FAITHFULNESS OF GOD VS WORLDLINESS OF GOD’S PEOPLE COMMENTARY ON BOOK OF JUDGES DETERIORATING CYCLES OF IDOLATRY AND REBELLION DESPITE THE LORD’S PATIENT FAITHFULNESS AND GRACIOUS DELIVERANCE END UP IN THE DEPTHS OF RELIGIOUS AND MORAL DEPRAVITY Paul Apple (August 2012) For each section: - Thesis statement … to focus on the big idea - Analytical outline … to guide the understanding - Devotional questions … to encourage life application - Representative quotations … to stimulate deeper insight Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This data file is the sole property of the author Paul Apple. However, permission is granted for others to use and distribute these materials for the edification of others under two simple conditions: 1) The contents must be faithfully represented including credit to the author where appropriate. 2) The material must be distributed freely without any financial remuneration. This data file may not be copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of Paul Apple. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to: Paul Apple, 304 N. Beechwood Ave., Baltimore MD 21228. www.bibleoutlines.com [email protected] http://www.ldolphin.org/Deborah.html OUTLINE OF JUDGES FAITHFULNESS OF GOD VS WORLDLINESS OF GOD’S PEOPLE BIG IDEA: DETERIORATING CYCLES OF IDOLATRY AND REBELLION DESPITE THE LORD’S PATIENT FAITHFULNESS AND GRACIOUS DELIVERANCE END UP IN THE DEPTHS OF RELIGIOUS AND MORAL DEPRAVITY I. (1:1 – 3:6) Justification for the Lord’s Anger -- Introduction to the Judges A. (1:1-21) The Compromise of Subtle Sin Sows Seeds of Spiritual Decay Leading to Future Catastrophic Failures B. (:1:22-36) Northern Tribes Intensify the Disappointing Pattern of Failed Objectives and Compromise With the Enemy C. (2:1-15) Despite Spectacular Miracles and Divine Favor Extended to Their Fathers, the Second Generation Sinks Into Apostasy and Defeat D. (2:11 – 3:6) Stubborn Sin Provokes the Lord to Anger and Perpetuates the Cycle of Defeat: Sin, Servitude, Supplication, Salvation, Slippage (Rest) II. (3:7 – 16:31) Journal of Six Repeated Cycles of Apostasy and Deliverance Highlighting the Faithfulness of a Long Suffering God -- Main Section – Selected History of Twelve Key Judges and their role in bringing deliverance from specific different enemies – Traces Six Times the repeated cycle of: - Apathy / Apostasy / Affliction / Answered Prayer - Disobedience / Desperation / Deliverance - Rebellion / Retribution / Repentance /Rescue – Restoration - Rest - Sin / Suffering – Servitude / Supplication / Salvation / Slippage Structure is marked by the repetition of the phrase: “and the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah” (3:7; 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1) Interesting that 8:33 shows this variation in language: “the children of Israel turned again, and played the harlot after the Baalim” – because the “deliverer” in this case was the self-appointed Abimelech rather than one of the judges raised up by God; he brought even more trouble down upon the people – so this is more of an Aside by way of contrast God Can Transform Different Types of People Into Courageous and Effective Leaders: A. (3:7-11) Cycle #1 – Deliverance from Mesopotamia -- The Cycle Summarized and Idealized – Privileged Othniel (Judge #1) – God can use a man controlled by the Holy Spirit B. (:3:12-30) Cycle #2 – Deliverance from Moab (along with Ammon and Amalek) -- The Cycle Expanded – Limited Ehud (Judge #2) – God can use a man who allows his weakness to be converted to a strength PARENTHESIS (3:31) -- The Cycle Minimized – Resourceful Shamgar (Judge #3) – God can use a man who dedicates all he has to the cause of the Lord C. (4:1 – 5:31) Cycle #3 – Deliverance from Canaanites -- Deborah (Judge #4) and Barak – God can use a woman who gives God all the glory 1. (4:1-24) Historical Narrative -- God Uses Unconventional Means – Including the Leadership Role of Women (Deborah and Jael) – To Ensure that the Glory for Salvation Belongs Ultimately to Him Alone 2. (5:1-31) Hymn of Celebration -- The Lord Brings Victory When Leaders Lead and People Commit Themselves to Fight the Battle D. (6:1 – 8:32) Cycle #4 – Deliverance from Midianites -- Gideon (Judge #5) – God can use a man who overcomes his fears and trusts the divine blueprint for warfare 1. (6:1-24) The Call of Gideon -- The Call of God Should Transform Our Sense of Inadequacy Into a Mindset of Peace and Confidence as We Focus on the Lord’s Enabling Presence 2. (6:25-32) Consecration of Gideon and his Family – Consecration is the Prerequisite to Effective Spiritual Service 3. (6:33-40) Confirmation of Gideon’s Calling – The Patience of God Transforms the Hesitancy of Our Weak Faith Into Bold Action Empowered by His Spirit 4. (7:1-8) Cutting Gideon’s Army Down to the Lord’s Size – Only Desperate Odds Ensure That the Lord Gets the Glory For Giving the Victory 5. (7:8 – 8:3) Blueprint for Victorious Warfare: The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon – Following the Divine Blueprint for Warfare Yields Amazing Victory Over Formidable Foes As We Understand the Character of Our Commander-In-Chief 6. (8:4-21) No Fence Sitting in Spiritual Warfare – Not Taking sides Is Not An Option When the Lord Calls On You To Support the Righteous 7. (8:22-32) The Snare of Hierarchical Human Leadership: The King Complex – God’s Plan For Governance Should Not Be Embraced In Theory Only ASIDE (8:33-9:57) – Failed Human Model of Abimelech – Lording it Over the Sheep 1. (8:33-35) – Transition – No Loyalty to Their Covenant God or the Household of Gideon 2. (9:1-21) -- Lording it Over the Sheep: The Abimelech / Diotrephes Model of Leadership – One Man Rule That Lords It Over the Sheep Usurps God’s Preeminent Role and Results In a Reign of Futility That Culminates In Destruction 3. (9:22-57) The Curse of Jotham: Treachery Rewarded With Treachery – The Faithfulness of God Includes the Fulfillment of His Curses PARENTHESIS (10:1-5) 1. (10:1-2) Tola (Judge #6) 2. (10:3-5) Jair (Judge #7) E. (10:6-12:15) Cycle # 5 – Deliverance from Philistines and Ammonites – Jephthah (Judge #8) – God can use a man who is rejected by the world but appropriates His grace 1. (10:6-11:28) Rise of Jephthah – From Despised Reject to Desired Recruit -- Don’t Underestimate the Love of God in Remaining Faithful to His People Despite Their Repeated Apostasies . And Don’t Underestimate the Grace of God in Transforming Human Outcasts Into Conquering Heroes 2. (11:29-40) Jephthah’s Tragic Vow – Don’t Bargain With God – Commitments Made to the Lord Must Be Kept Regardless of the Cost 3. (12:1-7) Jephthah’s Legacy -- Internal Conflict Tears Apart the People of God – Inflated Egos and a Harsh Spirit Erupt in Tragic Conflict for the People of God PARENTHESIS (12:8-15) 1. (12:8-10) Ibzan (Judge #9) 2. (12:11-12) Elon (Judge #10) 3. (12:13-15) Abdon (Judge #11) F. (13:1-16:31) Cycle #6 –Deliverance from Philistines – Samson (Judge #12) – God can use a man who trusts in Him for supernatural results despite severe character flaws 1. (13:1-25) Samson’s Bright Beginning – The Awesomeness of Our God Calls for a Life of Separation From Sin Unto His Service 2. (14:1-20) Samson’s Fatal Flaw – Part of God’s Providential Plan – The Fatal Flaw of Self Indulgent Lust Becomes the Stimulant God Uses to Accomplish His Providential Plans For His People 3. (15:1-20) Samson’s Supernatural Strength – The Lord Anoints Israel’s Deliverer With Supernatural Strength to Emerge Victorious in the Cycle of Retaliation with the Conniving Uncircumcised Philistines 4. (16:1-31) Samson’s Final Feat – Israel’s Flawed Champion Fulfills His Calling By Bringing Down the House in His Final Feat of Supernatural Strength – Providential Preparation and Positioning Lead to the Performance of a Champion III. (17:1 – 21:25) Jumbled Mess of Religious and Moral Depravity – Characteristic phrase: 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Repeated in 18:1; 19:1; 21:25 2 Appendices: A. (17:1 – 18:31) Religious Depravity Decried – The Prosperity Gospel Exposed 1. (17:1-13) Household System of Counterfeit, Man-Made Spirituality – House of Micah – Reinforcing its Own Cycle of Self Deception and Offending God by Replacing Objective Divine Standards with Anarchy and Moral Relativism 2. (18:1-31) Tribal System of Counterfeit, Man-Made Spirituality – Tribe of Dan – Don’t Confuse Material Prosperity with the Blessing of the Lord B. (19:1 – 21:25) Moral Depravity Decried 1. (19:1-30) The Nation’s Shocking Depths of Moral Depravity -- What Does It Take to Shock God’s People Into Outrage Over Depraved Wickedness? 2. (20:1-48) The Nation’s Response – The Painful Process of Purging Evil – The Pervasiveness of Perversity Reaps Tragic Judgment on God’s People 3. (21:1-25) The Nation’s Crisis – The Fruits of a Canaanized Culture are Messy Situations and Messy Solutions – Yet God By His Grace Preserves His People OVERVIEW NOTES Baxter: Failure Through Compromise Its intent is to expose the cause and course of Israel’s ruining downgrade in such a way as to sting the national conscience into repentant return to Jehovah. Incomplete mastery of an evil at the outset always means constant trouble from it afterwards, and often defeat by it in the end.