Bible Survey

07-Judges & Ruth

(Life in Canaan - c. 1370 -1051 B.C.)

I. Background for the Judges Era

     Weakness - The period of the Judges was one of turmoil and problems, because Israel had lost the knowledge of God (Jdg. 2:10), they adopted Canaanite idolatry and sensuality (Jdg. 2:11-12), rough and radical individualism dominated, there was a lack of commonly-recognized authority (Jdg. 21:25); tribal disunity, and unconquered pockets of Canaanite influence.

     YHWH-ism vs. Baalism - A major factor in explaining Israel's adoption of Canaanite idolatry has to be their general contact with Canaanite culture.  Having come out of Egyptian bondage and then the wilderness wanderings, it is likely that Israel probably welcomed Canaanite help in learning farming practices and the building trades.  However, much of the danger to Israel was hidden in the fact that Canaanite agriculture and worldview were so closely intertwined.  First, the religion of Canaan was based on the assumption that the forces of nature were expressions of divine presence/activity and that survival/prosperity depended on identifying the god(s) responsible for each phenomenon and encouraging them (by proper ritual/imitative magic) to bring their power to bear.  Second, not only were ritual prostitution and the fertility cult tied in with agricultural concepts, but these things in themselves made Canaanite religion degrading and founded in sensuous love and warfare.  Finally, since hatred and lust were promoted (and man is only too prone to these things anyway), Israelites of weaker moral fiber would have found the Baal cult a much more pleasant and comfortable religion.

      Perhaps the most serious danger was the fact that Canaanite religion outwardly appeared very similar to that of Israel.^[1]  First, both worship systems centered on temples/sanctuaries.  Second, both systems employed animal sacrifice with similar ritual and terminology.  Third, Baalism and YHWH-ism celebrated annual festivals that were related to the agricultural calendar and occurred at similar times.  Fourth, both systems employed similar names for their deities.

      Looking closer at this last similarity, we need to realize that the gods of Canaan came from the Phoenician pantheon, which was composed of four major deities.  El was the senior god, Father, creator, depicted as a bull, and El was the common and generic Phoenician term for "god."  He was viewed as having little concern for human affairs.  Asherah was the wife/consort of El.  She was the "mother earth" figure known around the Mediterranean by similar names (Astarte, Ishtar, etc.).  Her presence was associated with "groves" or clumps of evergreen trees, even a wooden pole was sufficient to serve as a shrine for her worship.  The pervasiveness of this notion may still be present in our common western notion of "mother earth/mother nature."  Baal ("master" of the land) was El's son, god of thunder, fertility.  The "Hadad" of Mari (Amorite storm god, manifested in rain, thunder, and lightning) became Baal at Ugarit.  Fertility myths represented Baal (rain) impregnating Asherah (the earth) and this was encouraged through cultic prostitution (hence, "cult prostitutes") and worship at the "high places."  Rather than one central temple to "Baal," there were many localized "Baalim" worship sites.  Anat was El's daughter and a goddess of war - depicted as both bloodthirsty and immoral.  She had helped Baal come back to life and vanquished "death" itself.  Thus, the Israelites found the Canaanites to be using two of their own words for deity and, if the details and distinctions were not taught, it would have been easy to assume that the Canaanites were worshipping the same god as Israel.

      To the Hebrews, El was YHWH/God and Baal was a word meaning that YHWH was Israel's "lord/master," but to the Canaanites these were two separate deities of a very different character from Israel's God.  It may have been easy for some to adopt the popular notion that the gods were tied to specific geographic territories and that YHWH was the god of the desert and Baal was the god (or name for God) in Canaan (1Kgs. 20:23,28).  Many probably failed to understand that YHWH is a "jealous" God and combined gods/beliefs (syncretism) in hopes of living in harmony with the Canaanites (still a popular practice).  The common Israelite had no Bible or synagogue, so everything depended on the Levites doing their teaching job (Leviticus 10:8-11) and parents teaching their own children (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).  Unfortunately, it appears that the Levites came to be seen as a "separate" group which other Israelites barely understood or cared about (Judges 21:19-23) and the parental teaching function was either not performed or fell on deaf ears (Judges 2:10).  The central sanctuary was to be a unifying factor for Israel, but "local Baals" were very dangerous as they seemed more practical, convenient (cf. 1Kings 12:28), and contributed to further tribal isolation.

       Sources of Conflict - There was a good deal of warfare going on in Canaan during this era, but it was no longer offensive conquest fighting, but was forced upon Israel from three different sources.  The Canaanites, as a dispossessed people, tried on occasion to recover lost territory.  The Philistines were imperialists and wanted to expand their holdings and reduce their neighbors to vassals.  The Midianites were nomadic raiders who had no aims beyond emptying the barns of other people in order to feed themselves.

II. The Transitional Period (Judges 1:1 - 3:7)

     1:1-18/ Further Conquests - The tribes of Judah and Simeon successfully fought together to consolidate their territories (vv. 3-4).  The king of Bezek faced the “law of the talon” for what he had done to others (vv. 5-7).  Jebus (Jerusalem) was conquered/burned soon after Joshua died (v. 8), but the Jebusites reclaimed the unoccupied site and continued to live amongst the Benjamites (v. 21).  Judah lived in the hill country because Canaanites in the valleys (Philistine coastal area?) had iron chariots (v. 19).

     1:19-36/ Places Not Conquered - Next, we learn of Canaanite areas that various tribes did not clean out.  Manasseh failed to control several major cities and areas for awhile (v. 27) and the Amorites continued to dominate their area and forced the Danites into the hill country (vv. 34-36).

     2:1-9/ Divine Rebuke for Not Finishing the Conquest - Before Joshua died, Israel was rebuked for failing to carry out God’s instructions (leaving Canaanites in the land).  I think their main failing was in breaking up the national army too soon, with some Canaanite pockets left that were strong for some individual tribes to handle.

     2:10/ The Main Reason for Israel’s Cultural Decline - Historians tend to look at physical/material factors, but there is also a crucial spiritual/worldview element in the strength of a society.  When God is feared and honored, society is stronger and more orderly and this state tends to characterize nations that are growing and expending.  When the knowledge and fear of God is lost, a foundational unity/purpose element is lost and decline and division follow.  I think the #1 reason Israel fell into idolatry and barbarism was their loss of the knowledge of God - after Joshua’s generation passed, Israelites neither knew God in a covenant relationship nor did they know the information about God’s existence, nature and workings from the Law of Moses.  Since the 1960’s, we have watched enforced state secularism do the same thing to America and without a clear knowledge of God and His workings, American society is breaking up into lots of competing sub-cultures. 

     2:11-19/ The “Cycle of Apostasy” - This cycle of apostasy, punishment, supplication, and rescue was replayed numerous times over the next three centuries.

     2:20 - 3:4/ God’s Use of Adversaries - peace eventually produces softness and troubles can produce strength as we need to apply directed effort to improve our situation.  God left adversaries to test and strengthen Israel.

     3:5-7/ Intermarriage & Decline - Although forbidden in the Mosaic Law, Israelites intermarried with Canaanites and worshipped their gods (Exodus 34:12-16; Deuteronomy 7:3-5).

III. The Judges of Israel (3:8 - 16)

     3:8-11/ Othniel - Intermarriage with Canaanites and participating in idolatry led God to strengthen the first oppressor of Israel - a Mesopotamian king named Cushan-rishathaim (“double-wickedness”) oppressed Israel for 8 years, until God raised up Othniel as a rescuer.

     3:12-30/ Ehud - After awhile, Israel lapsed back into evil and God strengthened the Moabite king Eglon to oppress Israel for 18 years.  Ehud, especially gifted (left-handed) to sneak a sword past guards that would pat-down men’s right side, ended Eglon’s reign and led Israel to freedom.

     3:31/ Shamgar - all we know about him was that his mother was named after a Canaanite goddess and must have worked with oxen, using an ox-goad to kill 600 Philistines.

     4-5/ Deborah & Barak - Deborah ran a fair impromptu court outside of town, but she called Barak to assemble a 10,000-man army to meet the army from Hazor.  Their iron chariots bogged-down on a muddy battlefield and the enemy commander was killed by a woman in his sleep.

     6-8/ Gideon - Told specifically what God wanted him to do (6:12-16), he still “laid out the fleece” for confirmation (6:36-40).  Gideon’s father was not a committed Baal worshipper (6:25-32) and God’s Spirit led Gideon (6:34).  God reduced the size of Gideon’s army (7:1-8), but interesting tactics helped Israel defeat the Midianites (7:9-25).  After appeasing the hot-headed Ephraimites with tact (8:1-3), Gideon caught up with fleeing Midianite leaders in spite of Israelites in the TransJordan hesitant to aid their brethren (8:4-21).  Gideon refused the request to establish a dynasty in the understanding that God was Israel’s King (8:22-23), but he did establish what became an idol (8:24-28).  Problems arose with his children (8:29-35).

     9/ The Abortive Kingdom of Abimelch - One of Gideon’s sons did try to establish himself as king, killing off all but one of his brothers (a pagan custom for securing one’s throne).  God “sent an evil spirit” into this mess and it eventually resulted in Abimelech’s death (vv. 53-57).

     10:1 -5/ Tola & Jair - “donkeys and cities” suggests that they gained wealth and influence during their time of influence - administration and judicial work?

     10:6-18/ After repeated apostasy, God demonstrates hesitance to forgive Israel again and suggests they appeal to their beloved false gods for aid.

      11:1 - 12:7/ Jephthah - a man who clearly rose above his family problems and bad friends (11:1-3), Jephthah was a skilled negotiator (11:4-28), a successful military leader led by God’s Spirit, yet he made a foolish vow (11:29-40 - sacrificed to virgin tabernacle service?).  Unlike Gideon, Jephthah dealt with Ephraimite foolishness by force, using the “shibboleth” (12:1-7).

     12:8-15/ lbzon, Elon, Abdon - more judges who gained influence and wealth.

     13-16/ Samson - A chapter on Samson’s birth demonstrates that godly parents do not guarantee spiritual children (13).  Although designated a Nazirite from birth, Samson was a successful warrior granted strength by God, but also a womanizer (eventually giving in to nagging), enjoyed risks, and violated all of the restrictions of the vow.  Eventually, God “departed from him” (16:20) and he was captured and abused by the Philistines until in a repentant state God allowed him one last divinely-aided act (16:21-31).

IV. Judges: Chaos Without Authority (Judges 17-21)

     Three Dangerous Trends - First, religious syncretism (blending together elements from various sources) was evident in chapter 17, as Micah's mother found nothing wrong with the idea of making an idol to YHWH (v. 3).  Second, materialism was invading the Levitical mindset, with a Levite roaming the land in search of "career-moves" (17:8-11 & 18:18-20) and untroubled by the idolatry involved.  Third, moral relativism ("morality" hooked to constantly-changing current opinion rather than unchanging absolute standards) was characteristic of the entire age

     17/ Idolatry in Ephraim - An Ephraimite named Micah set up his own little idolatrous religion, which he thought even better when he added a Bethlehem Levite (looking for a career-move) as his priest.

     18/ Dan moves north - The tribe of Dan, assigned territory next to the Philistines, decided to look for a different area.  On their way to massacre some peaceful Phoenicians and take their city, they swung-by Micah’s place and took his idols and Levite priest by force.

     19-21/ Benjamin’s sin & civil war - A Levite’s concubine is treated harshly while passing through Benjamin’s territory, and the story sounds similar to what occurred in Sodom earlier (19:20-25; Genesis 19:2-8).  When Benjamin’s tribal leaders refuse to deal with the crime, the Levite appeals forcefully to all of the tribes and this leads to a civil war and the near extinction of the tribe of Benjamin.

V. Ruth: Quiet righteousness in Judah

     The book of Ruth records another side of life during the era of the Judges (Ruth 1:1) - normal life amongst those still trying to live within the Law.  Naomi, a Jewish widow, returns from Moab with a widowed Moabite daughter-in-law named Ruth.  Demonstrating high morals and family loyalty, Ruth takes care of Naomi and meets a relative named Boaz who becomes interested in redeeming the land and taking Ruth as a wife.  Through their union, the Messianic lineage from the Patriarchs to King David is carried on (Ruth 4:16-22).  Thus, the book of Ruth and its genealogy connects the Patriarchal age with the Israelite kingdom age, furthers the messianic lineage, and shows us that during the awful days of the Judges era there were still Israelites living decent lives.

VI. The Rise of Samuel (1 Samuel 1-7)

     1-3/ Samuel was born to Hannah and then dedicated to Tabernacle ministry, where he learns the priestly function from Eli, whose own sons were worthless men who ignored the Law and functioned more like Canaanite priests, for which Eli was rebuked.

     4-6/ Thinking the Ark will grant success in battle, the Israelites take it to the battlefield, where Eli’s sons die and the ark is captured by the Philistines.  Demonstrating His superiority over Dagon, the Philistines realize that they should return the Ark, where it was also mis-handled by those from a Levitical city.

     7/ Samuel was a faithful "circuit judge" and delivered Israel from the Philistine threat.

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Charles E. McCoy [6/7/06]