! We will one day know the One True Judge who will set all things right.  Hallelujah for the Living Word who changes lives and futures for all who will come to worship You in spirit and in truth. Lead us Holy Spirit in the ways of our God we pray, in the name of Jesus our Saviour and King. Amen. 

 Judges 11 The  next judge is a man named Jephthah, a Gileadite. Jephthah was the son of a harlot. Gilead's wife also had sons, who drove Jephthah away from their father's house when they got older.  Jephthah went to live in Tob, just over the northern border of Gilead. There, he gathered a gang of "worthless fellows" who would go "out with him".   But, when the army of Ammon came to fight in Gilead the leaders there went to find Jephthah to fight for them. They promised to make him chief of Gilead.. over the brother's that had sent him away!

Amazingly, Jephthah was the one who looked to the Lord in all of this!  The son of a harlot, the outcast from his father's house, despised by his brothers.. Jephthah came to the rescue. 

Jephthah first tried to reason with the king of Ammon.  He actually gave him a history lesson, telling how Israel had come from Egypt, went around Edom and Moab, and defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites. The land they now possessed was won fairly in war.. the Lord God gave them victory. "Since now the Lord, the God of Israel drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it? Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God had driven out before us, we will possess it."   For 300 years Israel had possessed the land, Jephthah told the Ammonite king.. it was never theirs and they had never claimed it before. "I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the Lord, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon." 

The king of Ammon would not listen to Jephthah's message and war was on the horizon. "Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.. "  Before he led the army against Ammon Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, "If Thou wilt indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace.. it shall be the Lord's and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."  Jephthah went to battle, defeated Ammon, and returned home.  Unfortunately the one to come out of his house was his only child.. his daughter. We are told that Jephthah kept his vow to the Lord.  There is some debate as to whether Jephthah actually gave his daughter up as a human sacrifice, or whether she was redeemed as allowed by the Law and spent the rest of her life as a virgin who served the Lord.  Either way, she agreed to the terms of her father's vow. 

Father in heaven, You chose this man for Your purposes.  You anointed him with Your Spirit. You gave him victory over the enemy. You enabled him to keep his vow to You, even if it was not something that You desired.. the sacrifice of this daughter.  You work in the lives of anyone, regardless if they have been rejected or treated unfairly.. or they make foolish vows..  Your plans are perfect and we can learn, like Jephthah to honor You in all we do. Fill us Spirit of God that we might walk in faithfulness and peace with You today. Teach us Your ways today we pray, in the Name of Jesus, Amen 

 Judges 10  After the death of Abimelech came a judge named Tola from the area of Issachar.  We are told 2 things about Tola.. he "arose to save Israel"  and he judged for 23 years.  After him rose "Jair" from Gilead who judged 22 years. We are  told that he had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys and had 30 cities. Then Jair died and was buried. ( Jair, was a descendant  of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.)

"Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord."  This time seems even worse than before.. they "served the Balls and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him." 

The Lord gave the Israelites into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites. For 18 years things got worse and worse, especially in Gilead.  (Gilead was an area first divided among the three tribe that settled to the east of the Jordan River - Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben.)   The Ammonites crossed the Jordan and also attacked the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim... "so that Israel was greatly distressed." 

"Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying 'We have sinned against Thee, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals. ' "   But.. this time the Lord did not immediately rescue His people, He reminded them of how He had delivered them over and over again.. "and I delivered you from their hands. Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more." God told them to go and cry out to the "gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress." 

This time the Israelites confessed their sin, put away the foreign gods, and submitted to the Lord's will, and "served the Lord; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer."

How many people in our day have chosen other idols and "forsaken the Lord"?  How many have found themselves miserable because of those choices?  How many have had chance after chance, known God's mercy, and then turned back to the gods of this world?  This Old Testament story is more than just a story about a country far away in time and place.. it is a picture of real life.  We see it every day.. people who love money, love sin, love power, or love themselves so much that they completely deny that there is a God who sees them and loves them.. A God who is greater than their addictions.. greater than their obsessions.. greater than their fears..  A God worthy of their worship!

Father in heaven, let those who live in the darkness see a great Light.. Come, Jesus, come and heal blind eyes and enslaved souls.. Come and convict and convince the lost to seek the salvation that comes only by repentance and surrender to God, the One and Only True God. Holy Spirit move mightily in our land today, convicting of sin, righteousness and judgement. We see the misery of oppression and violence all over the world, Lord God, and we cry out, once again, on their behalf.. that they would put away the idols and turn to You, for You alone can rescue the perishing. Be exalted in all the earth we pray, in Jesus' name Amen.