“The Judges”

Series: A Journey through the Old Testament [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

July 11, 2021

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever noticed how styles change over time? They’re popular at one moment, and then all of a sudden, they’re not. Here are some pictures of styles from previous decades. [show pictures on screen] The reason that these styles change is because the preferences and opinions of people change.

Now, we’re not going to talk about fashion this morning. I’m completely unqualified to talk about that. However, we are going to talk about changing opinions. It’s one thing for that to happen with clothing, but it’s an entirely different reality for that to happen with the way that we live. We’re seeing shifting opinions with how we live in our day and time, where morality and values change nearly every day. Well, the people of Israel also experienced this moral instability during the time of the Judges. 

Today, we’re continuing our journey in the Old Testament and we’ll be talking about the period of the Judges of Israel. We’re going to see that this was a tremendously unstable time for the people of Israel. 

Let’s pray together as we get started. 

(prayer)

In our journey through the Old Testament we have learned how God created all things, set apart a people as His own, the people of Israel, and then led those people to their own land, the Promised Land. Now, their leader, Joshua, has passed away and they need new leaders. That takes us to the Judges. 

So, let’s look at some major elements as we begin this part of our journey:

I. Major elements [on screen]

1. After Joshua came a new generation of Israelites who did not follow God. (Judges 2:8-13) [on screen]

Read Judges 2:8-13. (Read in paper Bible)

At first thought, it may seem striking to see how quickly the people could turn away from the Lord. However, remember that Joshua’s generation came after a generation of people who were not allowed to enter the Promised Land because they were complainers and doubters. Then, even during Joshua’s generation, you had some who disobeyed the Lord. 

Then, the generation that came after Joshua also turned away from God. These people not only forgot about God, they actively worshiped false gods. They were totally unfaithful to the Lord. 

We must catch this, church: when we are not careful—when the people of God are not careful—we can quickly forget about the name of God and the ways of God. We must take heed lest we also fall. We must pay attention and learn from God’s Word or the same thing will happen to us. We must stay focused on and faithful to God!

Second, . . .

2. Judges were raised up to lead the people. (Judges 2:14-23) [on screen]

Before the Judges of Israel, the Israelites were led by monumental figures like Moses and Joshua. Then, the Judges came. 

The Judges were like spiritual, civil, and military governors to lead the people as a nation and as the people of God. 

God knew that they needed leaders, so God gave them the Judges. 

The Judges were Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson. [on screen]

Some of these judges were more famous than others. 

Ehud, for instance, is famous for stabbing evil King Eglon of Moab in the stomach with a double-edged dagger. Eglon was so fat that the dagger was swallowed up inside his belly and Ehud escaped undetected. You can read about Ehud in Judges 3. 

Deborah is famous for being the only judge who was a woman and she had to encourage a man to be brave and go out to battle on behalf of Israel. He said that he would only go if she went with him. You can read about Deborah in Judges 4 and 5. 

Gideon is famous for putting out a fleece to confirm what the Lord is saying to him.Samson is famous for being super strong, yet having a weak spot for women. 

So, God raised up these leaders t