 
### Exploring the Word of God

### Books of History: Joshua to 2 Samuel

By Tim Finlay and Jim Herst

Copyright 2012 Grace Communion International

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com  
The "NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Cover art by Ken Tunell. Copyright Grace Communion International.

**Table of Contents**

Fighting Your "Goliaths"

Exploring Joshua

Joshua: Conflict and Conquest

Exploring Judges

The Book of Judges: Variations on a Theme

Judges: The Misery of Sin

Judges: Gideon and His Son

Judges: Jephthah and Samson

Judges: The Danites and Civil War

Exploring Ruth

Ruth: Naomi and Ruth

Ruth: Romance and Redemption

Exploring 1 & 2 Samuel

Samuel and Saul

Lessons From the Life of King David

David and Uriah: Are You Losing Faith?

Bathsheba: Mother and Queen

Bible Concepts From the Historical Books

Bible Facts From the Historical Books

Bible Trivia From the Historical Books

About the Authors

About the Publisher

Grace Communion Seminary

Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

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## Fighting Your "Goliaths"

Our illustration highlights the bravery of the shepherd boy, David, who with a single slingshot defeated the heavily armed giant, Goliath. With its ground-level "camera angle" — taken from behind the Philistine warrior — this illustration presents a dramatic study in contrasts.

Towering over his young adversary is the huge frame of the heavily muscled Goliath, who stands almost 10 feet tall. He is protected by a feather-crested helmet and a tunic of overlapping leather strips. He is further reinforced with a full complement of scaled body armor made of leather with bronze attachments. The breastplate alone weighs 125 pounds. Strategically poised on top of a small stony ridge, Goliath takes aim with a 35-pound bronze javelin. The 15-pound spearhead points at the young man's heart. A military attendant is slightly ahead to Goliath's right. Peering over a large protective shield, he anticipates yet another easy kill for his master.

About 100 feet beyond the two Philistines, David pivots his body and rotates his arm with careful balance as he purposefully winds his sling. Framed by the fringes of Goliath's armored tunic and shin-guarded legs, David's pale, lean, almost wispy, figure seems out of place on the battlefield. In fact, Goliath had taunted him a few moments earlier: "'Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?'... 'Come here,' he said, 'and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!'" (1 Samuel 17:43-44).

But David had refused ordinary armor (verses 38-39). His strength was in the Lord. He told Goliath: "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (verse 45).

David's spiritual vision made a world of difference. King Saul and the army of Israel saw only a terrifying enemy — the Philistine giant. David, on the other hand, saw a mortal man mocking Israel and defying the living God. David knew God would protect him when he faced Goliath because he looked at the battle from God's point of view. And he won!

The Bible teaches us God's point of view. When we study God's Word, we are putting on a vital part of "the full armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11). Indeed, the apostle Paul encourages us:

#### Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (verses 14-17)

This was the armor David put on. As Christians, we should follow his example. If we do, we can then look at seemingly impossible situations from God's point of view. This will bring our giant problems into proper focus. Only then can we fight those problems effectively and win. With God's help, the ultimate victory is ours.

"So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him" (1 Samuel 17:50).

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## Exploring Joshua

### What's in a name?

The book is named after its leading character, Joshua, who was appointed by God to lead Israel after the death of Moses (Numbers 27:18-23).

Joshua's original name was Hoshea (Numbers 13:8), which means "salvation." Moses changed this name to Joshua (Numbers 13:16). Joshua is the English form of the Hebrew name Yehoshua', which means "Yahweh saves." The Greek form of this name is Iesous, from which we get the English name Jesus. (Jesus was a popular name in the first century.) The title of the book in the Septuagint is Iesous Naue, which means "Joshua, [son] of Nun."

### Outline

The book of Joshua has four main sections: The early chapters describe the Israelites' preparations to conquer Canaan, and the first steps of the invasion (1:1–5:12). The central event in this section is the Israelites' crossing of the Jordan River (3:1-17).

The next section details the warfare between the invading Israelites and the native Canaanites (5:13–12:24). The most important battles were against Jericho (5:13–6:27), Ai and Bethel (8:1-29), an alliance of southern cities (10:1-43) and an alliance of northern cities (11:1-15). The conquest of Canaan was a formative event in Israel's history. Now the Israelites could describe themselves as the inhabitants of the land God had promised to their forefathers. One could now refer to Israel as a land, not just a people.

The longest section concerns the dividing of the land among the people (13:1–21:45). Even though much of the land had not yet been conquered, Joshua assigned each tribe the territory that would be its inheritance.

The book concludes with a series of postscripts (22:1–24:33). The tribes who wished to settle east of the Jordan returned to their lands (22:1-34). Like Moses, Joshua made a farewell address and gathered the people together to renew the covenant (23:1–24:27). Finally, Joshua's death is recorded, along with an appraisal of his distinguished career (24:28-33).

### How to read this book

In Judges, the book following Joshua, Israel's spiritual decline and eventual collapse is described in gruesome detail. But the period of Joshua's leadership was one of the high points in Israel's history (24:31). As you read this book, keep in mind one of its major themes: Joshua's leadership.

Joshua was a young man when Moses appointed him as one of his ministers, or attendants, during the wilderness journey. Read the following passages which tell of some of his services during those years: Exodus 17:8-16; 24:12-13; Numbers 13:1-16; 14:26-35. At the close of Moses' career, God chose Joshua to be his successor (Num 27:18), and Moses transferred the mantle of leadership to his faithful attendant and friend (Deut 34:9)....

Read what God said of Joshua in Numbers 27:18 (cf. Deut 34:9). Joshua feared God, believed God, obeyed God, and gloried God. He was a great ruler, commanding the respect of all his subjects (Deut 34:9), maintaining order and discipline, putting the worship of God central in the nation's government. (Irving L. Jensen, _Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament,_ pp. 144-145)

### Learning about God

The book of Joshua illustrates many important aspects of God's role and his nature:

##### • God is Creator. All of creation is subject to God's sovereign control: He blocked the waters of a river (3:14-17), shattered the walls of a city (6:20), sent hail from heaven (10:11) and lengthened the hours of a day (10:13-14) — all to accomplish his purpose.

##### • God is faithful. By leading Joshua and the Israelites into the Promised Land, God was fulfilling the promises he had made to Abraham (Genesis 17:1-14), Isaac (26:24) and Jacob (28:10-22). God gave each tribe a sizable inheritance (Joshua 13–21). He gave special inheritances to the Levites (21:1-42) and to Caleb (14:6-15) and Joshua (19:49-50). Nobody was left out; God's faithfulness was complete (21:45). Even Joseph's bones were finally laid to rest, fulfilling earlier promises (24:32; see Genesis 50:24-26 and Exodus 13:19).

##### • God hates sin. God waged war against the pagan Canaanites and against any who sinned in Israel.

#### God is constantly at war with sin because it is an affront to his holiness and because it destroys people whom He loves and desires to bless (cf. Rom. 6:23). In the book of Joshua, God waged war with sin wherever he found it.... Given more spiritual privilege, His people shouldered more spiritual responsibility. God's love for Israel led Him to purge out the sin in the camp so that it would not destroy the whole nation. God evidently dealt with Achan as severely as He did [Joshua 7] in order to give His people a clear demonstration of His hatred for sin at the beginning of this new era in their national life. (Thomas L. Constable, "A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth," in _A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament,_ ed. Roy B. Zuck, p. 105)

##### • God is our eternal leader. Moses, the great servant of God, had died. The leadership of Israel now passed to Joshua. God reserved for himself the right to appoint the successor of Moses. Joshua was in some ways similar to his predecessor, but in other ways different. This transition challenged the faith of Israel. The Israelites rose to the challenge and accepted Joshua. They told him: "Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you" (1:17).

It is always unsettling to have a change of leadership, and not only at the national level. Even the members of a small church congregation can become accustomed to their leader's way of communicating. Even though the change of a leader or minister can be disorienting, like Israel we must remember that the same ultimate authority is still in charge. If God can allow for differences in styles of leadership according to the personalities of those he appoints, we should be able to adjust.

##### • Jesus Christ is revealed in the book of Joshua by type. "Joshua ('Jehovah is Savior') prefigures Christ as the Captain of our salvation (Heb 2:10-11), leading His people in the power of His Spirit. Joshua succeeded Moses, who pictures Christ as the obedient Servant (Heb 3:5)" ( _The New Unger's Bible Handbook,_ p. 120).

### Other topics

##### • Inheritance: The many passages describing the inheritances of the various tribes, when read in the light of God's faithfulness to us, are highly encouraging (21:45). Every tribe had an inheritance (24:28). Likewise, there is a place reserved for faithful Christians in God's kingdom (John 14:1-3).

##### • Rest: Through Joshua, God gave that generation rest from war (11:23), but the people did not have permanent peace because of recurring sins. The theme of lasting peace was foreseen by the prophets, who looked forward to a time when nations would "beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4; see also Micah 4:3).

##### • Ark of the Covenant: The ark of the covenant or "ark of the Testimony" (Exodus 25:22) symbolized the presence of God. The ark reminded the people that it was God who enabled them to enter (3:1–4:24) and to conquer (6:1-21) the Promised Land.

### What this book means for you

Although Joshua is speaking of military battles and geographic territory, we can apply the principles by which God worked there to the spiritual battles we face and the spiritual territory we have yet to possess. In the light of Joshua, Christians should ask themselves:

##### • How much progress am I making in my Christian life?

##### • What are the spiritual enemies which hinder my progress?

##### • How much do I obey what God's Word teaches me in my daily life?

##### • Do I take God at his word and believe him, even when it would seem foolish to do so?

##### • At what points am I tempted to compromise my Christian faith? (John Balchin et al., _The Compact Survey of the Bible,_ pp. 39, 41)

Your answers to these questions will show you where you stand with God. Like Joshua and the Israelites (1:16-18), you can renew your commitment to God and his Word.

In Canaan there were "seven nations greater and mightier" than Israel (Deuteronomy 7:1, NKJV) that had to be dispossessed and destroyed. But just as no nation could defeat Joshua and Israel under God, so no being in the spirit realm (Ephesians 6:12) can withstand the power of Jesus Christ, who has defeated Satan (Matthew 4:1-11) and is now at God's "right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion" (Ephesians 1:20-21).

Christians must remember that spiritual victory lies in obedience to God through the power of his resurrected Son, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-57; see also Isaiah 25:8).

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## Joshua: Conflict and Conquest

### Joshua as leader: chapter 1

Joshua is one of the Bible's great books of courage and faith. God told Joshua: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them — to the Israelites" (verse 2). The keynote in God's encouraging address is the repeated call to be strong and courageous (verses 6-7, 9).

#### The basis of Joshua's confidence and strength was God's promised presence and power (1:6). But the key to Israel's success in the Conquest, Joshua's effective leadership, and God's saving presence with His people would be Israel's fidelity to the book of the law. (Thomas L. Constable, "A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth," in _A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament,_ ed. Roy B. Zuck, p. 97)

The Israelites promised obedience: "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go" (verse 16). Sadly, this expression of faith was to prove shallow. Consequently, much of the land was subdued only by toilsome warfare.

### The faith of Rahab: chapter 2

Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, decided to protect the Israelite spies because she recognized the God of Israel as the true God. The Scriptures commend her faith: "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient" (Hebrews 11:31).

Rahab's faith was well founded (Joshua 2:8-11) and brought her great honor. Through her son Boaz, she became an ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5-6, 16).

The example of Rahab illustrates how God often uses people with simple faith to accomplish his will. It does not matter to God what kind of past they may have had. "Many would assume that Rahab — a pagan, a Canaanite, and a prostitute — would never be interested in God. Yet Rahab was willing to risk everything she had for a God she barely knew. We must not gauge a person's interest in God by his or her background, life-style, or appearance" ( _Life Application Bible,_ NIV, commentary on Joshua 2:8-13).

### Crossing the Jordan: chapter 3

It was springtime, and the Jordan River — usually about 100 feet wide — had swollen to a width of roughly a mile and was overflowing its banks. This seasonal flooding was caused by the melting snows on Mt. Hermon feeding the headwaters of the Jordan.

As the priests stepped into the water, God miraculously held back the floodwaters. The Israelites then crossed over, opposite the city of Jericho (verses 15-16; see also Psalm 114:5).

### The Promised Land: chapter 4

The Israelites crossed the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month (verse 19). This was the final step in a journey they had begun on the same day 40 years earlier. Then, by selecting the Passover lambs (Exodus 12:2-3), they had made their first response of faith to the God who was leading them to salvation from Egypt. Now, by entering the land God had promised their forefathers — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — they consummated their covenant with God. To commemorate this event, God commanded the Israelites to build two monuments — one where the priests had stood in the water (Joshua 4:9) and the other at Israel's campsite at Gilgal (verse 20).

The Israelites now entered a new phase in their relationship with God. Moses had continually exhorted the people to take possession of the land (Deuteronomy 1:21; 3:18; 4:1; 8:1; 11:8, 31). He also delineated their additional responsibilities — under the terms of their covenant with God — once they possessed the land (Deuteronomy 12:10, 29-31; 18:9; 19:1; 27:3). As the Israelites began to possess the land, so these responsibilities outlined in Deuteronomy became incumbent upon them.

The Jordan crossing also resonates historically with the Israelites' earlier crossing of the Red Sea. Then, God had miraculously allowed the Israelites to escape from Egypt; now, he miraculously enabled them to enter the Promised Land. These experiences of Israel foreshadow Christian baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Baptism pictures Jesus Christ enabling repentant individuals to escape from the bondage of sin and to enter into a new phase in their relationship with God.

### Circumcision renewed: chapter 5

The rite of circumcision, the sign of God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17), had not been practiced during Israel's 40 years in the wilderness.

Joshua now supervised the circumcision of the males of the new generation at a place they named Gibeath Haaraloth (meaning "hill of foreskins"), which was later renamed Gilgal (Joshua 5:9). This act marked the renewal of the relationship between God and his people.

"The reproach of Egypt" (verse 9) refers to Israel's national disgrace of enslavement in Egypt and homelessness in the wilderness of Sinai. God "rolled away" this reproach when he had the Israelites circumcised at Gilgal (the name Gilgal is related to the Hebrew word _galal,_ which means "roll" or "roll away"). Israel's bondage was completely removed. Since circumcision represented a renewal of the covenant, the Israelites were now ready to keep the Passover — the annual festival that commemorated their deliverance by God from slavery in Egypt (verse 10).

### The fall of Jericho: chapter 6

Israel conquered the walled city of Jericho by faith and obedience to God, not through human wisdom and power. While God explained to Joshua what would happen (verse 5), the account does not tell us that God told the Israelites why he was having them march around the city for seven days. Humanly speaking, it may have appeared to be an exercise in futility. In fact, it was not until the seventh day that Joshua exhorted the people: "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!" (verse 16).

The Bible explains that the fall of Jericho was a miracle of faith: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days" (Hebrews 11:30).

Joshua was an army commander, but first and foremost he was a spiritual leader who relied on the power of God. From a military point of view, the entire spectacle must have seemed ridiculous. But Joshua lived by faith and not by sight (see Habakkuk 2:4 and 2 Corinthians 5:7). After all, God had already told him that Jericho would be taken — the enemy was already defeated.

Christians also fight against a defeated enemy. Our enemy, Satan the devil, has been defeated by Christ: "Since the children have flesh and blood, [Christ] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14-15; see also 1 John 3:8).

This should give us tremendous encouragement. Although we still fight battles every day, we have God's assurance that the greater war against Satan has already been won. On the individual level, this means that we do not have to be paralyzed by the power of a defeated enemy. We can overcome Satan through the power of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:11).

### The Curse of Jericho

After the destruction and burning of Jericho, God, through Joshua, pronounced a solemn oath over its ruins: "Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates" (Joshua 6:26).

The site of the city of Jericho lay abandoned for several centuries, until the reign of King Ahab (circa 870-850 B.C.). At that time, the curse was fulfilled when Hiel, a man of Bethel, rebuilt Jericho: "He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun" (1 Kings 16:34).

### Achan's sin: chapters 7-8

After they conquered the city of Jericho, the Israelites had a route into Canaan. However, the central highlands were still protected by the strategic city-fortress of Ai. The Israelites attacked the city, but were put to flight by the men of Ai, who killed about 36 Israelite soldiers (Joshua 7:4-7). God revealed to Joshua the reason for this humiliating defeat (verses 10-11). When confronted, Achan confessed his guilt (verses 20-21).

Achan had exercised the fighting-man's right, in the ancient world, to plunder the ruins of a conquered city, something that God did allow the Israelites to do in subsequent military campaigns. However, God had specifically pronounced everything in the first Canaanite city to be conquered, Jericho, as "devoted to the Lord" (Hebrew: _cherem,_ meaning "something consecrated for destruction by God"). To plunder the city was to steal from God.

Achan's sin illustrates how the actions of a single person can affect the family and the nation. The sin of the individual does affect other people. There are no victimless crimes, no private sins. Knowledge of sin may be kept secret, but the impact of sin is widespread. All of us need to be reminded of this from time to time. It is good to consider how devastating the sin of one person can be to the well-being of a family, church, business or other social group.

Following Achan's execution, God again directed Israel to attack Ai, this time by way of ambush (Joshua 8:1-8). God commanded Joshua to stretch out his javelin toward the city until all its inhabitants were destroyed (verses 18, 26). This act brings to mind Moses' uplifted hands in the victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:11-13).

Note that although the city of Ai, its king and its people were consecrated by God for destruction, the plunder and livestock were not (Joshua 8:2, 27).

Joshua knew that Israelite swords and spears had not won the battle. The God of Israel had conquered Ai. The psalmist would later echo this truth in a song of praise to God: "It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them" (Psalm 44:3).

For the Christian, the lesson of Ai is clear: We can triumph where, in the past, we have failed — if we rely on God (Proverbs 24:16; Ephesians 6:10-18). However, we must first repent of our sins and respond to God's correction.

After the conquest of Ai, Joshua led the Israelites in reconfirming their covenant with God by performing the ceremony of blessings and curses as prescribed by Moses (Joshua 8:30-35; see also Deuteronomy 27–28).

### Gibeon tricks Israel: chapter 9

Gibeon was a strategically important city about 5 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Its inhabitants, the Hivites, resorted to trickery, pretending to have come "from a distant country" (verse 6).

Their pretense of friendship deceived the leaders of Israel, who then made a treaty with them. For Israel, it was a fundamental mistake because they "did not inquire of the Lord" (verse 14).

Too late, the Israelites discovered that the Gibeonites lived in the Promised Land. But Israel's vow was not nullified by the Gibeonites' trickery. For this deceptive act, however, Gibeon was put under a curse (verse 23).

### Joshua's long day: chapter 10

The name Adoni-Zedek occurs in connection with the first mention of Jerusalem in the Bible (verse 1). He was the head of a coalition that decided to attack the Gibeonites because of their treaty with Israel. Due to the obligations of the treaty, Joshua came to Gibeon's rescue.

In one of the most remarkable battles in Israel's history, all five Amorite kings were executed and their armies decimated (verses 16-28). Joshua's army then went on to conquer all the strategic cities of the south (verses 29-43).

God used nature to aid Israel in this victory (verses 12-14). Some scholars believe that Joshua's "long day" was caused by a miraculous slowing of the earth's normal rotation. Others conclude that some unusual refraction of the sun's rays produced additional hours of light. We do not know exactly how God did it, but we do know that he performed a miracle. Miracles do not depend upon scientific explanation.

### The northern campaign: Chapters 11 — 12

### The northern conquest: Chapter 11

Jaban, king of Hazor, formed a northern confederacy. Although it was more powerful than the southern alliance, it met with no greater success.

Following God's instructions, Joshua hamstrung the enemy horses and burned their chariots (verses 6, 9) so that Israel would continue to trust in the Lord and not in captured implements of war. Hazor, the capital of the territory, was destroyed by fire.

### The defeated kings: chapter 12

Verses 1-6 review the Israelite conquests in Transjordan during the time of Moses, "from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern side of the Arabah" (verse 1). The roster of 31 conquered kings in verses 7-24 identifies those defeated during the time of Joshua.

### Division of the Land: chapters 13 — 24

### Transjordan: chapter 13

Verses 1-7 introduce the next section of the book — possessing the land. Israel had been a homeless people for 40 years. Now God was giving them their inheritance.

God told Joshua, "You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over" (verse 1). In several places, the Israelites — for lack of faith — could not drive out local populations. Jerusalem was a case in point: "Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah" (Joshua 15:63).

The rest of Joshua 13 discusses the land east of the Jordan (verses 8-14), the tribe of Reuben (verses 15-23), the tribe of Gad (verses 24-28) and the half-tribe of Manasseh (verses 29-33).

### Caleb's request: chapter 14

Joshua, Eleazar and the tribal chieftains distributed the land by lot (verses 1-5; Numbers 26:55; 33:54; 34:13). The ever-faithful Caleb requested the territory of Hebron. Although the city of Hebron later became Levitical property (Joshua 21:9-13), Caleb kept the fields and villages around the city.

### The tribe of Judah: chapter 15

Judah's large allotment included the land already granted to Caleb (verse 13), as well as a part of Jerusalem (verses 8, 63; Joshua 18:28). The size of Judah's territory reflected the tribe's traditional leadership role. It included much of the southern desert.

### The tribe of Ephraim: chapter 16

The general borders of the land given to the sons of Joseph stretched northwest from Gilgal. Although Joseph was one of Jacob's sons, he did not have a tribe named after him. Instead, as the oldest son of Jacob's wife Rachel, Joseph received a double portion of the inheritance.

This double portion was given to Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, whom Jacob considered his own (Genesis 48:5). The largest territory and the greatest influence in the northern half of Israel belonged to their tribes. The Ephraimites received some of the best land (Joshua 16:1-4), but failed to conquer all of it. For example, they could not expel the Canaanites from Gezer (verse 10), a strategically important city 18 miles northwest of Jerusalem.

Earlier, Joshua had defeated the king of Gezer (Joshua 12:12), but the Canaanites recaptured the city. It remained under Canaanite control until the time of Solomon (1 Kings 9:16).

Ephraim failed to drive out all of the Canaanites, just as Judah had failed to drive out the Jebusites (Joshua 15:63). Moses had warned that such failure would eventually turn the Israelites from following God (Deuteronomy 7:1-5).

### The tribe of Manasseh: chapter 17

Manasseh was given more land than any other tribe. In addition to its territory east of the Jordan, it controlled the northern part of the central hill country up to the Valley of Jezreel.

Ephraim and Manasseh's complaint and plea of weakness (verses 14-18) showed a lack of faith. They looked at the power of the Canaanites' iron chariots in the Valley of Jezreel instead of the power of God. In contrast, Joshua's courageous answer (verses 15, 17-18) demonstrated his faith in the promise God had given him earlier (Joshua 1:5-6).

### The other tribes: chapters 18-19

Seven tribes had still not claimed their allotted territory (Joshua 18:2). Joshua responded to their lack of faith by urging them to explore the land and claim their possession.

The remainder of Joshua 18 and 19 describes the territorial boundaries of these seven tribes as follows: Benjamin (Joshua 18:11-28), Simeon (Joshua 19:1-9), Zebulun (verses 10-16), Issachar (verses 17-23), Asher (verses 24-31), Naphtali (verses 32-39) and Dan (verses 40-48).

### The cities of refuge: chapter 20

Six designated cities provided refuge for those who had committed unintentional homicide (see Numbers 35:9-28 and Deuteronomy 19:1-13). Specifically, these cities gave protection from the "avenger of blood" (Joshua 20:3-5), the deceased person's nearest relative who was permitted to avenge the death.

### Levitical cities: chapter 21

God was the special inheritance of the Levites. Thus, the Levites were prohibited from owning rural land like the other tribes. (Compare Deuteronomy 10:9, Joshua 13:14, 33 and 14:3-4.) The three Levitical families — the Kohathites (Joshua 21:9-26), the Gershonites (verses 27-33) and the Merarites (verses 34-40) — were given 48 cities throughout the land, ensuring that the religious leaders were dispersed among the tribes. This distribution also fortified the worship of the true God against regional idolatry.

### Return to Transjordan: chapter 22

Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home to their own lands east of the Jordan (see Numbers 32:20-22 and Joshua 1:12-18). Joshua thanked them for their faithful role in the conquest (Joshua 22:1-6).

As they left, however, a misunderstanding caused a national controversy. The departing tribes built what appeared to be an altar on the frontier just west of the Jordan River (verses 10-12). The other tribes perceived this as a blatant violation of God's law, which permitted only one sanctuary (Deuteronomy 12:13-14). As it turned out, the "altar" was not to be used for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but rather as a memorial or witness (Joshua 22:21-29, 34). It testified that the 12 tribes, although separated by the Jordan River, were one people under God.

### Joshua's farewell: chapters 23-24

Joshua's farewell speeches are comparable with those of Moses (Deuteronomy 31–33). Having reached the end of his long life, Joshua reminded the Israelites of God's goodness and faithfulness. He encouraged them to continue to obey God, and warned them of the dangers of idolatry and apostasy.

At Shechem, Joshua reviewed the history of the children of Israel from the time of Abraham to the time of the conquest (Joshua 24:1-13). Once again, he challenged the people to serve God only (verses 14-15).

Throughout his lifetime, this great spiritual leader and military commander had remained wholly committed to God. The Israelites' enthusiasm in renewing their covenant with God (verses 16-18) was a fitting tribute to Joshua's leadership. "And the people said to Joshua, 'We will serve the Lord our God and obey him'" (verse 24). Indeed, verse 31 shows the power of Joshua's spiritual influence: "Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him." Joshua had been a living example of God's way of life, and he wanted that to be his legacy.

For what do you wish to be remembered, and what do you want to pass on to your family and friends? A Christian can leave nothing better than the mandate to love and obey God, and the memory of someone who did so.

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## Exploring Judges

### What's in a name?

Judges records the history of Israel during the generations that came after Joshua. One passage summarizes what happened:

Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. (2:18-19)

These "judges" ( _shophetim_ in the Hebrew Bible and _kritai_ in the Septuagint) were not officials like judges today. Their main task was to "obtain justice for the tribes of Israel in the face of their enemies, annihilate or drive out their oppressors, and so bring salvation, rest and peace to the land" ( _The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology,_ vol. 2, p. 363). Very little is said about how these judges led the nation once they had delivered it.

Scholars sometimes distinguish between the "major" judges, whose feats are related at length in the book, and the "minor" judges, whose leadership is covered in only one or two verses.

Six judges played a significant role during this turbulent period in Israel's history.

### Major Judges

Othniel (3:9)

Ehud (3:15)

Deborah (4:4)

Gideon (6:11)  
Jephthah (11:1)  
Samson (13:24)

### Minor Judges

Shamgar (3:31)

Tola (10:1)

Jair (10:3)

Ibzan (12:8)  
Elon (12:11)  
Abdon (12:13)

As listed above, six so-called minor judges are mentioned in the book, although very little is said about them.

### Outline

After a prologue (1:1–3:6) describing the events immediately after Joshua's death, the book is organized as a series of progressively longer stories, each concerning one of the major judges sent by God to deliver Israel from slavery. Brief descriptions of minor judges are sometimes inserted between these stories.

The first episode establishes a pattern that is repeated in the other stories: The Israelites sin, and so God allows them to be enslaved; they repent, and God sends a judge to deliver them (3:7-11). The first deliverer was Othniel, a nephew of Caleb, who judged Israel 40 years, or one generation.

After Othniel died, the Israelites started doing evil again, so God allowed the Moabites to enslave them. When the Israelites cried out to God, he raised up another judge, Ehud. Ehud assassinated the Moabite leader and then led Israel to victory (3:18-30). After Ehud came Shamgar (verse 31).

Then the Israelites sinned again and were subjugated by the Canaanites. Deborah and Barak eventually delivered them (4:1-24) and then sang a song to commemorate their victory (5:1-31). The Midianites were the next to enslave the backsliding Israelites, who were eventually delivered by Gideon (6:1–8:35). An interlude concerning Gideon's wicked son Abimelech (9:1-57) is followed by accounts of two minor judges, Tola and Jair (10:1-5).

Israel returned to idolatry and was conquered by the Ammonites and Philistines. When the Israelites forsook idolatry, God gave them a victory through Jephthah (11:1–12:7). After Jephthah came three minor judges: Ibzan, Elon and Abdon (12:8-15). The last major judge mentioned in the book is Samson, whose story covers four chapters (13:1–16:31).

The book of Judges concludes with an epilogue relating two events that occurred during the period of the judges and illustrate the immorality of the nation at that time (17:1–21:25).

### How to read this book

On one level, you can read the book of Judges as a history book about great Israelite leaders God sent to rescue his people from foreign oppression. In this sense, the book contains some of the most spectacular and inspirational stories in the Old Testament: With primitive weapons, Deborah and Barak destroyed Sisera's army of 900 chariots (4:13-16). Gideon's small band of warriors crushed the Midianites (7:19-22). Jephthah inflicted a massive defeat on the Ammonites (11:29-33). And, in perhaps the most famous story, Samson destroyed the Philistines in the temple of their god Dagon (16:23-30).

On another level, however, the book of Judges clearly describes the spiritual deterioration of a people who had forgotten what God had done for them. As you study the book, note how the Israelites failed to learn from their mistakes. Observe their tragic downward spiral into sin.

This dark age of Israel's history culminates in the last five chapters of Judges (17–21), which relate some of the most gruesome stories in the Bible — episodes of idolatry, theft, rape, murder and civil war. In the end, "every one did what was right in his own eyes" (21:25, NKJV). As we shall see, one reason for this barbaric state of affairs was Israel's failure to obey God's command to conquer all the land and drive out the Canaanites.

The Israelites held the mountains, but the foreign-held valleys, cutting through the land, separated the tribes. Soon each group of isolated Israelites began operating independently. The next generation lost its sense of national identity.... Though descended from 12 brothers, [the Israelites] spent more time fighting each other than the foreign oppressors.... Though [the Israelites] forgot [God], he did not forget them. He gave innumerable new beginnings. Again and again he sent 'judges' to rescue them. He would not let them go. God is the real hero of Judges" ( _The New Student Bible,_ NIV, pp. 228-229).

### Learning about God

Although anarchy existed in Israel during much of the period of the judges, the book leaves no doubt that God was still working out his purpose. The book tells us that:

##### • God is Judge and Deliverer. When the Israelites fell into idolatry, God caused other nations to defeat and enslave them (2:11-15). But when the Israelites cried out to God for help, he delivered them (2:16-18).

##### • God is Sovereign. This theme is emphasized throughout Judges. Perhaps this is most clearly seen when God told Gideon to reduce the size of his army "in order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her" (7:2). On occasion, God manifested his supremacy in surprising ways: He empowered Samson to slay 1,000 Philistines with a donkey's jawbone (15:14-15). He caused the Kishon River to sweep away the Canaanite army (5:21). He used a non-Israelite woman to kill a Canaanite leader with a tent peg (4:21-23).

##### • God is patient and gracious. The book of Judges is a monument to God's patience with his people. The refrain "The Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord" recurs like a monotonous litany. Yet, every time the Israelites repented, God forgave them and sent a deliverer.

##### • God is righteous. Even as God extends his graciousness and patience toward us, he commands us to be righteous. The judges God used to deliver Israel, for the most part, led the people in God's ways. The wickedness of a nation that had forsaken God, especially as portrayed in Judges 17–21, is in stark contrast to God's holiness.

### Other topics

##### • Idolatry: The book of Judges vividly illustrates the consequences of sinning against God. Israel's major sin was idolatry, especially the worship of the Canaanite storm and fertility god, Baal (2:11-13, 19; 3:7; 8:33; 10:6). God had repeatedly warned the Israelites against idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:15-19; 5:7-10; 12:2-3). The judges God used to deliver Israel got rid of the idols, and during those times Israel had peace. But as soon as these judges died, Israel relapsed into idolatry. This epitomized their rejection of God.

##### • Moral leadership: During much of this period of the judges, Israel lacked strong spiritual direction. Against this bleak background, God inspired certain individuals to lead the nation. In the New Testament, we read of some of these heroic leaders: "Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah...who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised...and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies" (Hebrews 11:32-34).

### What this book means for you

The basic message of Judges is simple: Sin leads to slavery; repentance leads to redemption. The book rams its message home as story after story follows the same pattern: The Israelites abandon God, so he allows them to become enslaved. Then they repent and God delivers them.

This provides a fitting background for the teaching of the New Testament — that because Jesus Christ died for your sins and was resurrected, you can, when you look to him, be delivered from the bondage of sin and receive eternal life (Acts 3:19; Romans 5:21).

The period of the judges was one of the "dark ages" of Israel's history and the irregularities and problems contained therein must be set against this general background. In its own way it is a faithful witness to the fact of man's frailty and to his need not of a merely temporal deliverer, but of an eternal Saviour who can effect a perfect redemption. (Arthur E. Cundall, _Judges,_ Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, vol. 7, p. 45)

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## The Book of Judges:  
Variations on a Theme

The Old Testament book of Judges tells the story of what could be called the "Dark Ages" of the chosen people. When the book opens, the 12 tribes of Israel are on the edge of national success. Under Moses and his successor Joshua, they have been liberated from slavery and have begun to occupy and settle in their Promised Land.

But something goes terribly wrong. By the time the book closes, central leadership has broken down and the tribes are at each other's throats. The people are oppressed on every side by enemies and in danger of national extinction. This book contains some of the most gruesome stories in the Bible — episodes of idolatry, theft, rape, murder and civil war.

What went wrong? In the book of Judges, God himself explains it:

#### I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers...yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you. (Judges 2:1-3)

This is exactly what happened:

#### The Israelites held the mountains, but the foreign-held valleys, cutting through the land, separated the tribes. Soon, each group of isolated Israelites began operating independently.... The next generation lost its national identity.... Though descended from 12 brothers, the Israelites spent more time fighting each other than the foreign oppressors. ( _New Student Bible_ 1 _)_

### Variations on a theme

Although anarchy existed in Israel during much of the period of the judges, the story shows that God was still working out his purpose with them. The entire story is a monument to God's patience, love and mercy. Time after time, the people became trapped in a downward spiral toward moral degeneracy, and the refrain, 'The Israelites once again did evil in the sight of the Lord', recurs like a monotonous litany throughout the book. Yet, every time the Israelites repented, God forgave them and sent a deliverer (a "judge" — hence the name of the book).

The central section of the book (chapters 3:7-16:31) tells us of six judges God raised up to deliver his people from their enemies. These stories — with their pattern of Israel's sin, sorrow, repentance and restoration — illustrate what is often called the "cycle of sin." At first glance, the stories seem to follow the same theme. But there are subtle and important differences. These small divergences are important, like when a musician plays variations on a theme.

First we hear what could be called the "base" theme. Then it is played again, with a few variations. As the variations are developed, the base theme recedes further and further into the background, and may even be no longer recognizable to the untrained person. But the trained listener can appreciate what is happening.

The chronicler of Judges uses much the same technique, and we need to read carefully to appreciate the lesson. These are not just stories — they are variations on a theme.

The first story is of Othniel (Judges 3:7-11). He was the nephew of Caleb, one of the nation's founding heroes (see Numbers 14:6,30). This short account of Othniel is the "base theme" — the one by which to view the others. As you read it, look for the following sequence:

1. The Israelites do evil (verse 7).

2. God allows them to become the captives of their enemies (verse 8).

3. The Israelites repent and cry out to God for help (verse 9).

4. God raises up a judge or deliverer (verse 9).

5. God delivers the enemy leader into the hand of the judge (verse 10).

6. The land has rest and peace under the judge's leadership (verse 11).

The stories of the other five judges also have the first two elements: the people sinning and becoming captives. However, the later stories get progressively further from the model story as far as the other four elements are concerned. This progressive departure from the model story is a literary device that the author uses to reflect the moral decline of Israel.

The second story, of Ehud, follows the model story almost exactly (Judges 3:12-30).

In the third, however, Barak, a capable military leader, displays an initial lack of faith (Judges 4:8). Having been told by Deborah, a prophetess and judge, that God would deliver the enemy into his hands, Barak is still not prepared to deliver Israel until he has the additional assurance of Deborah's presence at the battle (Judges 4:4-8). Consequently, the honor of killing the enemy leader, Sisera, goes not to Barak but to a non-Israelite woman, Jael (verses 9, 15-21).

The next judge, Gideon, requires even more than the support of a godly prophet or prophetess. He requests several specific signs from God before he is prepared to accept responsibility (Judges 6:17,36-37,39). With the background of Barak's experiences in mind, it is not surprising that the glory of capturing two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb, goes not to Gideon but to the rival tribe of Ephraim (Judges 11:30-31).

Jephthah's story deviates even further. The people, rather than God, elect Jephthah as their leader (Judges 11:1-40). And although God does grant Jephthah victory over his enemies, Jephthah's triumphant return home is transformed into personal disappointment and anguish because of a rash vow he had made (Judges 11:30-31). Moreover, the land does not have peace under Jephthah's leadership.

The final episode, that of Samson (Judges 13-16), represents the most radical departure from the ideal model of deliverance. The people do not even cry out to God for help, the land does not have rest under Samson's leadership and Samson himself is a self-willed man, who at first seems more intent on fulfilling his own agenda than being a servant of God.

If Barak is to be criticized for depending too much on the presence of a faithful prophetess, Deborah, how much more so Samson, who puts too much trust in a Philistine woman, Delilah (Judges 16:21). Samson eventually delivers his people, but only after he himself is captured, blinded and enslaved by his enemies.

So what we have is a sad sequence of decline and moral decay. When the book opens, the Israelites were serving God under Joshua and the elders who outlived him. But it closes on this tragic note: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).

### Jesus Christ breaks the cycle of sin

Old Testament scholar Arthur Cundall identifies the central message of the book of Judges: "The period of the judges is a faithful witness to the fact of man's frailty and to his need not of a merely temporal deliverer, but of an eternal Saviour who can effect a perfect redemption."

Cundall's comment could also apply to the history of the modern world. We live in a society that is supposedly so much more sophisticated and enlightened than that of ancient Israel. And yet much of our behavior has been just as barbaric and faithless as that of the Israelites. Our society, just like theirs, continues to be "a faithful witness to the fact of man's frailty and of his need for an eternal Saviour."

The good news of the gospel is that there is an eternal Savior who has already broken the cycle of sin by offering a perfect redemption for the whole world. He is the God-man, Jesus Christ. And the basic message of the Old Testament book of Judges — that sin leads to slavery while repentance leads to redemption — provides a fitting background for the New Testament teaching: because Jesus died for our sins, God grants us repentance and delivers us from spiritual slavery.

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## Judges: The Misery of Sin

### Partial conquest: Judges 1

After Joshua's death, the Israelites asked God, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?" (verse 1). God chose Judah to do battle and promised, "I have given the land into their hands" (verse 2). Judah may have shown a lack of faith by relying on Simeon for additional support (verse 3).

Although Judah conquered several areas in the Negev and western foothills, as well as cities such as Hebron and Debir, their victory was incomplete. Jerusalem, for example, was either not taken completely, or later recaptured by its inhabitants (verses 8, 21). The Jebusite fortress was not taken until the time of David (2 Samuel 5:6-7).

Nor did the other tribes completely drive out the Canaanites. Israel's failure to destroy this immoral people led to her spiritual decline in the period of the judges.

### The covenant broken: Judges 2:1-3:6

The Israelites had broken their covenant with God. This infraction was so serious that God sent an angel to communicate the dire consequences:

I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you. (Judges 2:1-3)

### Israel's Failures

##### • Manassah failed at Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo _(_ Judges 1:27)

##### • Ephraim failed at Gezer (verse 29)

##### • Zebulun failed at Kitron and Hahalol (verse 30)

##### • Asher failed at Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob (verses 31-32)

##### • Naphtali failed at Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath (verse 33)

##### • Dan failed against the Amorites (verse 34)

##### • The house of Joseph also failed to drive out the Amorites (verses 35-36)

This event marked a fundamental change in Israel's relationship with God. God had made a sacred covenant with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8; 24:1-8). He had wanted to make Israel a holy nation. For their part, the Israelites were to love God and obey his law (Deuteronomy 6:5; 30:16; Joshua 22:5). They were to follow God's command not to make any treaties with the peoples of the land (Exodus 34:11-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-5).

Now that Israel had rejected and disobeyed God, his agreement to help them conquer the land was not binding. However, his promise to make Israel a nation through whom the whole world would be blessed would yet be fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

When the elders who outlived Joshua also died, the people began to turn aside from God. This younger generation of Israelites abandoned the faith of the previous generation and began to worship the deities of the Canaanites (Judges 2:10-15). The major cause of this period of decline in Israel's history was idolatry — turning away from God to follow false gods.

God forcefully condemns idolatry, as is witnessed by the first two commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them" (Exodus 20:3-5).

The remainder of this section (Judges 2:10–3:6) describes the organization of the book of Judges as a whole. The people's behavior followed a ruinous cycle of sin, repentance and sin again. Israel disobeyed God and worshiped the local pagan idols; God punished them at the hands of their idolatrous oppressors; Israel cried out to God for help; God sent a judge to deliver them; Israel obeyed God until the judge died; and, finally, Israel's old pattern of sin and idolatry reasserted itself, thus starting the cycle again.

As we progress through the book of Judges, we will see that the cycle of sin was a downward spiral. This should serve as a warning for Christians today who may be lulled into the same pattern of spiritual decline.

As we study the book of Judges, we will learn that our immediate environment can affect our relationship with God. The Israelites did not set out to be idolaters. But when they intermarried with the people of the surrounding nations, against God's command, they began to accept the pagan Canaanite gods and goddesses — and the immoral practices associated with them — into their homes.

Christians living in today's society face a similar danger. We should not become entangled in the sinful practices of this world. The apostle John warned:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

### Episode one: Othniel: Judges 3:7-11

The story opens with the words, "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs" (verse 7). It may be hard for us to believe that Israel would substitute the worship of the great God for worship of pagan idols of wood and stone. But before we condemn them, we should remind ourselves that we are guilty of the same sin when we put other activities and priorities before our relationship with God. What are your idols? They may not be made of stone, but to God they are just as sinful.

For their idolatry, God delivered Israel into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim (verse 8). Rishathaim is not found anywhere else in ancient literature, but it means "wicked." The Israelites served Cushan for eight years. They probably paid tribute to this foreign king in exchange for their security.

When the Israelites repented and cried out to God for help, he raised up Othniel to deliver them. Othniel had a rich spiritual heritage. His uncle was Caleb, a man of unwavering faith in God (Numbers 13:30; 14:24). Othniel was also a brave soldier. In Judges 1:12-13, we read that he volunteered to lead an attack against a fortified city. Othniel's leadership brought the people back to God and freed them from the oppression of Cushan. Unfortunately, it was not long after Othniel's death that the Israelites fell back into their sinful ways.

### Episode two: Ehud: Judges 3:12-30

"Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord" (verse 12). This time, God sent Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel. Allied with the Ammonites and the Amalekites, Eglon defeated Israel.

The nomadic tribes of Moab, Ammon and Amalek lived near one another, southeast of Canaan. These tribes were notorious raiders who possessed great military skill. The Moabites were descendants of Moab, the son of Lot's elder daughter (Genesis 19:37). They posed a constant threat to Israel. Jephthah, one of the later judges, reminded the Ammonites that they and the Moabites had refused to give Israel permission to travel through their land (Judges 11:14-17). When the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land, they were seduced by the Moabite and Midianite women to participate in idolatrous practices (Numbers 25:1-18).

After 18 years of Moabite oppression, God raised up Ehud to deliver the Israelites (Judges 3:14-17). The text here contains three seemingly irrelevant details: Ehud is left-handed, his sword is doubled-edged and 18 inches long, and Eglon is very fat. Since biblical narrative usually does not include many descriptive details, one can assume that these details have relevance in the forthcoming plot. And indeed they do.

Because Ehud was left-handed, he strapped the sword on his right thigh. A movement with his left hand to his right thigh was less likely to be interpreted by Eglon as reaching for a weapon. The sword was short enough to be concealed, yet long enough to do its job. Eglon's large, cumbersome body made him an easy target for Ehud. After killing Eglon, Ehud led the Israelites to a great victory at Seirah (verses 26-30). Ehud's courageous faith brought peace to the nation of Israel for two generations.

### Episode three: Deborah: Judges 4-5

After Ehud died, the Israelites again sinned against God, who then gave them "into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor" (Judges 4:2). Joshua had defeated an earlier King Jabin, and had burned the city of Hazor to the ground. But the Israelites had failed to expel all the Canaanites from the land, to their later cost. The city of Hazor had been rebuilt by the time of this later Jabin, who oppressed the Israelites for 20 years.

God responded to Israel's cry for help and used Deborah, a faithful prophetess who was judging Israel at that time, and Barak, a military commander, to deliver the nation. This detailed story is told twice: once in skillfully narrated prose (verses 4-24) and once in a magnificent poem known as The Song of Deborah (Judges 5:1-31). This song resembles another victory hymn, The Song of Moses and Miriam, or The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1-18).

Deborah told Barak to raise an army and go to Mt. Tabor, for God would give Israel a great victory over the Canaanites. Barak agreed to do so only if Deborah would accompany him. Deborah agreed, but told Barak that because of his lack of faith in God's promise of victory, the honor of killing Sisera, who commanded Jabin's army, would fall not to Barak but to a woman (Judges 4:6-9).

Deborah and Barak summoned the Israelites from Kedesh. Not all the tribes responded (Judges 5:13-18). However, Barak was able to assemble some 10,000 men, chiefly from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Sisera countered by gathering his troops in the Kishon basin, relying on his 900 iron chariots to overwhelm Barak's force.

But God decided the battle in Israel's favor. He demonstrated his superiority over the Canaanite storm god, Baal, by causing an unexpected thunderstorm to transform the Kishon basin into mud, thus immobilizing the Canaanite chariots. Deborah roused Barak to attack, and he routed Sisera's army. The Israelites would later sing, "The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon" (verse 21).

Sisera had managed to escape the initial onslaught of Barak's army and fled to the tent of Heber the Kenite, a friend of Jabin. Heber's wife, Jael, welcomed Sisera and gave him some milk to drink. Sisera, believing he was safe, fell sound asleep. Jael then picked up a tent peg in her left hand and a hammer in her right hand, and drove the peg through Sisera's temple. This act fulfilled Deborah's prophecy and immortalized Jael in Hebrew poetry (verses 24-27).

Shamgar, referred to in Judges 3:31 and 5:6, fought around this time against another enemy of Israel — the "Sea Peoples," a group that included the Philistines. The Israelites eventually gained the upper hand over their enemies, and that region of the land had peace for 40 years (Judges 4:23; 5:31).

### Deborah

Some have tried to understand God's selection of Deborah by reasoning that he could not find any man suitable for the job, so he was forced to use Deborah. While this reasoning may serve to keep male egos intact, it ignores the testimony of Scripture. God is able to use whoever he wants. He does not appoint leaders by using human criteria.

When Samuel considered Eliab a suitable successor to King Saul, God corrected Samuel's limited perception: "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Some have tried to understand God's selection of Deborah by reasoning that he could not find any man suitable for the job, so he was forced to use Deborah. While this reasoning may serve to keep male egos intact, it ignores the testimony of Scripture. God is able to use whoever he wants. He does not appoint leaders by using human criteria.

When Samuel considered Eliab a suitable successor to King Saul, God corrected Samuel's limited perception: "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Some find it surprising that God used a woman as a judge of Israel. But we should not allow preconceived ideas or prejudices to get in the way of respecting those whom God appoints to lead us. Barak, a man of faith, loyally followed the individual God chose.

The account in Judges reveals that Deborah's personality drew people together. She was also a prophetess and led the people to obey God. God used Deborah to influence Israel to remain faithful long after the battle was over. Leaders inspired by God are concerned with the spiritual well-being of those they are called to serve. Deborah certainly was.

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## Judges: Gideon and His Son

### Episode four: Gideon: Judges 6-8

Unfortunately, the Israelites again reverted to their sinful ways and "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" (Judges 6:1). This phrase recurs often in the book of Judges. The Israelites' sin was not only "in the eyes of the Lord," it was also against the Lord. When we sin, although we harm ourselves and others, our sin is ultimately against God because it rejects his laws and his authority over us. God alone, through the death of his Son, Jesus Christ, provides for our forgiveness. David prayed to God, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalm 51:4). When we acknowledge that we have sinned against God, we begin to experience God's forgiveness.

This time, God used the Midianites to punish the Israelites. The Midianites were desert dwellers descended from Abraham through his second wife, Keturah. They proved to be a thorn in Israel's flesh on more than one occasion. During Israel's wanderings in the wilderness, the Midianites conspired with the Moabites to hire Balaam to curse the Israelites (Numbers 22:4-7). When that plot failed, Midianite and Moabite women seduced the Israelites into worshiping Baal, thus causing God to be angry with Israel (Numbers 25:1-9).

Now that the Israelites were settled, the Midianites used different tactics. They swept in from the desert on their camels, destroying the crops and ravaging the land before retreating: "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help" (Judges 6:6).

Once again, the Israelites waited until the situation was desperate before turning to God for help. This recurring theme in the book of Judges teaches us an important lesson. We, like the ancient Israelites, get ourselves into trouble when we leave God out of our lives. And often we make the problem worse by exhausting all other alternatives, turning to God only as a last resort.

We cannot go contrary to God's ways and expect to avoid the consequences of our actions. The apostle Paul wrote: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows" (Galatians 6:7). But if we turn to God in humility and repentance, he is ready and willing to give us the help we need, as he helped the ancient Israelites when they repented.

However, God also wants us to understand why we get into difficulties. So, before sending the Israelites a deliverer, God sent a prophet to show why the Midianites had been allowed to oppress them:

"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me" (Judges 6:8-10).

God continued to show mercy to the Israelites and raised up a man named Gideon to deliver them. One day, when Gideon was threshing wheat in the confines of a winepress (he was hiding the crop from the Midianites), an angel appeared to him, calling him a "mighty warrior" (verse 12). Gideon was not the brash, self-confident type. He described himself as the least important member of the weakest clan in Manasseh (verse 15).

Throughout the period of the judges, God chose unlikely people and means to deliver Israel. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote, concerning the church, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Like Moses, Gideon needed encouragement before he was ready to begin his task. God told Gideon, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together" (Judges 6:16). Gideon asked for a sign that God was with him. Gideon placed an offering of goat meat and unleavened bread on a rock, and when the angel touched the offering with the tip of his staff, fire flared from the rock, consuming the offering.

Gideon was now prepared to accomplish his first task — tearing down his father's altar to the pagan god Baal — but only at night. He was still afraid of his family and the local townsmen (verse 27). Gideon had taken his first cautious step of faith. When the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces against Israel, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them" (verses 34-35).

Even after this, Gideon needed further evidence that God was with him, so God patiently gave him two more signs (verses 36-40).

### Gideon: putting out fleeces

#### Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised — look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."

#### And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew — a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. (Judges 6:36-40)

Demanding signs should not be viewed entirely as an indication of a lack of faith by Gideon. After all, he had a unique calling and wanted to be certain of God's will. Gideon's request may be understandable considering the magnitude of his mission and the seeming impossibility of accomplishing it.

Today, however, God guides Christians through his Word and Spirit (John 16:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). Putting out fleeces is not the decision-making method God has given us: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).

God is always willing to spend time working with his people, but eventually he expects results. Having bolstered Gideon's faith, God now impressed upon him that it was only through faith, not military strength, that Israel would prevail over Midian.

God commanded Gideon to dismiss all of the fearful men, upon which 22,000 men left, and 10,000 remained (Judges 7:3). God then told an undoubtedly bewildered Gideon, "There are still too many men" (verse 4). God eventually left Gideon with an army of just 300 men.

In the night, Gideon arranged his meager troops around the valley in which the Midianites were camped. At Gideon's signal, they lit torches, blew trumpets and shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" (Judges 7:20).

Gideon's army watched as the Midianites panicked and retreated in disorder, without a single Israelite needing to draw a sword (verse 22). Gideon may have been fearful at first, but he grew as God worked through him. In the remainder of the story, three incidents show how he developed confidence and wisdom.

The first incident involved the leaders of Ephraim, whom Gideon had not initially asked to join in the fight against Midian (Judges 8:1). Later, during the heat of the battle, Gideon called on them to join in the pursuit of the escaping Midianites. After the battle, the Ephraimites angrily confronted Gideon. Being God's appointed judge, Gideon could have told them he was following God's orders. Instead, he assured them diplomatically that their contribution had been even greater than his own. Gideon pointed out that their rear-guard action led to the capture of two enemy officers, thereby leaving the Midianites without effective military leadership (verses 2-3). By complimenting the Ephraimites, rather than justifying himself, Gideon avoided a potentially volatile situation. Gideon's action exemplifies the wise saying: "A gentle answer turns away wrath" (Proverbs 15:1).

The second incident concerns the men of Succoth and Peniel, who refused to help Gideon pursue the Midianites. But Gideon had learned that God's work would always succeed, with or without the help of any particular human being. Undeterred, Gideon overtook and vanquished the Midianite army, which considerably outnumbered his own.

The third incident illustrates Gideon's acknowledgment of God as the true king of Israel (Judges 8:22-23). Though the people wanted to make Gideon their king, Gideon refused, reminding them that God was their true king. Gideon understood the importance of putting God first — for the sake of the nation as well as each individual citizen.

These incidents illustrate the extent to which Gideon had grown. He started as a man who doubted he could fulfill his God-assigned role. He ended as a great man of faith, accomplishing his tasks with tact, determination and humility.

### Abimelech: the man who would be king

When Gideon died, one of his sons, Abimelech, attempted to usurp the title King of Israel — an office and position reserved for God (Judges 9). Abimelech's short reign was marked by treachery and bloodshed. It was a foretaste of what would happen to the Israelites if they rejected God as their king.

Abimelech was a son of Gideon (Judges 8:31), but he did not share his father's love for God. In sharp contrast to the judges who acknowledged God as the only true king over Israel, Abimelech aggressively sought the throne of Israel for his own ends. Viewing his 70 brothers as potential rivals, Abimelech murdered all but one of them. He was supported in this wickedness by his mother's family and the leaders of Shechem. Only Jotham, the youngest, escaped. Abimelech then had himself crowned king (Judges 9:5-6).

When news of this reached Jotham, he climbed up to a rock ledge on the south side of the nearby Mt. Gerizim, and cried out God's warning to the people of Shechem below (verse 7). From this natural pulpit, Jotham related a fable about trees vying for supremacy: "One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves" (see verses 8-15). The olive tree, the fig tree and the vine rejected the offer of kingship. They were content to grow where God had planted them and to produce the kind of fruit God desired. The implication here is that these righteous trees refused to tear their roots from the soil and soar above the other trees in a presumptuous act of self-promotion.

"Gideon...represented one of the good trees invited to become king [Judges 8:22], though exact identifications are not needed. Noble, capable leaders like Gideon believed that the theocracy, not a monarchy, was the best form of government" ( _The Expositor's Bible Commentary,_ vol. 3, pp. 439-440).

The thornbush represented Abimelech, who craved power and prestige (Judges 9:15). Its invitation to "take refuge in my shade" refers to the traditional role of the king, who offered special protection to those traveling on his behalf. They were said to be "in his shade" (Hosea 14:7; see also Isaiah 30:2 and Daniel 4:12). In reality, as the original audience knew, a thornbush cannot give shade.

Jotham's point was this: a productive person would be too busy doing good to want to bother with power politics. A worthless person, on the other hand, would be glad to accept the honor — but he would destroy the people he ruled. Abimelech, like a thornbush, could offer Israel no real protection or security. ( _Life Application Bible,_ NIV, commentary on Judges 9:7-15)

The words "let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon" (Judges 9:15) refer to the wrath of Abimelech, which would come upon the leaders of Shechem. This is exactly what happened: Abimelech eventually destroyed Shechem (verse 45) and burned its leaders in the city tower (verses 46-49). God's prophecy against Abimelech (verse 20) also came true: This renegade Israelite was finally killed at Thebez (verses 50-54). His brief flirtation with kingship had cost him his life.

Throughout Israel's history, Abimelech was remembered as the man who was killed by a woman (2 Samuel 11:21). The man who would be king became an object of scorn and derision.

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## Judges: Jephthah and Samson

### Episode five: Jephthah: Judges 10:1-12:7

Tola and Jair (Judges 10:1-5) were among the so-called "minor" judges. They performed judicial functions in Israel and were responsible for administering and maintaining the law within the society. The "major" judges, on the other hand, were predominately military leaders who delivered Israel from external enemies.

The next of these major judges was Jephthah, an unlikely prospect for a godly leader (he was the son of a prostitute). But he was a mighty warrior, and God used him to drive back the Ammonites (Judges 11:1-33).

Unfortunately, Jephthah made a rash vow to God (verses 30-31). The nature of Jephthah's vow has been vigorously debated by scholars over the years. Opinion is still divided on this issue. Those who claim Jephthah had human sacrifice in mind when he made the vow argue that:

##### 1. He was from an area where heathen religion and human sacrifice were common. In his eyes, it may not have seemed like a sin.

##### 2. Jephthah probably did not have a background in religious law. If so, he would have been ignorant of God's command against human sacrifice.

On the other hand, those who believe that Jephthah would never have made a vow involving human sacrifice claim that:

##### 1. As leader of the people, Jephthah must have been familiar with God's law, which clearly forbade human sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21; 20:1-5).

##### 2. During this period, the standard Israelite house accommodated livestock as well as the family (Robert G. Boling, _Judges,_ The Anchor Bible, Vol. 6A, p. 208). Jephthah may not have thought through what might happen if he returned in triumph. Shockingly, his daughter came out, not a farm animal.

Whatever Jephthah had in mind when he made the vow, did he sacrifice his daughter? Some think he did, because his vow was to make a burnt offering. This view predominated among Jews and early Christians alike: "With regard to Jephthah's vow, the view expressed so distinctly by Josephus...was the one which generally prevailed in the earlier times among both Rabbins [Rabbis] and fathers of the church, [namely] that Jephthah put his daughter to death and burned her upon the altar as a bleeding sacrifice to Jehovah" (C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, _Commentary on the Old Testament,_ vol. 2, p. 388).

Other scholars conclude that Jephthah did not sacrifice his daughter. They offer three major arguments:

##### 1. Even during their worst periods of spiritual collapse, there were certain abominations the Israelites would not tolerate — for example, the Gibeonites' gang rape of the Levite's concubine (Judges 19–20). Undoubtedly, human sacrifice would have been another such abomination.

##### 2. No legitimate priest would have helped Jephthah carry out his vow if a human was to be the sacrifice.

##### 3. Judges 11:39 says that Jephthah's daughter never married, not that she died. This implies that she was set apart for service to God, and not killed.

In any case, Jephthah's vow brought him terrible grief. This should caution us today. It is so easy, in the heat of the moment or during an intense personal trial, to make foolish promises to God that one deeply regrets later. "Making spiritual 'deals' only brings disappointment. God does not want promises for the future, but obedience for today" ( _Life Application Bible,_ NIV, commentary on Judges 11:34-35).

### Episode six: Samson: Judges 12:8-16:31

Three judges are mentioned following Jephthah's death: Ibzan, Elon and Abdon (Judges 12:8-15). Although we know little about any of them, it is evident that the unrest in Israel continued and that "the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord" (Judges 13:1). Consequently, God delivered the Israelites into the hands of the Philistines.

The Philistines lived on the west side of Canaan, along the Mediterranean coast. From the time of Samson until David, the Philistines were the major enemy force in the region and posed a constant threat to Israel. They were fierce warriors, having the advantage over Israel in numbers, tactical expertise and technology. For example, they knew how to make weapons out of iron (1 Samuel 13:19-22).

An angel of the Lord visited the parents of Samson, informing them that they would have a son who would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:2-5). According to the angel, Samson was to be a Nazirite, a person who took a vow to be set apart for God's service (verse 5. Although a Nazirite vow was sometimes temporary, in Samson's case it was for life. A Nazirite was not to cut his hair, touch a dead body, eat grapes or drink anything containing alcohol (Numbers 6).

Most of the judges God used were unlikely heroes. Ehud was a Benjamite (Hebrew: _ben-htayemini,_ which means "son of my right hand") who was left-handed (Hebrew: _'itter yad-yemino,_ which means "handicapped in his right hand"). Shamgar used not a sword or spear, but an oxgoad to deliver Israel. In a male-dominated society, it was Deborah, a woman, who inspired Israel's victory over Sisera's army, and Jael, a gentile woman, who slew Sisera — with a tent peg. Gideon came from the weakest clan in Manasseh, and Jephthah was an outcast son of a prostitute.

As a man dedicated to God from before birth, and one whom God's Spirit imbued with superhuman strength, Samson seems to be an ideal hero. Yet, even here, it was Samson's weakness — his attraction to Philistine women — that God used to deliver Israel.

Samson wanted to marry a Philistine woman from Timnah, against his parents' wishes. However, "his parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines" (Judges 14:4). One day, on his way to Timnah, Samson was attacked by a lion. Samson, empowered by the Spirit of God, simply tore the lion apart with his bare hands (verse 6). Sometime later, Samson was surprised to see a swarm of bees and some honey in the lion's carcass.

At the beginning of the seven-day wedding feast, Samson posed a riddle concerning this unusual sight to his 30 companions: "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet" (verse 14). The stakes were high — if the companions solved the riddle, Samson would owe each of them a set of clothing, which was expensive in those days.

The companions were unable to solve the riddle, so they threatened Samson's wife: "Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death" (verse 15). Samson's frightened wife finally cajoled the answer from him and promptly told his companions.

When the companions gave Samson the right answer, he immediately realized his wife had betrayed his secret. In his fury, he stormed up to the Philistine city of Ashkelon, killed 30 men, stripped them and gave their clothes to the 30 companions. Still burning with anger, Samson left his wife in Timnah and returned to his father's house. In the meantime, Samson's wife was given to his chief companion.

When Samson found this out, he determined to wreak full vengeance upon the Philistines. Samson was ruthless, using any available means to achieve his ends. Note the cruel way he used foxes to destroy the Philistine agriculture (Judges 15:4-5). The Philistines retaliated by burning Samson's wife and her family — ironically, the fate she had hoped to avoid by seducing Samson's secret riddle from him. This action only served to anger Samson further. He slaughtered many Philistines in a series of direct, one-man attacks.

Eventually, the Philistines marched in force into Judah, demanding that Samson be handed over to them. Samson allowed the men of Judah to bind him and give him to the Philistines.

Once in the Philistine camp, however, Samson was again empowered by the Spirit of God. He flexed his muscles and the ropes snapped. Then he seized the most unlikely weapon of all — the jawbone of a donkey — and slew 1,000 men. This herculean effort left Samson extremely thirsty. He prayed to God: "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" (verse 18). God responded to Samson's prayer by opening up a spring. "When Samson drank, his strength returned" (verse 19).

On a later occasion, Samson decided to spend the night with a prostitute in the Philistine stronghold of Gaza. The Philistine military made sure that Samson could not escape from the city and waited until dawn for a chance to kill him.

Unlike Ehud and Jael, Samson could not be accused of subtlety in dealing with his enemies. But what he lacked in subtlety, he made up for in strength. In the middle of the night, Samson "got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron" (Judges 16:3). An unusual method of escape, no doubt, but one that highly embarrassed the Philistines.

Unfortunately, Samson was still obsessed by Philistine women. A woman named Delilah had Samson's eye at this time. Unknown to Samson, each of the Philistine rulers had promised to give Delilah the vast sum of 1,100 shekels of silver apiece, if she could find out the secret of Samson's strength.

Like water eroding stone, Delilah slowly wore down Samson's resistance. Eventually, he told her the secret: "'No razor has ever been used on my head,' he said, 'because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man'" (verse 17).

So one fateful day, Delilah soothed Samson to sleep on her lap and got a man to shave Samson's head. When Samson awoke, his strength had departed, and the Philistines overpowered and blinded him (verses 19-21).

The Philistines threw Samson into prison and put him to work, grinding at a mill. As Samson worked long, arduous hours at the mill, he undoubtedly reflected on his life, on how he had allowed his weaknesses to come between him and God. Yet Samson also knew that God was merciful and forgiving.

The Philistine rulers decided to organize a great celebration in honor of Dagon, their god of grain and chief deity. "How vividly the Philistines remembered Samson's 'reign of terror'! It had been a time of devastation and death, and even Dagon's grain was put to the torch (15:5). But this was replaced by laughter and feasting as the drunken Philistines called for the once invincible Samson to appear before them (v. 25). The word translated 'entertain' ( _sa-haq_ ) is literally 'play with,' 'amuse.'... Clearly the Philistines intended to mock Samson as he performed for their amusement (cf. Gen 21:9)" ( _The Expositor's Bible Commentary,_ vol. 3, p. 479).

But God, the only God, had delivered Samson into the hands of the Philistines in order to fulfill his purpose — as they were about to find out! With the help of a servant, Samson located the two central pillars of the temple. In one last fervent prayer, he asked God, "Please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines" (Judges 16:28). Then, with a mighty push, Samson dislodged the supporting pillars, causing them to slide off their stone bases. "And down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it" (verse 30).

In spite of Samson's past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the pagan temple and worshipers. God still loved him. He was willing to hear Samson's prayer of confession and repentance and use him this final time. One of the effects of sin in our lives is to keep us from feeling like praying. But perfect moral behavior is not a condition for prayer. Don't let guilt feelings over sin keep you from your only means of restoration. No matter how long you have been away from God, he is ready to hear from you and restore you to a right relationship. Every situation can be salvaged if you are willing to turn again to him. If God could still work in Samson's situation, he can certainly make something worthwhile out of yours. ( _Life Application Bible,_ NIV, commentary on Judges 16:28-30)

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## Judges: The Danites and Civil War

### The Danites move north: Judges 17-18

The last five chapters of Judges relate two episodes that occurred early in the period of the judges. Both events illustrate an almost complete disregard for God's law. One statement recurs frequently in these episodes: "In those days Israel had no king" (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Twice it is followed by the ominous addition: "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6; 21:25, NKJV). Although the books of Samuel and Kings later show that a king was not the solution to Israel's problems, the book of Judges assures us that Israel's premonarchal history was no golden era either.

The first episode concerns an Ephraimite named Micah, who stole a large quantity of silver from his mother. When she pronounced a curse on whoever stole the silver, Micah confessed and returned the money. Supposedly dedicating the returned money to God's use, Micah's mother made an idol from the silver — something expressly forbidden by God's law. Then Micah set up a shrine in his home and hired a Levite — a grandson of Moses — somehow thinking this would legitimize this pagan form of worship.

At this time, the Danites had been unable to drive out most of the inhabitants from the territory that had been allotted to them, so they looked to settle somewhere else. The Danites sent five warriors to scout out potential settlements. These scouts, who spent a night at Micah's house during their travels, eventually found a suitable land, inhabited by unsuspecting locals, at Laish. The scouts reported back to the Danites, and much of the tribe decided to move there and invade.

On the way, they passed by Micah's house, where the scouts had previously spent the night on the way to Laish. The Danites seized all the household gods and told the Levite to be a priest for them instead. The Levite readily acquiesced. Micah, angry at what had happened, gathered some men together and pursued the Danites. But when the Danites refused to return the idols and threatened to attack him, Micah realized he was hopelessly outnumbered and gave up. The Danites successfully attacked the people of Laish, rebuilt the city and renamed it Dan. This city, about 100 miles north of the Danites' allotted territory, was now the northernmost Israelite city.

Nobody in this entire episode was at all interested in following God's ways. And yet the next episode is even worse.

### Civil war: Judges 19-21

Another Levite, his concubine and his servant were traveling from Bethlehem toward the hill country of Ephraim. On the way, they stopped for the night in the Benjamite city of Gibeah, where only an Ephraimite resident offered them lodging. That night, some Gibeonite men pounded on the Ephraimite's door, demanding he bring out the Levite so they could sexually abuse him. Gibeah had become like the city of Sodom, which God destroyed (Genesis 19).

To save themselves, the host and the Levite callously threw out the Levite's concubine. The Gibeonites raped and abused the woman until dawn. When the Levite opened the door the next morning "to continue on his way" (Judges 19:27) and found his concubine lying on the threshold, his crass response reflected his own depravity: "Get up; let's go" (verse 28).

Many scholars believe that the phrase "But there was no answer" (verse 28) implies that the woman was dead. Some disagree, claiming the Hebrew text is deliberately vague here, allowing for the possibility that the woman was still alive until the Levite dismembered her and then sent the body parts to the 12 tribes (verse 29) (see, for example, Meir Sternberg, _The Poetics of Biblical Narrative,_ pp. 238-239).

When the other Israelite tribes heard of the Gibeonites' sin, they demanded that the tribe of Benjamin hand over the guilty men for execution. The Benjamites refused. The resulting civil war between Benjamin and the other 11 tribes ended with heavy casualties on both sides. The tribe of Benjamin was virtually annihilated (Judges 20:46-48). Regretting their actions, the Israelites strove desperately to find some way to preserve the tribe of Benjamin. They eventually resorted to the dubious means of killing the men of Jabesh Gilead (who had refused to fight against Benjamin) along with their wives and children. They spared only the virgin women of the city, and gave them to the surviving Benjamites. Those Benjamites still without wives kidnapped, with the Israelites' approval, young women from Shiloh.

These last five chapters of Judges are a catalog of the sins God warned against. They illustrate dramatically the inevitable penalties — the suffering, heartache and misery — of sin.

### God's faithfulness

The period of the judges — "Israel's iron age," as it has been called (in a spiritual, not economic, sense) — was a period of adaptation to the conditions of life in Canaan, a period of struggle for national survival. If we were restricted to the book of Judges, the struggle might appear foredoomed to defeat; how defeat was turned into victory is told in the sequel, in the books of Samuel.

Religiously, [Judges] is presented as a period during which the nation was being fashioned by its God in the furnace of affliction to be His chosen instrument for the furtherance of His purpose in the world.

Unedifying as the details of many of the individual episodes may be thought, together they portray the God of Israel's unceasing faithfulness to His covenant with His people, in spite of their recurrent unfaithfulness, as He deals with them in mercy and judgment, showing them what is practically involved for them in being His people and having Him as their God.

Later generations looked back to the period of the judges as one during which God acted signally for the defence of His people. Thus Samuel, in his farewell address to Israel, reminds them how God...." sent Jerubbaal and Barak....and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety" (1 Samuel 12:8-11). Other incidents in the period of the judges are referred to in 2 Samuel 11:21; Isaiah 9:4; 10:26.

But the most outstanding tribute to the men of this period is paid in Hebrews 11:32ff., where "Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah" are named among those who "through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises,...escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight" (F.F. Bruce, "Judges," in _The Eerdmans Bible Commentary,_ 3rd ed., pp. 254-255).

The book of Judges closes with the words "all the people did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 21:25, NRSV). Is this happening today, too?

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## Exploring Ruth

### What's in a name?

Ruth is the leading character in this book, which is named after her. The name Ruth means "mercy." The story shows that God's grace and mercy extend beyond Israel to include all peoples.

### Outline

Ruth can be read as a drama in four acts, with a prologue and epilogue attached. The prologue tells us how Naomi, her husband and two sons went to Moab, where her sons married. Eventually, Naomi's husband and sons died, and she decided to return to Bethlehem in Judea (1:1-7).

In the first act, Naomi tells her Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to stay in Moab. Orpah eventually agreed, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi and accompanied her to Bethlehem (1:8-22). The next act sees Ruth gathering barley in the fields of Naomi's relative, Boaz, who showed special concern for Ruth (2:1-23).

The third act takes place at the threshing floor where, at Naomi's instigation, Ruth hides until Boaz falls asleep and then quietly lies down by his feet. When Boaz awakes, Ruth expresses her desire to marry him according to the custom of the kinsman-redeemer. But Boaz tells her that another man has a prior claim (3:1-18). Finally, at the city gate, the other relative renounces his claim, and Boaz marries Ruth (4:1-12). The epilogue relates Naomi's joy at this turn of events and then lists some of Ruth's descendants, including David (4:13-18).

### How to read this book

In stark contrast to Judges, the book of Ruth shows us a community that did what was right in God's eyes. It is

#### the story of God's grace in the midst of difficult circumstances. Ruth's story occurred during the time of the judges — a period of disobedience, idolatry, and violence. Even in times of crisis and deepest despair, there are those who follow God and through whom God works. No matter how discouraging or antagonistic the world may seem, there are always people who follow God. He will use anyone who is open to him to achieve his purposes. ( _Life Application Bible,_ NIV, Introduction to Ruth)

### Learning about God

Our fascination with the characters of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz notwithstanding, "God is the primary actor in the drama" (Edward F. Campbell, Jr., _Ruth,_ The Anchor Bible, Vol. 7, p. 29). Even though human beings are free moral agents, God's unseen hand directs events to accomplish his purpose, transforming Naomi's sorrow into exultant joy and rewarding Ruth's commitment to Israel's God and community with an enduring place of honor in its heritage.

In Boaz, we see a foreshadowing of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. "Ruth's inability to do anything to alter her estate typifies absolute human helplessness (Rom. 5:6); and Boaz's willingness to pay the complete price (4:9) foreshadows Christ's full payment for our salvation (1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19)" ( _The Spirit-Filled Life Bible,_ NKJV, Introduction to Ruth).

### Other topics

##### • Steadfast love: According to rabbinic tradition, the main theme of Ruth is steadfast love (Hebrew: _chesed,_ meaning "faithfulness born out of a sense of caring and commitment"). All the main characters in the book — Ruth, Naomi and Boaz — acted with _chesed._

##### • Salvation: The story of Ruth takes place between the seasons of Passover and Pentecost. (Pentecost came at the end of the grain harvest season.) In the Hebrew Bible, Ruth is one of the Megilloth (Festival Scrolls) and is read during Pentecost. In accepting the God of Israel, Ruth foreshadows the gentiles becoming a part of spiritual Israel, the church. This became possible only after the Pentecost that followed Christ's ascension (Acts 2).

### What this book means for you

If the most effective teaching is by example, this book can teach us much about how to live:

#### The religious truths found in this book relate more to practical life than to abstract theology. Loyalty, love, kindness, the value of persons, and the need to understand one another stand out. In the midst of the chaos then in the land, meaning could be found by returning to the first principles of simple truth. The book of Ruth tells us that no matter how bad things may be, goodness can exist, if we are willing to make the effort. (Walter A. Elwell, ed., _Baker's Bible Handbook,_ p. 166)

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####

## Ruth: Naomi and Ruth

### Naomi and Ruth: Ruth 1

"In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion" (verses 1-2).

Eventually, Elimelech died and Naomi was left with her two sons, who took Moabite wives, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After about 10 years, Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi had lost both her husband and her sons. When Naomi heard that the famine in Judah had ended, she had no reason to stay in Moab and decided to return home (verses 5-6). She told her daughters-in-law: "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband" (verses 8-9).

Naomi then kissed her daughters-in-law good-bye, but they were reluctant to leave. Naomi wanted Orpah and Ruth to start a new life — to marry again — but she told them she could not provide them husbands, and so again she urged them to return home (verses 11-13). Naomi's comment here refers to the biblical custom of Levirate marriage, by which a dead man's unmarried brother was obligated to care for his widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Naomi could provide no new brothers-in-law for the women to marry.

Orpah was convinced by Naomi's plea, and tearfully kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth pleaded with Naomi, "Don't urge me to leave you or turn back from you" (Ruth 1:16). Unlike Orpah, she did not return to her own people and gods, but chose Naomi's people and, significantly, Naomi's God. In one of the most famous passages of the Bible, Ruth pledged to Naomi: "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me" (verses 16-17).

As God's chosen nation, Israel was to be God's servant as a light to the nations in witness to him. Sadly, the nation often fell short, but God's purpose for his people did not. In the story of Ruth — which was set in the time of the judges, a period of much unfaithfulness to God — we see that Ruth became a member of the community of God largely because of the examples of faithful people in that community.

This is a great lesson for us today. The Israelites were not the only people God loved. God chose the Israelites to be the people through whom the rest of the world would ultimately come to know him. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ made this possible: "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:14). Through Christ, the entire world can come to know God.

The book of Ruth, which is the festival scroll read at Pentecost, foreshadows what the Day of Pentecost began to make possible — gentiles becoming part of spiritual Israel, the church. On the Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' followers, thus beginning the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy: "I will pour out my Spirit on all people" (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). Later, during his meeting with the Roman centurion Cornelius, the apostle Peter acknowledged: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts people from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (Acts 10:34-35).

None of us should feel disqualified to serve God because of our sex, race, color or national or ethnic origin. The gentile Ruth, for example, became a great-grandmother of King David, through whom Jesus was descended. God can use anyone to do his work and to prepare for his kingdom. The Day of Pentecost also pictures the church, foreshadowed in the book of Ruth by the community of Bethlehem, being a light to the world.

When Naomi eventually returned with Ruth to Bethlehem, she was warmly greeted, but she felt discouraged, saying: "Call me Mara [bitter], because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi [pleasant]?" (Ruth 1:20-21).

Naomi was a righteous woman who had suffered the great anguish of losing her husband and two sons. Orpah and Ruth had shared her grief, but Naomi still considered herself to be the most bitterly unfortunate of the three (verse 13). However, she would gradually come to understand that, despite the tragedies she had undergone, God had not abandoned her. Naomi would yet experience great joy in her life and in her God.

The chapter closes, as do the next two chapters, with a succinct summary of the preceding action, which simultaneously sets the stage for what is about to unfold: "So Naomi returned from Moab...arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning" (verse 22).

### Levirate marriage

The book of Ruth is permeated with ancient Israelite customs that seem strange to us: the gleaning of grain by the poor (Ruth 2:2), inheritance laws (Ruth 4:9-10), the removal of sandals in business exchanges (Ruth 4:7). Another custom alluded to in the story is that of levirate marriage (Ruth 1:11-12).

If a married man died without any children to carry on his name and inheritance, it was his unmarried brother's responsibility to marry the widow. The purpose: "The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel" (Deuteronomy 25:6). This is known as a levirate marriage, from the Latin word for brother-in-law, levir.

According to The Anchor Bible Dictionary, "Levirate marriage existed in Ugarit, in the Middle Assyrian (no. 33) and Hittite law codes (no. 193), and possibly in the Nuzi texts" (vol. 4, p. 567). It was a common middle eastern custom.

The earliest biblical example of a levirate relationship is complex. It concerns Judah's sons: Er, Onan and Shelah (Genesis 38). When Er died, Judah told Onan to have children by his brother Er's widow, Tamar, so that Er's name would carry on. Onan, knowing that any children borne by Tamar would legally be Er's, slept with Tamar but selfishly ensured that she did not have any children. God was displeased and put Onan to death. Judah did not then give Tamar to Shelah as his wife, lest Shelah die also.

When Tamar realized that Judah would not allow Shelah to fulfill the obligations of levirate marriage, she disguised herself as a prostitute and sat where she knew Judah would approach. Judah did not recognize her and purchased her services. In due course, Tamar became pregnant and bore Judah twin sons, Perez and Zerah.

We do not know why Tamar embarked upon this action, but we are told that Judah acknowledged, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah" (verse 26). She had been faithful to her family obligations, whereas Judah had not been. Through her son Perez, Tamar became an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:3, 16).

In the book of Ruth, Naomi told Ruth and Orpah that she had no other sons who could perform the duties of levirate husbands (Ruth 1:11). Boaz was a near relative of Ruth's late husband, Mahlon. Boaz performed the duties of kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew: go'el) by marrying Ruth and buying the property that had belonged to Mahlon's father, Elimelech (Ruth 4:9-10).

The son of Boaz and Ruth would thus become the legal inheritor of Elimelech's property, a "son" of Elimelech and Naomi (verse 17). This seems to be an extension of levirate marriage as discussed in Deuteronomy, but many details concerning the transaction remain unknown.

The book of Ruth is permeated with ancient Israelite customs that seem strange to us: the gleaning of grain by the poor (Ruth 2:2), inheritance laws (Ruth 4:9-10), the removal of sandals in business exchanges (Ruth 4:7). Another custom alluded to in the story is that of levirate marriage (Ruth 1:11-12).

If a married man died without any children to carry on his name and inheritance, it was his unmarried brother's responsibility to marry the widow. The purpose: "The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel" (Deuteronomy 25:6). This is known as a levirate marriage, from the Latin word for brother-in-law, _levir._

According to _The Anchor Bible Dictionary, "_ Levirate marriage existed in Ugarit, in the Middle Assyrian (no. 33) and Hittite law codes (no. 193), and possibly in the Nuzi texts" (vol. 4, p. 567). It was a common middle eastern custom.

The earliest biblical example of a levirate relationship is complex. It concerns Judah's sons: Er, Onan and Shelah (Genesis 38). When Er died, Judah told Onan to have children by his brother Er's widow, Tamar, so that Er's name would carry on. Onan, knowing that any children borne by Tamar would legally be Er's, slept with Tamar but selfishly ensured that she did not have any children. God was displeased and put Onan to death. Judah did not then give Tamar to Shelah as his wife, lest Shelah die also.

When Tamar realized that Judah would not allow Shelah to fulfill the obligations of levirate marriage, she disguised herself as a prostitute and sat where she knew Judah would approach. Judah did not recognize her and purchased her services. In due course, Tamar became pregnant and bore Judah twin sons, Perez and Zerah.

We do not know why Tamar embarked upon this action, but we are told that Judah acknowledged, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah" (verse 26). She had been faithful to her family obligations, whereas Judah had not been. Through her son Perez, Tamar became an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:3, 16).

In the book of Ruth, Naomi told Ruth and Orpah that she had no other sons who could perform the duties of levirate husbands (Ruth 1:11). Boaz was a near relative of Ruth's late husband, Mahlon. Boaz performed the duties of kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew: go'el) by marrying Ruth and buying the property that had belonged to Mahlon's father, Elimelech (Ruth 4:9-10).

The son of Boaz and Ruth would thus become the legal inheritor of Elimelech's property, a "son" of Elimelech and Naomi (verse 17). This seems to be an extension of levirate marriage as discussed in Deuteronomy, but many details concerning the transaction remain unknown.

### Letting her light shine

Ruth is rightly remembered for her pledge of total devotion and loyalty to Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17). Ruth clung to Naomi even at the cost of renouncing her people and her gods in favor of Naomi's people, the Israelites, and Naomi's God, Yahweh: "Your people will be my people and your God my God" (verse 16). The totality of this commitment is emphasized by its terseness (merely four words in the Hebrew: _'amekh 'ami we'lohaikh 'elohai,_ which literally means "your people my people; your God my God"). Yet Ruth extended her commitment still further, beyond death itself: "Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried" (verse 17).

These words may sound anticlimactic compared to accepting Naomi's people and her God. But to understand their significance, we must appreciate the cultural mind-set of the ancient Near Eastern peoples. All the death accounts of the patriarchs mention the burial, often at length (Genesis 23:1-20; 25:8-10; 35:19-20, 28-29; 49:29-33; 50:1-14, 24-26). When a patriarch died, he was "gathered to his people." Jacob and Joseph died in Egypt, but their bones were laid to rest in the Promised Land. The location of burial was important to them.

Ruth concluded her pledge by calling down God's punishment on herself if "even death" (Ruth 1:17, NRSV — a preferred reading to "anything but death") parted her from Naomi. Even after the death of Naomi, Ruth would live, die and be buried in Bethlehem. In so doing, Ruth identified herself with Naomi's community in the most absolute manner possible.

Ruth was willing to forgo everything — her future in Moab, her people, her gods and even her ancestral burial plot — to be joined with Naomi. Yet as we remember Ruth, as we acknowledge and strive to emulate her devotion, her loyalty, her total commitment, let us not forget that other remarkable woman, Naomi. As F.B. Huey, Jr., explains, "Naomi's consistent living must have so impressed her daughter-in-law to cause her to abandon her homeland and her gods" ("Ruth," in _The Expositor's Bible Commentary,_ vol. 3, p. 524).

What sort of woman was this Naomi, to inspire such affection in a daughter-in-law? What relationship with God must she have had to cause Ruth to forsake the gods of Moab and worship Naomi's God alone?

The biblical account is sparse, but it witnesses to the powerful effect Naomi had on those around her. Even during her more sorrowful moments, she put the welfare of others first. Naomi's example brought Ruth into the Israelite community of faith, foreshadowing the day when gentiles would be grafted into spiritual Israel, the church.

Naomi is also an example for us all. Jesus Christ, the "light of the world" (John 9:5), told his followers: "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). William Barclay comments, "It may well be said that this is the greatest compliment that was ever paid to the individual Christian, for in it Jesus commands the Christian to be what he himself claimed to be" ( _The Gospel of Matthew,_ rev. ed., The Daily Study Bible Series, vol. 1, p. 122). A Christian is not merely a follower of Christ, but a Christlike person.

The Christian is further commanded: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (verse 16, NKJV). Naomi's light shone, and Ruth glorified God; we should let our lights shine so that others may glorify God.

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## Ruth: Romance and Redemption

### Ruth meets Boaz: Ruth 2

In Israel, the barley harvest began in the spring. The community in Bethlehem observed God's law concerning harvesting: "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.... Leave them for the poor and the alien" (Leviticus 19:9-10).

Ruth was both poor and an alien. She had few prospects in Judah, as Naomi had warned her. However, she was able to provide for Naomi and herself by working hard gleaning the grain left by the harvesters (Ruth 2:2).

There is an almost idyllic quality to the Bethlehem community described in Ruth, which — especially when one considers it existed during the turbulent period of the judges — testifies powerfully to the difference a few people living God's way can make. Bethlehem would later become famous, first as the "town of David" and later as the birthplace of the Messiah (Luke 2:4-7).

"As it turned out, [Ruth] found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech" (Ruth 2:3). Boaz was a "man of standing [Hebrew: _'ish gibbor chail,_ implying Boaz was physically impressive and had noble character]" (verse 1).

Boaz asked his foreman who the stranger gleaning in the field was. The foreman replied that she was the young woman who had accompanied Naomi back from Moab. Boaz then told Ruth to continue gleaning in his field, and helped her far beyond the demands of the law. He even ordered his harvesters to make Ruth especially welcome, enabling her to gather extra barley.

Ruth then asked Boaz, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me — a foreigner?" (verse 10). Ruth's expression about finding favor in Boaz's eyes, used by her on three occasions (verses 2, 10, 13), was a culturally appropriate way of showing respect. Ruth thus displayed the type of attitude the apostle Paul later taught Christians to have, when he said, "In humility consider others better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).

Boaz, in turn, was impressed by Ruth's reputation: "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband — how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done" (Ruth 2:11). A good reputation, founded on God-centered character, is of great value (Proverbs 22:1; Ecclesiastes 7:1).

At the end of the day, Ruth returned home to Naomi with an exceptionally generous amount of grain. Naomi immediately realized someone had taken special care of Ruth, and upon hearing that it was Boaz, she exclaimed, "The Lord bless him!" and "He [the reader is made to ask to whom Naomi is referring — Boaz or Yahweh] has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead" (Ruth 2:20). Naomi's bitterness toward God had begun to lessen. She now gladly encouraged Ruth to continue to glean in Boaz's field.

### Naomi's plan for Ruth: Ruth 3

Ruth continued to glean in Boaz's field for about seven weeks, until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, around the time of Pentecost. Naomi had earlier hoped that Ruth would find "rest" (Hebrew: _minuchah_ ) in the home of another husband in Moab (Ruth 1:9). Now Naomi said to Ruth, "Should I not try to find a home [Hebrew: _manoach,_ which, like the related word _minuchah,_ means "a condition of rest and security attained by marriage"] for you, where you will be well provided for?" (Ruth 3:1). Naomi's hopes for Ruth now centered upon Boaz, who might act as a "kinsman-redeemer" (verses 1-9).

A kinsman-redeemer was a relative who could redeem a poor person's inheritance (Leviticus 25:25). In certain circumstances, where there was no heir, a near relative could act as kinsman-redeemer by marrying the relative's widow to redeem the inheritance. A relative was not obligated to act as kinsman-redeemer, however. If no relative chose to help, the widow would probably live in poverty.

Naomi therefore suggested to her daughter-in-law a plan of action: "Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let [Boaz] know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do" (Ruth 3:3-4).

Ruth did as Naomi told her. Something startled Boaz in the middle of the night, and he awoke to discover a woman lying at his feet. Boaz asked who she was. Ruth identified herself and then seized the initiative: "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer" (verse 9). Ruth was boldly asking Boaz for a pledge from him to marry her. This same expression is used for God's relationship with Israel: "I spread the corner of my garment over you" (Ezekiel 16:8). Ruth's action was in accord with the law of levirate marriage, which required the initiative of the widow in seeking the marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5, 7-10).

Boaz felt honored by Ruth's request because she was "a woman of noble character [Hebrew: _'esheth chail,_ the term applied to the 'Proverbs 31 woman']" (Ruth 3:11). Boaz informed her, however, that Naomi had a closer relative. This man had the first option to marry Ruth and redeem Naomi's inheritance. Boaz assured Ruth that if this other relative was not prepared to act as kinsman-redeemer, then he certainly would be. Ruth would now have to wait until the matter was settled with the other relative.

### Ruth, Boaz and Christ

To appreciate how Boaz foreshadowed Christ, we must first understand the significance of an ancient Israelite law concerning the kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew: _go'el_ ). This law helped ensure that inherited land remained within the family. It stated, "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem [Hebrew: _ga'al,_ the same root as _go'el_ ] what his countryman has sold" (Leviticus 25:25).

Both words, _go'el_ and _ga'al,_ occur frequently in chapters 2 and 3 of Ruth. Since Boaz was a kinsman ( _go'el_ ) of Naomi, he was eventually able to redeem ( _ga'al_ ) her land through marriage to Naomi's daughter-in-law Ruth. (Presumably, Naomi and her husband had previously sold the land before they moved to Moab.)

The concern Boaz displayed as kinsman-redeemer to the widow reflects an aspect of God's own character. "Yahweh is the go'el of the fatherless and widow and pleads their cause" ( _Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament,_ vol. 2, p. 353; see also Proverbs 23:10-11 and Jeremiah 50:34).

In the New Testament, we see the ultimate kinsman-redeemer in Jesus Christ, who redeemed us from sin by dying for us (1 Peter 1:18-19). In many respects, Boaz typifies Christ. Donald A. Leggett writes, "In the actions of Boaz as goel we see foreshadowed the saving work of Jesus Christ, his later descendant."

Dr. Leggett goes on to explain: "As Boaz had the right of redemption and yet clearly was under no obligation to intervene on Ruth's behalf, so it is with Christ. As Boaz, seeing the plight of the poor widows, came to their rescue because his life was governed by Yahweh and his laws, so also of the Messiah it is prophesied that his life would be governed by the law of God and that he would deal justly and equitably with the poor and with those who were oppressed (Ps. 72:2, 4, 12, 13; Isa. 11:4)" ( _The Levirate and Goel Institutions in the Old Testament With Special Attention to the Book of Ruth,_ Mack Publishing, 1974, p. 298).

### Boaz marries Ruth: Ruth 4

Boaz went to the city gate, the traditional center of business and civic activity. The husband of the idealized "Proverbs 31 woman" is said to be "respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land" (Proverbs 31:23). Boaz knew he was likely to find the other relative here, and it was also a suitable place to find citizens to witness the business transaction.

Boaz presented the case to the relative. He explained that the relative had the first right to redeem Elimelech's land. The relative agreed to do so, but when Boaz told him that buying the land obligated him to marry Ruth, he promptly backed down — as Boaz hoped he would. Perhaps the relative feared that if he would have a son by Ruth, his investment in the new property would be transferred from his family to the family of Elimelech. Whatever the reason for the man's refusal, the right to marry Ruth now passed to Boaz. This transaction was witnessed by all the people at the gate.

In due course, Boaz married Ruth and she bore him a son, Obed. Obed later became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:17). Through David, Ruth became an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5, 16).

This was also a reversal of fortune for Naomi. Although the sorrow of her previous loss undoubtedly never left her, Naomi could now rejoice in Ruth's happy family life and share in the joy of raising a new son, Obed (Ruth 4:14-17).

The book of Ruth is unquestionably a delightful story. Edward F. Campbell, Jr., writes,

#### The speeches fit the characters who speak them.... Boaz and Naomi talk like older people. Their speeches contain archaic morphology [word forms] and syntax [word order].... Ruth is pleased by every good thing done for her; Naomi moves as though she were gradually realizing that things are not as bitter as she had thought. As for Boaz, he moves through the story like the patriarch he is, warmly greeting his workers in the field, ceremoniously blessing Ruth in the name of Yahweh, recovering his aplomb quickly at the threshing floor so as again to bless Ruth, conducting the hearing at the gate methodically, but with alacrity. ( _Ruth,_ The Anchor Bible, Vol. 7, p. 17)

This story, short and delightful as it is, contains important spiritual lessons. Like Naomi, we should not turn our backs on God when tragedy strikes our lives. We may feel anger at God and express our emotions in honest prayer to him, and still remain righteous — looking beyond the short term toward his eternal plan. God will reward the righteous in due time.

The events recorded in Ruth were part of God's preparations for the births of David and of Jesus, the promised Messiah. Just as Ruth was unaware of this larger purpose in her life, we will not know the full purpose and importance of our lives until we are able to look back from the perspective of eternity. We must make our choices with God's eternal values in mind.... Because of Ruth's faithful obedience, her life and legacy were significant even though she couldn't see all the results. Live in faithfulness to God, knowing that the significance of your life will extend beyond your lifetime. ( _Life Application Bible,_ NIV, commentary on Ruth 4:16-17)

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## Exploring 1 & 2 Samuel

### What's in a name?

It may seem strange that the books of Samuel are named after a figure who is less prominent than Saul and David in the latter half of 1 Samuel and who does not even appear in 2 Samuel. But we must remember that Samuel (Hebrew: _Shemu'el,_ meaning "name of God" or "heard of God") was the last judge of Israel and anointed the nation's first two kings, Saul and David. Samuel also established the role of the prophet as the moral conscience of the nation. Thus, Samuel's legacy indirectly dominates both 1 and 2 Samuel.

### Outline

The books of Samuel, which cover a period of about 110 years, have a rich literary structure.

1. The story (1 Samuel 1:1–7:17) combines several wonderful elements:

##### • A moving portrait of Samuel's mother (1:1-28).

##### • An exquisite poem, "Hannah's Prayer" (2:1-10).

##### • A contrast between the innocent child Samuel and the corrupt priesthood of Eli and his sons (2:11–3:21).

##### • An irony-filled narrative concerning the ark (4:1–7:1).

##### • A stirring passage in which the Israelites, under Samuel's leadership, follow God, who then delivers them from the Philistines (7:2-17).

2. The Rise of Saul (8:1–12:25) contains two warnings by Samuel of the dangers of kingship (8:1-22; 12:1-25); these warnings surround two generally complementary portraits of Saul (9:1–10:16; 11:1-15). The center of this section foreshadows Saul's eventual demise. After a prophetic judgment speech by Samuel, Saul is proclaimed king and is found hiding from his responsibilities (10:17-27).

3. Next comes the Fall of Saul and the Rise of David (13:1–31:13). The section begins with Samuel proclaiming God's rejection of Saul's dynasty and then Saul himself (13:1–15:35), and ends with an apparition of Samuel prophesying Saul's death, followed by the death account itself (28:3–31:13). In between, several stories illustrate David's rise in stature and Saul's simultaneous decline:

##### • The anointing of David to replace Saul (16:1-23).

##### • David, not Saul, fighting Goliath as Israel's champion (17:1-58).

##### • Two of Saul's own children, Jonathan and Michal, earning their father's hatred for helping David (18:1–20:42).

##### • Saul's slaughtering of the priests who also helped David (21:1–22:23).

##### • Saul's attempts to hunt down and kill David contrasted with David's sparing of Saul's life (23:1–26:25).

##### • David's highly successful raids against Israel's enemies (27:1–28:2).

4. The Accession and Reign of David (2 Samuel 1:1–20:26) can be divided into four sections, each followed by a four-verse list:

##### • David's accession to the throne of Judah (1:1–3:1), followed by a list of his children born in Hebron (3:2-5).

##### • David's accession to the throne of all Israel (3:6–5:12), followed by a list of those of his children born in Jerusalem (5:13-16).

##### • A short summary of the early, triumphant years of David's reign (5:17–8:14), followed by a list of his cabinet (8:15-18).

##### • A longer narration of the later, more turbulent years of David's reign (9:1–20:22), followed by another list of his cabinet (20:23-26).

5. The Epilogue (21:1–24:25) begins and ends with accounts of natural disasters caused by God's anger (21:1-14; 24:1-25). In between are two lists of David's greatest warriors (21:15-22; 23:8-39) and two of David's poems praising God's graciousness (22:1-51; 23:1-7).

### How to read this book

An impressive cast of characters grace the pages of 1 and 2 Samuel: Hannah, Eli, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, David, Michal, Goliath, Abigail, Abner, Joab, Nathan, Bathsheba, Uriah, Ahithophel, Absalom and many others.

These books were masterfully written. Samuel "achieves the maximum effect with the greatest economy of words. Its narratives are masterpieces of historical writing, and in its characterizations, both of the principal and of the minor actors, it presents 'an incomparable gallery of historical portraits'" (S. Goldman, _Samuel,_ Soncino Books of the Bible, p. ix).

The fascinating vignettes that make up the books of Samuel preach powerful sermons to us. The faithfulness of Hannah in giving up her son to God's service as she promised (1 Samuel 1:21-28), the faith and courage of David when facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17), the loyalty of Jonathan to David (1 Samuel 20) — these should inspire us to display the same qualities in our lives.

### Learning about God

The books of Samuel highlight various aspects of God's character.

##### • God directs history. As you study these books, you will see men and women in the foreground, making choices for good or evil. Yet you will also see God in the background, constantly guiding events to accomplish his purpose. "God is active in history to work out his purposes. He could impose his will on us, but he chooses not to do so. Rather, he weaves his purposes through our acts in such a way that our good is affirmed and our evil is judged" (Walter A. Ewell, ed., _Baker's Bible Handbook,_ p. 169).

##### • God cannot be manipulated. The Israelites took the ark of the covenant from Shiloh into battle with them against the Philistines, confident that God would not allow the ark to be captured. They were tragically mistaken (1 Samuel 4:3-11).

##### • God blesses and protects. He has promised to see us through even our most difficult times of trouble (Deuteronomy 31:6). For example, God continually protected David from Saul and his assassins (1 Samuel 18:10-12; 19:18-24).

#### There are nine epithets for God in 2 Samuel 22:2-3: rock [ _sela'_ ], fortress, deliverer, rock [ _tsur_ ], shield, horn, stronghold, refuge, and savior. Each of these titles refers to the protective aspect of Yahweh's work on behalf of David. David's refuge was not in his own prowess, nor did he attempt to usurp the throne for himself (as did his son Absalom). Instead, he chose to trust in Yahweh to work out His divine purposes. (Homer Heater, Jr., "A Theology of Samuel and Kings," in _A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament,_ ed. Roy B. Zuck, pp. 145-146)

##### • God loves and forgives. On numerous occasions in the books of Samuel, God mercifully forgave those who sinned against him. No one knew this better than King David, who committed adultery and premeditated murder (2 Samuel 11). Yet, God restored David to an intimate relationship with him (12:13-25).

We also see the work of Christ prefigured in Samuel. In his three roles as prophet, priest and judge, Samuel foreshadowed these aspects of Jesus Christ's all-encompassing work. The same compliment is given to Samuel as was given to Jesus: He grew "in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men" (1 Samuel 2:26; compare with Luke 2:52).

As prophet, Samuel was the moral conscience of the nation. This role was continued by prophets such as Nathan, Elijah and Jeremiah, and eventually Jesus. As priest, Samuel intervened on behalf of the people (1 Samuel 7:8-11). Christ is our High Priest and intervenes for us (Hebrews 4:14-16). Samuel was the last judge over Israel before the people's request for a king was granted. Jesus Christ is the ultimate Judge, as well as the King of kings (Philippians 2:9-10; Revelation 19:16).

### Other topics

##### • The Davidic covenant: God made an unconditional covenant with David: "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). This promise is fulfilled forever in the kingship of Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Luke 1:32-33; Revelation 11:15).

##### • Prayer: The books of Samuel illustrate the value of fervent prayer. God answered Hannah's prayer. God accepted Samuel's prayer on behalf of the Israelites and saved them from the Philistines. In David's time, two national disasters were averted through prayer (2 Samuel 21:14; 24:25). The prayers of the righteous were powerful and effective then, and they still are now (James 5:16).

##### • The Lord's anointed: An important lesson we can learn is that we should honor the office of leaders God has placed in authority. Perhaps the classic Old Testament example of this godly trait is David's attitude toward Saul. In spite of Saul's sinful behavior against God, David still showed great respect for Saul's office as God's anointed king. David could have killed Saul on two occasions (1 Samuel 24:1-15; 26:1-12), but he knew it was wrong to kill the leader God had placed on the throne of Israel. As David told Abishai, "The Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed" (26:11).

### What this book means for you

The detailed portraits in the books of Samuel, particularly the story of David, demonstrate that even though we sin and have to suffer the consequences, God still forgives us and works through us to accomplish his plan of redemption. This is why David could ask God: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation.... Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you" (Psalm 51:12-13).

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## Samuel and Saul

### Birth of Samuel: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11

The book of 1 Samuel begins at a time when the judges still ruled Israel. Samuel was Israel's last judge and the first priest and prophet to serve during the time of a king. Samuel's mother was Hannah, a godly woman who had long prayed for a son. Each year she went with her husband, Elkanah, to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to God (1 Samuel 1:3-5). Shiloh, about 20 miles north of Jerusalem, was the center of religious worship in Israel's early history (see Joshua 18:1 and Judges 21:19).

Unfortunately, Hannah was unable to have children. Childlessness was a social stigma in ancient Israel, and Hannah became despondent, especially when Peninnah taunted her (1 Samuel 1:6-7). Hannah pleaded with God to give her a son, promising to give him back to God, possibly as a Nazirite (compare verse 11 with Numbers 6 and Judges 13:3-5). God eventually answered Hannah's prayer and she conceived (verse 20).

In a prayer of thanksgiving (1 Samuel 2:1-10), Hannah praised God for giving her a son. Centuries later, Mary, the mother of Jesus, would model her own song of praise — called the Magnificat — after Hannah's prayer (Luke 1:46-55). Elkanah and Hannah returned home to Ramah (1 Samuel 2:11), but Samuel remained at Shiloh to assist Eli in the Lord's sanctuary. The fact that Samuel wore a linen ephod — a garment worn only by priests — shows that he was a priest in training (verse 18).

### The sins of Eli's sons: 1 Samuel 2:12-26

In this passage, Samuel's faithfulness and rapid rise into God's favor contrast sharply with the wickedness and ultimate demise of Eli's two sons. Although Hophni and Phinehas were priests, they treated God's offerings with contempt. Verses 12-17 describe their scandalous behavior. Not only did they take the sacrifices before they were offered to God, but they also ate the meat before the fat was burned. This was against God's law (Leviticus 3:3-5). As if this were not enough, they also sexually violated the women who served as temple aides (1 Samuel 2:22).

Eli knew about his sons' wicked behavior, and even confronted them (verses 22-23), but he did not remove them from their duties. Finally, God's patience reached a breaking point and the entire priestly line of Eli faced divine judgment. A man of God brought a tragic message. Eli's priestly reign was about to end, and his sons would die on the same day (verses 27-36). Eli's successor is not identified here. But for now, Samuel was the religious leader of Israel. Later, King David appointed as priests Zadok and Ahimelech (2 Samuel 8:17), whose families seem to have had roots going back to the sanctuary at Shiloh and beyond that to Aaron (1 Chronicles 6:3-8; 24:1-3).

### God calls Samuel: 1 Samuel 3

Samuel received a dramatic revelation in which God repeated his judgment against the house of Eli (verses 1-18).

#### The old era of the "judges" has ended, and a new age of divine communication with humankind has broken forth — the age of the prophet.... The section concludes with a statement about Samuel's increasing importance as a religious leader in early Israel (verses 19-21). His fame as a spokesman for God now extends to the limits of Israel. His priestly upbringing, now strengthened by God's call, prepares Samuel for his historic leadership of God's people. His stature as the spiritual leader of his people must now extend to the political realm, where he must answer the rising demand for a king. Thus there is little doubt within the Old Testament about Samuel's importance. He guides Israel from the time of the judges to the time of the monarchy. (Frank Johnson, _1 and 2 Samuel,_ Genesis to Revelation Series, book 5, pp. 8-9)

### The Ark is captured: 1 Samuel 4

The Philistines defeated Israel at Ebenezer (verses 1-2). The Israelites recognized that God had caused their defeat, but they did not know why. They sent men to Shiloh, who brought back the ark of the covenant. They believed that if the ark was with them in battle, it would save them from their enemies (verse 3).

They were sadly mistaken. The Philistines slaughtered the Israelites in battle and captured the ark, killing Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in the process (verse 11). About 400 years later, the prophet Jeremiah would remind the people in Jerusalem of this event, telling them that God punished the Israelites for their wickedness (Jeremiah 7:12-15). Jeremiah warned that the presence of God's temple in Jerusalem no more guaranteed safety than the ark at Shiloh had.

One Benjamite, when he saw the ark captured, ran from the battle toward Shiloh and told the news to Eli: "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured" (1 Samuel 4:17).

This format of message — with each line bearing worse news than the last — occurs again in 2 Samuel 1:3-4. The mention of the ark was too much for Eli. He fell backward from his chair and broke his neck. God's prophecy to Samuel had been fulfilled (1 Samuel 3:11-14).

### The return of the Ark: 1 Samuel 5-6

The Philistines thought that by capturing the ark they had made the God of Israel subservient to their gods. They placed the ark in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. When they awoke the next morning, they found their god Dagon fallen on the floor before the ark. They put Dagon back in his place, but the next morning they found him fallen again before the ark, this time with his head and hands broken off. Although Israel's defeat was God's punishment of Eli and his sons, and of the people for their general wickedness, it also served another purpose — God used the capture of the ark to demonstrate his supremacy in the land of the Philistines.

God brought diseases upon the people of Ashdod, so they moved the ark to Gath, but the same thing happened there. The Philistines eventually decided to hitch two cows to a cart on which they placed the ark, and let the cows take it wherever they would. The cows went straight to the Israelite territory of Beth Shemesh, proving beyond doubt to the Philistines that God had inflicted the diseases upon them (1 Samuel 6:7-12).

Many of the men of Beth Shemesh showed disrespect for the ark of God, even looking inside it. God struck these men down. The ark was then taken to Kiriath Jearim to the house of Abinadab (1 Samuel 7:1).

### Victory over the Philistines: 1 Samuel 7

The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for 20 years. Under Samuel's leadership, the Israelites "put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only" (verse 4). This was a high point during the period of the judges.

Samuel gathered the people together at Mizpah for a day of fasting and rededication to God. When the Philistines heard about this, they decided to attack them. Samuel prayed to God on behalf of Israel, and God threw the Philistines into such disarray that they were routed by the Israelites (verses 7-11). Samuel continued as judge, and Israel subdued the Philistines.

### Israel demands a king: 1 Samuel 8

When Samuel grew older, he appointed his sons as judges, but they became corrupt. The people of Israel took this occasion to demand a king so they could be like all the other nations. They were not satisfied with being God's chosen people. Samuel was offended at their demand, but when he prayed to God, God told him: "It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods" (verses 7-8).

In the light of the previous chapter, where Israel prospered under God's chosen prophet and judge, the Israelites "could perpetrate no greater breach of trust, no more arbitrary exercise of self-will, no more senseless deed of vanity than to demand for themselves a human king" (P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., _1 Samuel,_ The Anchor Bible, vol. 8, p. 151). Under God's instructions, Samuel warned the people what would happen to them if they had a king, yet they demanded one anyway. So God told Samuel to yield to their demands.

### Israel's first king: 1 Samuel 9-10

The book now digresses to tell the story of a tall, young Benjamite named Saul, who was searching with a servant for his father's lost donkeys. They reached a town where a respected seer (prophet) happened to be. The servant suggested they ask the seer if he knew where the donkeys were, but Saul had no offering to give the seer. Fortunately, the servant had a quarter shekel of silver, and so they approached the seer.

The seer was Samuel. God had told Samuel that a young Benjamite would approach him, and that Samuel was to anoint him king. God had been overseeing all the previous, seemingly insignificant events.

Samuel showed special favor to Saul, of which Saul considered himself unworthy. Samuel anointed Saul king and told him what was to happen in the near future (1 Samuel 10:1-7). Then he told Saul: "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do" (verse 8).

Saul returned home, having seen all that Samuel prophesied fulfilled along the way. But Saul kept silent about being anointed king.

Samuel summoned the Israelites together in order to formally choose a king. His summons (verses 17-19) was in the form of a prophetic judgment speech, almost suggesting that the gift of a king would be punishment enough for Israel's rejection of God. Samuel then commanded the people, "Present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans" (1 Samuel 10:19). First, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then, the clan of Matri was chosen among the Benjamites. Finally, Saul, son of Kish, was chosen to be king. The same progressive method of selection had been used to discover Achan as the one who had taken forbidden booty from Jericho (Joshua 7).

Saul was chosen king, but he was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, he was found hiding among the baggage, fearing to fulfill his God-appointed commission. When they discovered him, the people found that he was a head taller than anyone among them, and immediately hailed him king. Some troublemakers despised Saul openly, but Saul did not stop them.

### Saul's first action: 1 Samuel 11

Saul went back home and was plowing behind a team of oxen one day when messengers from Jabesh Gilead told him their town was besieged by the Ammonites. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul, spurring him to unusually confident action. He commanded all the Israelites to rally behind him, and they thoroughly routed the Ammonites. Then everyone reaffirmed Saul as king (verses 14-15).

This episode is similar to many of the episodes in Judges, but with two important differences: All of Israel is involved, and Saul is publicly reaffirmed as king, not judge.

### Samuel's farewell: 1 Samuel 12

Samuel got the people to acknowledge his fairness as a judge (verses 1-5). Then he recounted God's numerous interventions on behalf of his people (verses 6-11), and of their own ingratitude by demanding a king (verses 12-19). Samuel also assured the people that despite all this, God had not rejected them, and that he, Samuel, would continue to pray for them and instruct them in the right way (verses 20-23). Samuel concluded his address with a warning to serve God wholeheartedly (verses 24-25).

Like Joshua, Samuel led the whole nation in seeking after God (compare Joshua 24:31 with 1 Samuel 7:2-4). Samuel's speech has many similarities with Joshua's farewell address at Shechem (Joshua 24). Samuel's exit as leader marked the end of an era. The time of kings had begun. However, Samuel's legacy continued during the reigns of the Israelite kings when a series of prophets became the moral conscience of the nation, boldly showing the people God's way (see, for example, 2 Samuel 12:1-14).

### Saul's dynasty doomed: 1 Samuel 13

Years passed. Then we read that Saul's son Jonathan successfully attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba. This galvanized the Philistines into action. They gathered a large army and marched to Micmash. Saul remained at Gilgal with a much smaller army.

Samuel had told Saul to wait until he came and performed a sacrifice. But Saul feared to wait for God's intervention, and he made the sacrifice himself. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived and denounced Saul's action. In the Hebrew, this denunciation revolves around a play on the root word _tsawah,_ meaning "command" or "appoint." By failing to keep the appointment with Samuel, Saul simultaneously failed to accomplish what God expected from his appointed king. Saul's sons would therefore not succeed him; rather, God would appoint a man after his own heart (verses 13-14; Acts 13:22).

### Saul and Jonathan: 1 Samuel 13:16-14:52

The Philistines had a technological advantage over Israel (1 Samuel 13:16-22), but Jonathan was undaunted. He said to his armor-bearer: "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6).

Jonathan had faith in God, and God worked through him to start a panic in the Philistine army (verses 7-15). Saul and his men pursued the Philistines (verses 16-23), but their victory would have been greater were it not for a foolish oath of Saul — reminiscent of Jephthah's rash vow (Judges 11) — that nearly cost the life of his son Jonathan (1 Samuel 14:24-45). Throughout Saul's reign, there was war between the Israelites and the Philistines (verses 46-52).

### God rejects Saul as king: 1 Samuel 15

Saul's insecurity had at first manifested itself in his hiding among the baggage and, later, in his impatience with Samuel. Now Saul spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, as well as Amalekite livestock, violating God's command (verses 9-11). Because of Saul's continued disobedience, Samuel told him, "The Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!" As Samuel left, "Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, 'The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it...to one better than you'" (verses 26-28). Samuel would soon anoint the young David as Saul's successor.

### Saul and Achan

When Saul spared Agag and allowed the people to plunder the Amalekites, he committed essentially the same sin as Achan when he took spoils from Jericho. To appreciate this fact, we need to understand an important concept to the ancient Israelites — the _cherem._ The Hebrew verb _charam_ means "utterly destroy." The related noun, _cherem,_ means "something that has been devoted to destruction, even consecrated for destruction by God." When God declared something to be _cherem,_ he intended it to be totally destroyed. This concept underlies the stories of both Achan and Saul.

Joshua said that the entire city of Jericho was to be a _cherem,_ devoted to destruction by God (Joshua 6:17). Joshua warned the Israelites quite specifically: "Keep yourselves from the accursed things [Hebrew: _cherem_ ], lest you become accursed [ _charam_ ] when you take of the accursed things [ _cherem_ ], and make the camp of Israel a curse [ _cherem_ ]" (verse 18, NKJV).

Achan disobeyed. He stole from among the accursed things, or things that had been doomed by God for destruction, and consequently became doomed for destruction himself. Indeed, until the Israelites put him to death, the entire camp of Israel became a _cherem._ After Achan and his family were killed, their bodies were burned (Joshua 7:24-25), an uncommon practice in Israel.

Like Achan, Saul was aware of God's clear command. He was told: "Go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy [ _charam_ ] everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys" (1 Samuel 15:3). Saul failed to follow this clearly stated command. Ironically, Saul spared — the Hebrew verb means "had pity on" — not the infants and women, but the king, Agag. Saul's men also "spared" not the weak but the best of the sheep, cattle, fat calves and lambs (verse 9).

Achan and Saul committed the same sin — taking of the _cherem._ Unlike Achan, Saul did not immediately confess when confronted. He gave four different versions of what happened (verses 13, 15, 20-21, 24). Because Saul had rejected God's word concerning the _cherem,_ God rejected him as king. Later, Saul and his sons died violent deaths. Like Achan and his family, their bodies were burned (1 Samuel 31:12).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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## Lessons From the Life of King David

For an overview of what will be covered in this section, read 1 Samuel 16:1–1 Kings 2:12.

Uneasy and anxious, the officers and officials stood in a half circle around the aging king. A messenger, still panting hard after running from the battlefield, stood before them. The king's careworn face focused intently on the messenger. "My lord the king, hear the good news! The Lord has delivered you today from all who rose up against you" (2 Samuel 18:31).

Smiles spread across the faces in the group. The tension of a few moments before disappeared. Everyone was visibly relieved. Everyone — except the king. "Is the young man Absalom safe?" he asked (verse 32). Silence again fell over the group, but this time it was a confused silence. The king's attention still centered on the messenger. He waited to hear whether his son, the son who had seized power from him, the son who tried to destroy him, was still alive. "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man," the messenger replied (verse 32).

The words thrust themselves at King David, striking him like the blow from a spear. His eyes became vacant and his shoulders slumped forward. His head dropped into his hands. A great emptiness welled up in his stomach. Suddenly, he turned and walked away. When he reached his private chamber above the gateway, he wept. "O my son Absalom!... O Absalom, my son, my son!"

The death of Absalom was a double tragedy. First, because David was a man of strong passions, a man who loved Absalom even when Absalom made himself an enemy. And second, because David recognized his own shortcomings; he saw his own guilt in the death of his son.

Absalom's death was a result of David's own sins. Years before, he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. Then, when Bathsheba became pregnant, he arranged to have Uriah killed in battle at Rabbah (2 Samuel 11–12). For these great sins, God had determined to punish David, making him experience the fruit of such actions. David was to be the victim of violence within his own family:

'Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' This is what the Lord says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight'" (2 Samuel 12:10-11).

Years later, David's son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, beginning the fulfillment of that prophecy. Amnon had sinned because he failed to control his sexual desire, much as David had failed to control his lust for Bathsheba. David found himself emotionally unable to punish Amnon, the firstborn son and heir apparent.

It was this failure of justice that set Absalom, Tamar's brother, at odds with David. Since David wouldn't act, Absalom did. He felt David was wrong, so he took matters into his own hands, murdering Amnon. Once again, uncontrolled sexual desire had led to murder. Once again, David had been faced with the painful results of sin. And once again, David had failed to act, unable emotionally to punish his son for a sin he himself had also committed.

Absalom fled from David, but returned three years later. At that time, undoubtedly still harboring bitterness toward his father, Absalom began to plot against him. There was an irony in the way Absalom gathered support among the people. He would "stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate" (2 Samuel 15:2), empathizing with those individuals who sought justice. Just as Absalom believed he and his sister were the victims of injustice, he convinced others that they would remain victims until he was their judge.

Once the rebellion had begun and David had fled Jerusalem, Absalom "lay with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel" (2 Samuel 16:22). It was another bitter irony for David, who so long before had taken another man's wife. This act made reconciliation impossible. In the ancient Near East, taking the concubines or wives of the king signified a transfer of power. David could never publicly be reconciled to Absalom. And yet, because of his great love as well as his guilt, David wanted Absalom to live.

The death of Absalom is a pivotal point in the life of David. In one sense, David's reaction to Absalom's death defines and symbolizes the character of David. He was a man of passion, a man of great emotion. He intensely felt life's joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats. That passion was evident at the death of Saul and Jonathan, so many years before. Saul was another man David loved, another man who had made himself David's enemy. Although Saul had twice tried to kill David, David remained loyal to him. More than that, David loved Saul as a father. When Saul and Jonathan died, David sang a lament praising both for their heroic deeds and for their service to Israel.

### A man after God's heart

David lived with an energy and enthusiasm that often surprised or confused others. While the ark of the covenant was being transported to Jerusalem, "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might" (2 Samuel 6:14). He rejoiced wholeheartedly, knowing that the presence of the ark in Jerusalem symbolized the presence of God in the capital of Israel. His mind and heart were fixed on that thought, not on his own dignity.

But his wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, despised David when she saw him dancing in the streets. David was dressed in the simple linen ephod of the priests, a garment she deemed unbecoming to a king. Even worse, to her he seemed undignified, "leaping and dancing" (verse 16). Michal focused on the petty and insignificant. She couldn't understand why David did what he did. But David saw what really mattered.

In a sense, this difference in David's attitude is what set him apart from others. David wasn't just a passionate man, but a man passionate about the right things. Though men and women may not have seen it, God certainly did. He chose David to be king because of that difference.

Years before, when Samuel went to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to become king in Saul's place, he thought God had chosen Eliab. Like Saul, who was "a head taller than any of the others" (1 Samuel 9:2), Eliab was tall. But just as height had not made Saul a good king, height didn't make Eliab qualified to rule. God wasn't impressed by Eliab's stature. God looked at the sons of Jesse differently: "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him [Eliab]. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

God saw what was in David's heart. God saw that David was a man who was more concerned with God's will than his own. That's why God chose him: "The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; see also Acts 13:22).

### David and Saul

Although imperfect, David demonstrated both desire and commitment to fulfill God's will throughout his life. Even after David was anointed to be king, knowing he would rule in Saul's place, he refused to usurp Saul's God-given authority as king. Instead, David waited for God to place him on the throne. That wait may have been as long as 17 years. During many of those years, Saul unjustly persecuted David, seeking to kill him.

During that time, David had opportunities to kill Saul, but refused to lift his hand against him. He knew Saul had been God's anointed. He respected God's prerogative. So he waited. Twice those opportunities came. Twice men loyal to David failed to understand why David didn't kill Saul.

The first time, David and his men were hiding in the back of a cave — hiding because Saul and his army of 3,000 were pursuing them. Unaware of the presence of David's small band of men, Saul "went in to relieve himself" (1 Samuel 24:3). David's men encouraged him to kill Saul, thinking God had delivered Saul into David's hands. David refused to lift his hand against Saul, but he did cut off a corner of his robe. Later, even though he had only cut Saul's robe, "David was conscience-stricken.... He said to his men, 'The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord'" (verses 5-6).

The second time David had an opportunity to kill Saul occurred when Saul was again pursuing him. Saul and his men were encamped in the wilderness not far from David. While they slept, David and a loyal captain, Abishai, crept up close to Saul's camp. Abishai volunteered to kill Saul, but David stopped him, asking, "Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?" (1 Samuel 26:9). Instead of killing Saul, David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head.

David was angry that Abner, Saul's military commander, had left Saul exposed to danger while he slept. After David and Abishai reached the hill opposite Saul's camp, "he called out to the army and to Abner" (verse 14). David rebuked Abner, asking: "You're a man, aren't you?... What you have done is not good. As surely as the Lord lives, you and your men deserve to die, because you did not guard your master, the Lord's anointed. Look around you. Where are the king's spear and water jug that were near his head?" (verses 15-16).

David was concerned for the safety of Saul, despite the fact that Saul hunted him to kill him. David was careful to seek God's will, not his own. David trusted God, knowing that when God was ready, he would put David on the throne of Israel. David accepted God's will, even when it hurt.

After he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for Uriah's murder, the son born of Bathsheba became ill. David fasted and prayed for his son seven days, but the child died on the seventh day. The servants were afraid to tell David. They had urged David to eat while the child was still alive. They were afraid of what he would do when he found out his son had died: "For they thought, 'While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate'" (2 Samuel 12:18).

David surprised them. When he discovered that his son had died, he bathed, changed clothes and ended his fast. His servants were confused. It seemed to them that his grief should have been greater after the child died. But David's fast was not a ritual or a show of grief. It was an earnest appeal to God to allow the child to live. When the child died, David had God's answer, and he accepted that answer. After the answer came, David worshiped God (verse 20).

### David and Goliath

Perhaps the best-known story about David is his encounter with the Philistine giant, Goliath. This story demonstrates another trait of David that made him so dear to God. This story shows how great David's faith was. Goliath, who was almost 10 feet tall, had ridiculed the armies of Israel, making them look cowardly and foolish. At that period in history, it was customary among some peoples in the region to select champions to fight in place of the armies. When both armies agreed to abide by the outcome of personal combat between two champions, neither needed to engage in battle.

Goliath, taunting Israel every morning and evening, offered himself as the champion of the Philistines. For 40 days he asked the Israelites to provide a worthy opponent, but no one dared face a warrior of that size (1 Samuel 17:1-11, 16). All were afraid; all lacked faith.

At the time, David was too young to be in the army. He was left to tend his father's sheep. His father sent him to the Valley of Elah, where Saul and Israel's armies were gathered, to take roasted grain and bread to his three older brothers, and cheese to their commander.

When David arrived, he heard the taunts of Goliath. He was outraged and indignant. It was not the proud and boastful indignation of youth, but righteous indignation at the insult to God and at the reproach on Israel. David asked, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (verse 26).

David wasn't a warrior, and he knew it. But David had a weapon Goliath didn't have — faith in God. He was willing to face Goliath because he was unwilling to see the Philistine giant mock the living God. David knew that it wasn't his fight, but God's. He trusted in God for protection when he faced Goliath: "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (verse 45).

Then, unlike the men of Israel who had fled from Goliath (verse 24), David ran toward the giant. He didn't wait for Goliath to approach him, but ran forward, eager to take away the reproach from Israel. God was with David and with Israel, defeating the arrogant giant and routing the shocked Philistine army.

### Repentance

King David was the only person described by God as "a man after my own heart" (Acts 13:22). Yet, David wasn't without sin. How could God call an adulterer and murderer a man after his own heart? The answer is the greatest lesson we can learn from the life of David — repentance. Although David sinned, he always repented.

After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged to have Uriah killed, the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sins. David didn't excuse himself, as Saul had done when he spared the best of the Amalekite livestock against God's will (1 Samuel 15:3, 9). When David was confronted with his adultery and murder, his answer was simple and straightforward: "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:13).

Later, David wrote one of his most moving psalms to express his remorse. In Psalm 51, David asked God to forgive him and to extend mercy to him. But more than that, the psalm gives us further insight into David's passionate approach to life: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:1-3, NKJV).

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## David and Uriah: Are You Losing Faith?

### Reading between the lines: David and Uriah

The story of David, and the books of Samuel in general, are considered by many scholars to be, aesthetically, the best biblical narrative. One reason is the large quantity of speech and dialogue. The Bible tends to avoid formal character portraits, so characters come alive through their speech. Nowhere does this happen better than in the story of David.

Confrontations and sharp exchanges of dialogue abound in the entire story, but we will concentrate on a passage that more subtly shows the differences between three personalities through their speeches and actions. The insights presented here are elaborated further in Meir Steinberg's book _Poetics of Biblical Narrative._

King David, who should have been leading his troops into battle (2 Samuel 11:1), has remained in Jerusalem and committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba has become pregnant. If something isn't done, Bathsheba will be found guilty of adultery, and killed. David could lose the respect of his citizens and soldiers, and he could also be put to death for his sin.

First, David recalls Uriah from the front, hoping that he will sleep with Bathsheba, assume that the child is his own, and David's affair will be covered up. Whether or not Uriah heard of David's adultery, he refused to go home to his wife. Moreover, he bluntly told the king that he (unlike David, the reader might observe) would not enjoy the comforts at home with his wife when it was time to be fighting Israel's enemies (verse 11).

David now became desperate to have Uriah killed, and this is where we pick up the story. David wrote a message, to be carried by Uriah himself, to Joab: "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die" (verse 15).

David's action was risky, almost to the point of irrationality. First, since it is likely that several of David's courtiers knew of his affair, there was a chance that Uriah might also find out. Having had his suspicions aroused, Uriah might open the letter to Joab and foil the plot. Second, the plan was itself perilous. It would involve giving other soldiers an unusual order in such a manner that Uriah wouldn't hear about it.

Joab carried out the spirit of the plan — ensuring Uriah's death — by somewhat different means. He besieged the city in such a manner that the men in Uriah's section would almost certainly come under a fatal assault by the enemy. This made Uriah's death seem to the Israelites just another war casualty.

Joab then sent a messenger to David to tell him what happened. This is what Joab told the messenger:

#### When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, "Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?" If he asks you this, then say to him, "Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." (verses 19-21)

Notice how Joab's message gives us insight into not only Joab but also David. Joab is brutal in his practicality. He knew from his military experience that his method of besieging the city would result in failure and several casualties, but it was the most practical method of eliminating Uriah without causing suspicion. Joab also knew that David, when he heard a straightforward report of the battle, would be angry at what would seem like Joab's lack of military wisdom.

The way Joab intended, via the messenger, to answer David's indignant anger was also brutally to the point: "Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." David would have understood that Joab's strange military strategy was not a failure of military judgment but something necessitated by the king's desire to eliminate Uriah. Joab's message shows him to be quite prepared to justify his methods to David. He may even, by describing Uriah the Hittite as "your servant," be scolding David for having given him such an order.

Just as Joab did not obey David's order precisely, so the messenger took liberties with Joab's message. The messenger, presumably not realizing that David wanted Uriah killed, could not understand why Joab would want the stupidity of his military maneuvers revealed to the king. So he changed the report. He told the king: "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead" (verses 23-24).

In this scenario, rather than the troops having been deliberately placed near the wall vulnerable to attack, the Israelites approached the wall only in the heat of a counterattack against the enemy. David would thus have no reason to ask why the soldiers were near the wall. Fortunately, the messenger mentioned that Uriah was among the casualties, the piece of information David wanted most.

David now sends the messenger back to Joab with an ambiguous message of his own: "Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it" (verse 25). To a messenger who knew nothing of David's scheme to kill Uriah, David would seem to be saying: "Don't worry about this temporary military setback. It could happen to anyone. Just win the next battle."

To Joab, who is aware that it was the king's desire for Uriah's death that necessitated this military setback, and who may not be too happy about it, David's message could convey an entirely different meaning: "Don't be angry at me for causing you to suffer a military defeat. If you lost a few good men because of me, you would probably have lost them sooner or later due to the very nature of war."

The skillful use of dialogue throughout this narrative has brought the characters to life. David's passion to ensure Uriah's death led him to give foolish orders. Once that had been accomplished, he became quite philosophical about the numerous other deaths that accompanied it. Such a reaction was out of character for David, who normally displayed the utmost concern for his men. Most certainly, this was a spiritual low point in David's life.

Joab, however, acted quite characteristically. He employed his usual calculating powers in doing David's dirty work with ruthless efficiency. He also proved quite capable of letting the king know his disdain for having had to do this particular job.

It is this method of revealing character through dialogue, occurring throughout both books of Samuel, that makes the story of David the artistic height of biblical narrative.

### Are you losing faith?

Amman is the modern capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Today, it is a bustling city of more than three million people, and one of the major crossroads of the Middle East.

In Bible times, it was also important, although it was not as big as it is today. The Bible tells us that Amman (then known as Rabbah) was the place where King David of Israel sent Uriah the Hittite to certain death. It is an ugly story, but one that teaches us an important lesson.

We read in 2 Samuel 11:1 that David sent Joab to lay siege to Rabbah. David, however, remained in Jerusalem, and there he made a tragic mistake. We have already covered the story, but let's quickly review it. David saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his trusted officers, bathing, and he lusted after her. Then David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and later she discovered that she was pregnant (verses 2-5).

Then David made the situation even worse. He called Uriah back from the war so Uriah could spend the night with his wife. David hoped Uriah would then think Bathsheba had become pregnant by him. But that didn't work. Uriah was a loyal soldier who identified with the hardships of the men at the front. He refused to go home to his wife (verse 9).

David could not persuade Uriah to change his mind. So David arranged for Uriah to be sent back to the war. David instructed that Uriah be assigned to the most dangerous part of the battle, and then be abandoned by his men to be killed (verses 14-15). The plan worked. Uriah was killed, probably while storming the old citadel that is now surrounded by modern Amman. So David was able to marry Bathsheba.

Despite this ugly incident, God loved David. He loved him for his courage — David slew Goliath when everyone else was afraid. God loved him for his loyalty — David risked his life to save his sheep from a lion. David was a good shepherd, willing to lay down his life for his sheep. God could identify with that.

So what happened to cause this courageous, loyal, God-fearing man to so tragically betray his faithful servant Uriah? That was not like David. But then, supposedly converted people sometimes do very unconverted things. David had allowed his spiritual condition to deteriorate. God recorded this incident for us, not to embarrass David, but to teach us a lesson: What happened to David could happen — is happening — to some people reading this feature.

David had slipped a long way. This was not just a bad day — a momentary lapse. It is obvious that David had embarked on a course that was leading him further and further from God. Think about it. Adultery and murder are serious sins, but David could have repented when he realized what he had done. But he didn't repent immediately.

Bathsheba did not know she was pregnant until some time later. David had ample time to come to his senses and acknowledge the sin. But what did he do? He compounded it. Leaving God out of the picture, he tried to cover up the problem, first with subterfuge and then with murder.

David was in serious spiritual trouble. Unfortunately, some who are reading this feature have gotten themselves into the same condition David was in. They, too, are in deep spiritual trouble. They began to live God's way, but now they are ready to give it up. They started out well, with hope and enthusiasm. But something has happened. The spark is gone.

Are you that way? Are you just going through the motions of living a Christian life? Do you feel hopeless, discouraged, condemned? Are you about to lose out?

If so, you are on the verge of ruining the most wonderful and important relationship that any human could be given — your relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ our Savior. The tragic thing about all this is that no one is to blame but yourself. You know that, but you don't know what to do. God knows about your situation, too, and he _does_ know what to do! Look what he did for David.

God was not prepared to give up on David. He must have watched with great concern as David's spiritual life collapsed. We can only imagine David's state of mind in those awful weeks or months — his despair, his growing feeling of alienation from God, the hollowness as the Holy Spirit within him began to be quenched.

David did not look for God, so God went looking for him. God sent Nathan the prophet to try to bring David to his senses (2 Samuel 12:1-15). It worked. David heeded Nathan's correction and repented. He admitted, "I have sinned against the Lord" (verse 13).

God was not about to stand by and let this wonderful man destroy himself spiritually. Think about this if you have allowed yourself to get into David's condition. Do you feel cut off — that your prayers are going unheard? Are you losing your zeal for God and his way? Do you find yourself drifting back into your old ways and lacking the will to do anything about it? Do you feel that God has lost interest in you, and that you really can't blame him, given your lack of interest in him?

Then remember how God came looking for David. Also consider Christ's parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:10-14). In it, the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep and goes looking for the one that is lost. Here's how it ends: "Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost" (verse 14).

David was one of those little ones — and so are you. That means that somewhere out there, God, like a shepherd, is looking for you. So do what David did. Admit the problem, whatever it is. And pray. Yes, it's hard if you have gotten away from it. But don't be too proud to ask for help.

After David repented, he wrote Psalm 51, which shows how deeply he understood the seriousness of his sins. He realized how badly he had let God down, and now he wanted to be restored to full favor. He prayed: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me" (verses 10-11).

David wanted once more to experience God's salvation. "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me" (verse 12). He wanted to have back everything he had so nearly thrown away.

Why? Not just for himself. David understood his calling. Notice the next verse: "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you." David asked God to restore him to faithful service.

Even if you have lost faith, God won't give up on you. As Paul tells us, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). You don't have to give in to feelings of despair and hopelessness. There is a way out. Ask God to work with you as he did with David.

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## Bathsheba: Mother and Queen

By Sheila Graham

The following story is based on events in 2 Samuel 11–17 and 1 Kings 1–2.

Dozing beneath the tapestries hung to shade the roof, the teenage girl smiled and opened her eyes at the sound of familiar voices. She peered through the wall hangings to see her grandfather Ahithophel greet King David in the courtyard below. The powerful king of Israel almost ran in his eagerness to embrace her grandfather, a close friend and counselor to the king.

Although she had seen David many times, and heard the adventurous stories that her father, Eliam, one of David's 30 mighty warriors, told about the king, it was always a thrill to see the man God had chosen to rule Israel. She noticed how strong and handsome King David was, so like her own father standing tall and militarily straight by the king's side. Then she noticed another warrior stride up — Uriah the Hittite.

Bathsheba felt her face redden as she quickly drew back within the woven coverings. She thought of the arrangements her father was making for her to marry Uriah, and she certainly didn't want Uriah to see her staring down at him.

No doubt the king and his men had come to discuss some military matter with her grandfather, perhaps to use his keen insight to plan a battle against the Ammonites. She hurried on down the steps to see if her grandmother might need help in preparing food for their royal visitor and his men. But not today. After about an hour with David, Ahithophel returned to his house alone. The king, along with Ahithophel's son (Eliam), Uriah and the other soldiers, had to leave Giloh to return to Jerusalem.

Bathsheba handed her grandfather a cool cup of water as he relaxed before his meal. "My beautiful Bathsheba, and as usual, as kind and thoughtful as you are beautiful," Ahithophel said as he accepted the cup with a smile. "Before long, my little girl, you will be a happily married woman. What do you think about that? Will you still come to see your grandfather once you're married to the mighty Uriah?"

"Of course, grandfather. You know I will never love anyone as much as I love you," said Bathsheba, pulling back her long hair as she knelt to kiss him on the top of his head. "A likely story, my girl, with such a man as Uriah as your husband," Ahithophel retorted with a laugh. "Many of the daughters of Israel must envy you, marrying King David's finest warrior."

Ahithophel's smile faded as he continued: "And, not only is Uriah courageous in battle, he is a disciplined and dedicated man. I have high hopes for him. He will go far in Israel. That is what is most important, child. I would not be pleased to have my granddaughter marrying anyone less."

Almost a year later, Bathsheba had time to think of her grandfather's words many times. Adjusting to the life of a soldier's wife wasn't easy. Now she understood her own mother's loneliness and constant worry when her father was gone for months to the battlefield. Daily she prayed to God to bring Uriah home safely.

One spring day, around the community well, she anxiously listened to the talk of the other soldiers' wives. As they discussed the day's rumors from the war, she wished she could feel as calm as they appeared. That evening at her apartment next to the palace, Bathsheba carried water to the roof and prepared to bathe. The time of her purification was over. She undressed and carefully washed herself as instructed by her mother some years before.

High above her, King David paced back and forth on the roof of his palace. Maybe he made a mistake not going with Joab and the army to Rabbah, he thought. As he made yet one more turn walking around the roof, he suddenly spotted Bathsheba. There's a woman down there, he thought, and she's taking a bath! He found when he knelt down he could see her even better through the tapestries.

David was stunned. He had not seen such exquisite beauty. He couldn't take his eyes off her. As soon as Bathsheba had completed her bath and wrapped herself in a robe, David hurried downstairs. Who was this beautiful woman? He must know. "David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?' Then David sent messengers to get her" (2 Samuel 11:3-4).

Bathsheba was bewildered. Why was she being hurried by the king's servants through the back alleys from her house to the palace? She hoped this unexpected invitation from the king didn't mean something had happened to Uriah. When the servants reached the king's private rooms, they quickly released Bathsheba, bowing as they left.

"Bathsheba, my dear. Please come in. How gracious of you to accept my invitation on such short notice. Would you like some wine?" "She came to him, and he slept with her" (verse 4). David was the king; Bathsheba was a subject; it could have been difficult, even dangerous, to refuse.

Several weeks after her sexual relations with King David, feeling queasy and trembling, Bathsheba sat on the edge of the bed she had shared with Uriah and wept. There could be no doubt. She sent her terse message to the king, "I am with child." Under Israel's law, she knew she could receive the death penalty for adultery. She did not know, however, that her message to King David would mean her husband's death, not her own.

Motivated by his guilt and his concern for Bathsheba, after several unsuccessful attempts to have Uriah return to his wife's bed, David tried to cover up the sin by having Uriah killed in battle. Bathsheba's life would never be the same, nor would David's. Though David married Bathsheba and sorrowfully repented of his adultery with her and the murder of Uriah, this couple would see one tragedy after another strike their families.

David and Bathsheba's child would die soon after birth. David's son Amnon, by one of David's other wives, raped his half-sister Tamar. To avenge his sister, another of David's sons, Absalom, killed Amnon.

Perhaps as a result of being embittered by David's treatment of Uriah and Bathsheba, Ahithophel turned on his old friend and helped David's son Absalom as he attempted to forcibly take the throne from his father. It was on Ahithophel's advice that Absalom violated his father's concubines on the roof of the palace in the sight of all Israel (2 Samuel 16:21-22).

A few years after Absalom's rebellion and death, when it was obvious David was near death himself, David's son Adonijah attempted to have himself crowned king. Seeing the danger, the prophet Nathan, the same man God used to confront David with his sin, knew where to turn — Bathsheba.

Why did Nathan go to Bathsheba? Because over the years he had gained great respect for this woman. He knew David had confidence in his wife. The prophet had noted the good influence Bathsheba had on her children. Quietly, Bathsheba listened to Nathan's plan. She then went before the ailing king and asked, "Has not the king promised that our son Solomon would be his successor?"

After also hearing from Nathan about Adonijah's premature "coronation" celebration, David realized he must act quickly to save all their lives. At David's command, Solomon was immediately crowned king of all Israel.

Trusting to a fault, Bathsheba was later used by Adonijah to try to get permission from Solomon to take Abishag, who had "waited on" David (1 Kings 1:4), as a wife. Solomon saw that Adonijah was trying to strengthen his position as heir to the throne; Solomon decided that was reason enough to have him killed.

It is obvious from Solomon's warm greeting of his mother how much he loved and honored her. Looking to her as an important adviser, Solomon had a throne for her placed at his right hand — the first king of Israel to have a queen mother in his administration.

Overcoming the ignoble beginning of their lives together, patiently suffering the consequences of their sin, both Bathsheba and David learned from their mistakes and grew in the knowledge and righteousness of God. Although there is some controversy over whether the Lemuel of Proverbs 31 refers to Solomon, if rabbinical commentators are right, the imperial mother here advising her kingly son is Bathsheba.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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## Bible Concepts From the Historical Books

This section reviews the major concepts and the general story flow of the books of Joshua through 2 Samuel.

### Joshua

##### 1) What does the name Joshua mean?

##### 2) What does the book of Joshua teach us about God?

##### 3) How does the book apply to your life today?

##### 4) How did the Israelites respond to God's appointment of Joshua as Moses' successor? What vital lesson does this illustrate for Christians today?

##### 5) How is Jesus Christ revealed in the book of Joshua?

##### 6) Why was Joshua such an effective leader of God's people?

##### 7) What was the basis of Joshua's confidence and strength as Israel's leader?

##### 8) Why did God praise the faith of Rahab?

##### 9) When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they began a new phase in their covenant relationship with God. Briefly explain.

##### 10) What experiences of Israel foreshadow Christian baptism?

##### 11) What was the significance of the circumcision of the new generation of Israelite males at Gilgal?

##### 12) What major lesson from Israel's battle at Jericho can Christians apply to their battle against Satan?

##### 13) What was God's curse on Jericho? When and how was it fulfilled?

##### 14) What was Achan's sin? What important spiritual principle does this episode illustrate?

##### 15) How did God cause the sun to stand still during Israel's battle with the Amorites?

##### 16) Why were the Levites prohibited from owning rural land?

##### 17) How did Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh cause a national controversy?

##### 18) What scriptures would you use to demonstrate the positive impact of Joshua's leadership on Israel? What was Joshua's legacy? What should yours be?

### Judges

##### 1) What was the main task of Israel's judges?

##### 2) What does Judges teach us about God?

##### 3) How does the book apply to your life today?

##### 4) How did God respond when the Israelites broke their covenant with him? How did this event mark a fundamental change in Israel's relationship with God?

##### 5) How does the cycle of sin described in Judges serve as a warning for Christians today?

##### 6) The major cause of decline in this period of Israel's history was idolatry. How do Christians face a similar danger in our modern society?

##### 8) How does the literary structure of Judges help us to better appreciate the spiritual lessons of the book?

##### 9) How did the nation of Israel fare under Othniel and Ehud?

##### 10) Why did God select Deborah to lead Israel?

##### 11) Who were the Midianites? How did God use them to punish Israel?

##### 12) What steps did God take to increase Gideon's faith? How can God do the same for us?

##### 13) What aspects of Gideon's godly character are demonstrated in Judges 8?

##### 14) Why was Abimelech the opposite of what God wanted in a leader?

##### 15) What was the nature of Jephthah's vow? What lessons does this incident contain for Christians today?

##### 16) Review the major events in the life of Samson. Evaluate his overall contribution as a judge over Israel. What were his strengths and his weaknesses?

##### 17) How is the mind-set described in the last chapters of Judges, when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes," similar to the moral relativism of today's society?

### Ruth

##### 1) What does the name Ruth mean?

##### 2) What does the book of Ruth teach us about God?

##### 3) How does the book apply to your life today?

##### 4) Why did Elimelech move his family to Moab?

##### 5) Explain the purpose behind the ancient custom of levirate marriage.

##### 6) In the context of the culture of her day, why was Ruth's pledge of devotion to Naomi so impressive?

##### 7) Why is Naomi's example relevant and inspiring for Christians today?

##### 8) Why is it ironic that God used Ruth as an example of genuine spiritual character?

##### 9) What was the responsibility of the "kinsman-redeemer"? In this context, how is Boaz a type of Christ?

##### 10) What can we learn from the character of Boaz?

### 1 & 2 Samuel

##### 1) What does the name Samuel mean?

##### 2) What do 1 and 2 Samuel teach us about God?

##### 3) How do the books of Samuel apply to your life today?

##### 4) Describe the miraculous events surrounding the birth of Samuel.

##### 5) Why did God end Eli's priestly line?

##### 6) What misconception did the Israelites have concerning the ark of the covenant? How did God correct this?

##### 7) How did God use the capture of the ark of the covenant to demonstrate his supremacy in the land of the Philistines?

##### 8) Why was Samuel's leadership a high point during the period of the judges?

##### 9) Why did Israel demand a king? What was God's response?

##### 10) How did Saul respond initially to his anointing as king?

##### 11) Why did God ultimately reject Saul?

##### 12) Saul and Achan were guilty of taking the _cherem._ Briefly explain.

##### 13) Evaluate David's performance as king over Israel. What were his strengths and weaknesses? What can we learn from his experiences?

##### 14) In spite of David's mistakes, why did God describe him as "a man after my own heart"? How can you be sure that God will say the same thing about you?

##### 15) Explain the spiritual significance of David's words, "Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?"

##### 16) Using 2 Samuel 11 as your text, show why the story of David is considered one of the artistic high points of biblical story-telling.

##### 17) If you are losing your zeal for God and his way, how can the story of David and Bathsheba help you to get back on track?

##### 18) Why did Bathsheba receive such great honor in the court of her son, King Solomon?

##### 19) What was the major theme of David's last words to Solomon?

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## Bible Facts From the Historical Books

This section asks you to recall some basic facts from the books of Joshua through 2 Samuel. After selecting one of the four choices, you may turn to the accompanying scripture to verify your answer.

### Joshua

##### 1) God said Joshua was to meditate on _______. Joshua 1:8

Moses' life

God

The Book of the Law

The Promised Land

##### 2) How did Rahab deal with the two spies Joshua had sent? Joshua 2:6

Gave them to the king of Jericho

Hid them

Killed them

Imprisoned them

##### 3) Who saw the commander of the army of the Lord? Joshua 5:13-14

Joshua

Caleb

The two spies

All Israel

##### 4) A curse was pronounced on the man who might rebuild ___________. Joshua 6:26

Ai

Jericho

Hazor

Hebron

##### 5) Who took a Babylonian robe, silver and gold from Jericho? Joshua 7:20-21

Joshua

Achan

Caleb

Eleazar

##### 6) What happened to Achan and his family? Joshua 7:24-25

They were stoned to death

They were banished from Israel

They were sent to Egypt

They were left in the wilderness

##### 7) What city did Joshua give to Caleb? Joshua 14:13

Hebron

Jerusalem

Jericho

Bethlehem

##### 8) In what city was the tabernacle (Tent of Meeting) set up? Joshua 18:1

Hebron

Shiloh

Jerusalem

Bethlehem

##### 9) What did the Reubenites, Gadites and half-tribe of Manasseh build that infuriated the other tribes? Joshua 22:10-12

An altar

A fenced city

An idol

A great wall

##### 10) The tribes were angry because they thought the 2 1/2 tribes were ________. Joshua 22:15-16

Rebelling against God

Allying with Moab

Returning to Egypt

Making another tabernacle

##### 11) Where did Joshua give his farewell address? Joshua 24:1

Jerusalem

Gaza

Shiloh

Shechem

### Judges

##### 1) Judah did not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had __________. Judges 1:19

Egyptian allies

Iron chariots

More warriors

Giants

##### 2) Who told the Israelites that the inhabitants of the land would be thorns in their sides? Judges 2:1-3

Joshua

The Lord

An angel

Phinehas

##### 3) Which left-handed judge killed Eglon? Judges 3:15-22

Ehud

Gideon

Samson

Barak

##### 4) Who accompanied Barak in the fight against Sisera? Judges 4:8-9

Joshua

Deborah

Gideon

Samson

##### 5) Why did God say Gideon's army of 32,000 men was too big? Judges 7:2-3

They far outnumbered the enemy

The battle would be over too quickly

There were too many for a sneak attack

They would think they won because of their own strength

##### 6) After having Gideon dismiss the soldiers who were fearful, how did God further reduce Gideon's army? Judges 7:5-7

He chose the mightiest

He chose those who knelt down to drink water

He chose the most righteous

He chose those who lapped up water with their hands to their mouths

##### 7) What did Gideon do to the 77 elders of Succoth because they refused to give his men food? Judges 8:14-16

He killed them

He made them slaves

He punished them with desert thorns and briers

He sent them to Egypt

##### 8) Abimelech killed all his brothers except ____________. Judges 9:5

Jotham

Jebus

Josiah

Joshua

##### 9) Who rebelled against Abimelech's rule? Judges 9:28-29

Jephthah

Jair

Gaal

Samson

##### 10) Who said, "Let me die with the Philistines"? Judges 16:30

David

Eli

Samuel

Samson

##### 11) What tribe stole Micah's idols and priest? Judges 18:16-20

Dan

Simeon

Judah

Levi

##### 12) A Levite's concubine was killed by men from what city? Judges 19:14-28

Bethlehem

Gibeah

Jerusalem

Hebron

### Ruth

##### 1) Who died in Moab? Ruth 1:1-5

Elimelech

Kilion

Mahlon

All of these

##### 2) Which of Naomi's daughters-in-law stayed in Moab? Ruth 1:14-15

Ruth

Abigail

Orpah

Esther

##### 3) Who said, "Where you go I will go"? Ruth 1:16

Orpah

Ruth

Naomi

Boaz

##### 4) Who was Ruth's first husband? Ruth 4:10

Mahlon

Elimelech

Kilion

Boaz

##### 5) Who was the son of Boaz and Ruth? Ruth 4:13-17

Samuel

Obed

Boaz Jr.

Ephraim

### 1 Samuel

##### 1) What did Hannah ask of the Lord? 1 Samuel 1:11

To punish Peninnah

Money

To have a son

To bless Elkanah

##### 2) Who captured the ark of the covenant during a battle? 1 Samuel 4:10-11

Israelites

Philistines

Moabites

Edomites

##### 3) How many years did Eli judge Israel? 1 Samuel 4:18

20

40

30

50

##### 4) The Israelites put away their idols and worshiped at what city? 1 Samuel 7:4-6

Jerusalem

Shiloh

Mizpah

Hebron

##### 5) Who said of Israel, "They have rejected me as their king"? 1 Samuel 8:7

Samuel

God

Saul

David

##### 6) What did Saul do wrong at Gilgal? 1 Samuel 13:8-13

He killed a man

He stole gold

He worshiped an idol

He offered a sacrifice

##### 7) Who played a harp in order to calm Saul? 1 Samuel 16:23

Samuel

Saul's wife

An angel

David

##### 8) Who cut off Goliath's head? 1 Samuel 17:51

David

Samuel

Saul

No one knows

##### 9) What prophet told David to go to Judah? 1 Samuel 22:5

Samuel

Nathan

Eleazar

Gad

##### 10) David escaped from Saul and went to what Philistine city? 1 Samuel 27:1-3

Gath

Gaza

Ekron

Ashkelon

##### 11) Who was defeated on Mt. Gilboa? 1 Samuel 31:1

Babylon

David's men

Israel

The Hivites

### 2 Samuel

##### 1) What did David do when he learned that the men of Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul? 2 Samuel 2:5-6

He blessed them

He cursed them

He gave each man 100 pieces of silver

He killed all the males of Jabesh Gilead

##### 2) When Judah made David king, from what city did he reign? 2 Samuel 2:11

Jerusalem

Bethlehem

Ziklag

Hebron

##### 3) Who offered to ally with David and turn over the kingdom of Israel to him? 2 Samuel 3:12

Joab

Abner

Saul

Ish-Bosheth

##### 4) When David became king of Israel, how many years did he reign in Jerusalem? 2 Samuel 5:5

7

33

21

40

##### 5) Who was killed because he touched the ark? 2 Samuel 6:6-7

Ahio

Abinadab

Uzzah

Joab

##### 6) Who did God say would build a temple instead of David? 2 Samuel 7:12-13

Joab

David's son

Nathan

The Lord

##### 7) In Nathan's parable to David, the rich man killed the poor man's ________. 2 Samuel 12:4

Wife

Son

Lamb

Ram

##### 8) Whose head got caught in a tree? 2 Samuel 18:9

Joab's

Amasa's

Absalom's

Abishai's

##### 9) The Lord told David that Israel's famine was because Saul killed the people of what city? 2 Samuel 21:1

Jerusalem

Gaza

Gibeon

Jericho

##### 10) Who saved David's life when a Philistine giant was about to kill him? 2 Samuel 21:16-17

Joab

Abner

Abishai

Amasa

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## Bible Trivia From the Historical Books

You may find these questions to be challenging as well as fun. Some of the answers you may know immediately. Some you may guess. And some will really surprise you!

### Joshua

##### 1) When Rahab hid the Israelite spies on her rooftop, what did she hide them under? Joshua 2:6

##### 2) Which king's body was thrown down at the city gate and then covered with rocks? Joshua 8:29

##### 3) Who tricked Joshua by putting on worn-out sandals and old clothes when they went to meet him? Joshua 9:3-6

##### 4) What enemies of Israel were pelted by hailstones from the Lord? Joshua 10:11-12

##### 5) What phenomenal event, described in Joshua, is also said to be described in the "Book of Jashar"? Joshua 10:13

##### 6) Who had five Amorite kings sealed up in a cave by rolling large rocks up to its entrance? Joshua 10:16-18

##### 7) Which king opposed Joshua's army and was totally defeated, with none of his soldiers left alive? Joshua 10:33

### Judges

##### 1) Who was the first judge of Israel? Judges 3:9-10

##### 2) Who accepted an invitation to hide from his enemies in a tent, and was then murdered by the woman who invited him? Judges 4:17-21

##### 3) Who sang a victory song that mentions white donkeys? Judges 5:1, 10

##### 4) A soldier dreamed of a Midianite tent being overturned by an unlikely object. What was it? Judges 7:13

##### 5) Which people put golden chains around their camels' necks? Judges 8:26

##### 6) Who had his armor-bearer kill him so he would avoid the disgrace of being killed by a woman? Judges 9:52-54

##### 7) What did Delilah use to bind the sleeping Samson? Judges 16:7-8, 11-12

### Ruth

##### 1) Who moved with Naomi to Moab to escape famine? Ruth 1:1-2

##### 2) Who was Ruth's sister-in-law? Ruth 1:3-4

##### 3) Who called herself Mara, a name meaning "bitter"? Ruth 1:19-21

##### 4) What farmer married a Moabite woman and became an ancestor of David? Ruth 1:22; 4:13-22

##### 5) Who fell asleep on a pile of grain after eating and drinking? Ruth 3:7-14

### 1 Samuel

##### 1) Which priests kept the sacrificial meat for themselves? 1 Samuel 2:12-17, 34

##### 2) Which nation sent back the ark of the covenant on a cart pulled by two cows? 1 Samuel 6:1-2, 7-12

##### 3) For what offense did God kill some of the men of Beth Shemesh? 1 Samuel 6:19

##### 4) Which king of Israel stripped off his robes and lay that way for a whole day and night? 1 Samuel 19:23-24

##### 5) Running from Saul, David took refuge in Gath. How did David behave when brought before the king of Gath? 1 Samuel 21:10-15

##### 6) What prominent leader of Israel did Saul ask a witch to summon up from the dead? 1 Samuel 28:7-20

##### 7) Who was the last woman to have dinner with King Saul? 1 Samuel 28:7, 21-25

##### 8) After Saul's death, his armor was placed in what temple? 1 Samuel 31:8-10

##### 9) Whose bones were buried under a tree at Jabesh? 1 Samuel 31:11-13

### 2 Samuel

##### 1) Why did David tear his clothes in grief? 2 Samuel 1:11-12

##### 2) What son of Jonathan was crippled because he had been dropped by his nurse as a baby? 2 Samuel 4:4

##### 3) Who pretended to be one of Absalom's counselors, but was actually a spy for David? 2 Samuel 15:32-37

##### 4) Who built a monument to himself? 2 Samuel 18:18

##### 5) What soldier murdered a man while kissing him? 2 Samuel 20:9-10

##### 6) What brave soldier of David went into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion? 2 Samuel 23:20

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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##   
About the Authors

Tim Finlay and Jim Herst were writers working for Grace Communion International. Most of these materials were written in the mid 1990s, but they were not published until we posted them on our website in 2002. We edited the articles again in 2012 for this e-book. Jim and Tim also wrote the volumes on the Torah and the Books of Poetry for this series on Exploring the Word of God.

Tim Finlay went on to earn a doctorate in Old Testament studies at Claremont Graduate School. He now teaches at Azusa Pacific University and Grace Communion Seminary. He is the author of _The Birth Report Genre in the Hebrew Bible,_ published by J.C.B. Mohr in 2005.

## About the Publisher...

Grace Communion International is a Christian denomination with about 50,000 members, worshiping in about 900 congregations in almost 100 nations and territories. We began in 1934 and our main office is in North Carolina. In the United States, we are members of the National Association of Evangelicals and similar organizations in other nations. We welcome you to visit our website at www.gci.org.

If you want to know more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we offer help. First, we offer weekly worship services in hundreds of congregations worldwide. Perhaps you'd like to visit us. A typical worship service includes songs of praise, a message based on the Bible, and opportunity to meet people who have found Jesus Christ to be the answer to their spiritual quest. We try to be friendly, but without putting you on the spot. We do not expect visitors to give offerings—there's no obligation. You are a guest.

To find a congregation, write to one of our offices, phone us or visit our website. If we do not have a congregation near you, we encourage you to find another Christian church that teaches the gospel of grace.

We also offer personal counsel. If you have questions about the Bible, salvation or Christian living, we are happy to talk. If you want to discuss faith, baptism or other matters, a pastor near you can discuss these on the phone or set up an appointment for a longer discussion. We are convinced that Jesus offers what people need most, and we are happy to share the good news of what he has done for all humanity. We like to help people find new life in Christ, and to grow in that life. Come and see why we believe it's the best news there could be!

Our work is funded by members of the church who donate part of their income to support the gospel. Jesus told his disciples to share the good news, and that is what we strive to do in our literature, in our worship services, and in our day-to-day lives.

If this e-book has helped you and you want to pay some expenses, all donations are gratefully welcomed, and in several nations, are tax-deductible. If you can't afford to give anything, don't worry about it. It is our gift to you. To make a donation online, go to www.gci.org/participate/donate.

Thank you for letting us share what we value most — Jesus Christ. The good news is too good to keep it to ourselves.

See our website for hundreds of articles, locations of our churches, addresses in various nations, audio and video messages, and much more.

Grace Communion International  
3129 Whitehall Park Dr.

Charlotte, NC 28273-3335

800-423-4444

www.gci.org

### You're Included...

We talk with leading Trinitarian theologians about the good news that God loves you, wants you, and includes you in Jesus Christ. Most programs are about 28 minutes long. Our guests have included:

Ray Anderson, Fuller Theological Seminary

Douglas A. Campbell, Duke Divinity School

Elmer Colyer, U. of Dubuque Theological Seminary

Gordon Fee, Regent College

Trevor Hart, University of St. Andrews

George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary

C. Baxter Kruger, Perichoresis

Jeff McSwain, Reality Ministries

Paul Louis Metzger, Multnomah University

Paul Molnar, St. John's University

Cherith Fee Nordling, Antioch Leadership Network

Andrew Root, Luther Seminary

Alan Torrance, University of St. Andrews

Robert T. Walker, Edinburgh University

N.T. Wright, University of St. Andrews

William P. Young, author of _The Shack_

Programs are available free for viewing and downloading at www.youreincluded.org.

### Speaking of Life...

Dr. Joseph Tkach, president of Grace Communion International, comments each week, giving a biblical perspective on how we live in the light of God's love. Most programs are about three minutes long – available in video, audio, and text. Go to www.speakingoflife.org.

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##

### Grace Communion Seminary

Ministry based on the life and love of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Grace Communion Seminary serves the needs of people engaged in Christian service who want to grow deeper in relationship with our Triune God and to be able to more effectively serve in the church.

Why study at Grace Communion Seminary?

 Worship: to love God with all your mind.

 Service: to help others apply truth to life.

 Practical: a balanced range of useful topics for ministry.

 Trinitarian theology: a survey of theology with the merits of a Trinitarian perspective. We begin with the question, "Who is God?" Then, "Who are we in relationship to God?" In this context, "How then do we serve?"

 Part-time study: designed to help people who are already serving in local congregations. There is no need to leave your current ministry. Full-time students are also welcome.

 Flexibility: your choice of master's level continuing education courses or pursuit of a degree: Master of Pastoral Studies or Master of Theological Studies.

 Affordable, accredited study: Everything can be done online.

For more information, go to www.gcs.edu. Grace Communion Seminary is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, www.deac.org. The Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

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## Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

Want to better understand God's Word? Want to know the Triune God more deeply? Want to share more joyously in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit? Want to be better equipped to serve others?

Among the many resources that Grace Communion International offers are the training and learning opportunities provided by ACCM. This quality, well-structured Christian Ministry curriculum has the advantage of being very practical and flexible. Students may study at their own pace, without having to leave home to undertake full-time study.

This denominationally recognized program is available for both credit and audit study. At minimum cost, this online Diploma program will help students gain important insights and training in effective ministry service. Students will also enjoy a rich resource for personal study that will enhance their understanding and relationship with the Triune God.

Diploma of Christian Ministry classes provide an excellent introductory course for new and lay pastors. Pastor General Dr. Joseph Tkach said, "We believe we have achieved the goal of designing Christian ministry training that is practical, accessible, interesting, and doctrinally and theologically mature and sound. This program provides an ideal foundation for effective Christian ministry."

For more information, go to www.ambascol.org

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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### 
