Judges 1:1-2 - After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”  The Lord answered, “Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.”

The book of Judges opens on a very positive note. The Israelites are asking God for direction, and they obey what He says.

There are two main lessons to learn from these opening verses of Judges. The first is that God’s people should ask God what to do rather than merely following their own ideas and good intentions. Unfortunately, this approach God is rare today among Christian leaders. Instead, many simply follow the traditions of their denomination or imitate the latest fads and fashions that they see among the ministries around them. Among the church members, it is rarer still. Many simply go their own way – as the Israelites did for the remainder of the book of Judges (see Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25). The wayward Israelites had freedom of choice, but not freedom from oppression.

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Judges 3:15-23 - “Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer-Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.  Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing…”

Every time the Israelites fell away from the Lord, the enemies rose up against them and prevailed over them.  In anguish and affliction they would seek God, who would bless them, but not without their first having reconciliation, a renewal of the Covenant that had been made beforehand.  In this passage of Judges, Israel found itself in exactly this situation. They pleaded once more, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them.

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Judges 6:11-12 - “The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.  When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’”

These events happened some time after the death of Joshua.  The Israelites were supposed to be God’s chosen people, but great difficulties befell them whenever they disobeyed the Lord.  In this case, the Midianites, a large tribe of roving bandits and traders, were oppressing the Israelites.  The Midianites would confiscate their entire harvest of wheat.  At each harvest time, the Midianites knew to go and get the wheat.  There was no way out for the Israelites; they were impoverished.  They cried out to the Lord for a deliverance from their oppressors.  The Israelites did not deserve God’s protection, of course, because they had completely ignored the Lord for a long time up to that point.  Even so, God had mercy and raised up a deliverer to save them.   continue

Judges 6:36-38 - “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.  “

When the Israelites disobeyed the Lord, they fell into trouble.  In this case, the trouble was the Midianites, raiding bands of nomads who would come after every harvest to loot the threshing floors.  They would take all the food and leave the Israelites to starve.  Eventually the people cried out to the Lord in their desperation, and God decided to destroy the Midianite army.  An angel from the Lord appeared to a young man named Gideon as he was threshing grain in secret, and explained to him the Lord’s plan.  God called Gideon to help deliver the people of Israel; Gideon needed a sign.   continue

Judges 7:2-3 - “The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.  In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ‘ So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”

This story is about God using Gideon to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites, who were oppressing them, stealing their food.  Gideon had to choose his men to accompany him into battle.  The enemy vastly outnumbered him.  At first, Gideon thought he would need as many people as possible to win.  He gathered 32,000 men at the outset, enough for war – or so Gideon thought.  Yet the Lord said there were too many people.   continue

Judges 9:8-15  - One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’  “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’  “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’  “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

Jotham was the youngest son of Gideon (also called Jerub-Baal).  God used Gideon to deliver the people of Israel from the Midianite raiders (see Judges ch 7).  Afterward, the people asked Gideon to be their king out of gratitude (Judges 8:22), but Gideon declined the offer, because he knew that it was better for the Lord to rule over Israel – the people wanted a human leader because it is more convenient for the flesh than dealing with a holy God.

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