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pressors. Samson gave them a lot of trouble b u t only p artially subdued them . E li was th e last of th e judges, being both p riest and judge and a failu re in both respects. During th e tim e of the Judges, Israel increased numeric ally and extended its te rrito ria l bounds. The loose form of government was adapted to th e youth of th e nation and showed th a t something more stable was necessary for na tional permanency and usefulness. It thu s prepared the way for the kingdom. The Judges as a ru le were no t sp irit ual men. They had th e Holy S pirit in th e ir official capac ity. Nevertheless Jeph th ah and Samson are mentioned among th e heroes of faith. Heb. 11:32. God was p re paring them for a king by showing th e ir condition w ithout one. The believer is ta u g h t by his repeated failures th a t something stronger th an him self is needed. It is not enough to be in Christ, Christ must also be in him. This was brought to pass typically in Israel when David came, th e man afte r God’s own heart. Wkm Introduction. In explanation of verse 16 th e Bible Com m entary speaks of th e judges as God’s vicegerents in the government of Israel, He H imself being th e supreme ruler. As we shall see, th e re was no regu lar unbroken succession of judges, b u t individuals prompted by COMMENTS the Spirit of God were from tim e to FROM THE tim e aroused and empowered to achieve COMMENTARIES deliverance. They were w ithout pomp V . V . Morgan or emolument, and had no power to make laws. In a special sense, how ever, they were executors of th e law and avengers of crimes, especially th a t of idolatry.—Gray. (7 :2 ) (cf. 6:11-12) “L ike C incinnatus a t his farm , and David among his sheep, and Cromwell in the flats a t H unt ingdonshire, and W ashington on his p lantation in Virginia, Gideon was quietly doing his humble task, not w ishing nor dream ing of a w ider horizon or more conspicuous work, when the summons came to him, th e divine Voice th a t dragged him from peaceful privacy and th ru st him to. the F ro n t.’’^-M cLaren. God will not choose those who, afte r th e victory will “vaun t them selves” and say, “Mine own hand h ath saved me.” “No man who never trem bled before God’s call ever made men trem ble before his call.”— P ractical Commen tary . (7 :3 -6 ) The Sifting of th e Army. Gideon proclaimed: “Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him dep art.” In view of the fearfu l odds against them two-thirds of th e army tu rn ed back, leaving only 10,000 soldiers. F a ith and cour age were th e first sieve. Still th e re were too many for th e purpose. The second sieve was woven of alertness, quick w it, self-control, vigorous streng th , boldness. The te st was th rough th e ir way of drinking in the near- presence of the enemy. In order to understand the te st we must see clearly the circumstances. Gideon’s arm y was on one side of the stream , and th e enemy on the other, and how near some scouting p arties m ight be was unknown, for the reeds and shrubs along th e banks offered ample cover for hos tile ambushes. Those who bowed down, drinking headlong, did not appreciate th e ir position or the f o e ;'w h ile th e others, who merely crouched, lapping up the w ater w ith one hand, while they held th e ir weapons in th e other, were aware of th e ir danger, and ready against surprise. Thus th e th ree hundred showed exactly th e qualities needed for th e night attack which a few careless men m ight spoil.— Peloubet. They could not lie down in self-indulgence. The body craved w ater bu t th e soul cared only for th e battle. So was th e body “ kep t under” (1 Cor. 9 :2 7 ).—P ractical Com m entary. (V. 7) It is scarcely possible to conceive a severer 'tria l th an th e command to attack th e overwhelming forces of th e enemy w ith such a handful of followers. But Gid eon’s faith in th e Divine assurance of victory was stead fast, and it is for th is he is so highly commended (Heb. 1 1 :3 2 )— J . F . & B. Com. (V . 8 ) A ttention to the relative position of th e parties is of the g reatest importance! to an understanding of w hat follows.— J . F . & B. Com.
cried unto God for help. Now listen, for God told him the reason th e men who went up to Ai were afraid was because th ere was sin somewhere among some of th e people of Is rael. F o r one of th e men had stolen some of th e silver and gold th a t was in Jericho, instead of pu tting it in th e treas u ry of the Lord. And th e Lord said He would not he w ith them to help them again, unless they punished th e man who did th e wrong. So Joshua and th e officers of Israel pun ished th e man who stole th e silver and th e gold, and then they conquered Ai and went orA into the land of Canaan. Have you ever h eard of a boy or girl who had money for Sunday School or church, and spent it for gum or candy? Were they stealing from God’s treasu ry too? Teach mem ory verse. Closing prayer. FEBRUARY 24, 1024 The Period of the Judges Golden Text: “ I will heal th eir backsliding, I will love them freely.” Hosea 14:4. Lesson Text: Judges, Chapters 2 to 16. Devotional Reading Psalm 32:1-7. The Judges were m ilitary leaders raised up to deliver th e people from some foreign foe and to exercise some judical au tho rity afterw ards. Joshua had no successor. Each separate trib e undertook to conquer its appointed te rrito ry bu t no one of them seems to have LESSON entirely and successfully done so. The EXPOSITION strong fo rtress a t Jeru salem was no t ta- Dr. F . W. F a r r ken till th e tim e of David four hundred years later. The condition of affairs a t th is tim e is. well described by a sentence often repeated, “ In those days th ere was no king in Israel and every man did th a t which was rig h t in his own eyes.” The social condition was th e resu lt of th e ir sp iritu al condition. A fter Joshua passed off the scene, th e re came apostasy. They mingled w ith th e ir heathen neighbors and in term arried and then adopted th e ir idolatrous customs. This received Divine disapproval which took the form of chastisem ent by foreign invasion and oppression. Then a Deliverer was raised up called a judge and a period of relief and re st was enjoyed. Then came ano th er apostasy w ith chastisem ent and deliverance. This history repeated itself some half-dozen times. There were fourteen judges in all w ith six outstanding ones, viz: Othniel, Ehud, De borah, Gideon, Jep thah and Samson. They were neith er h ereitary nor successive. Gideon was th e only one suc ceeded by his son. The book of Judges may be divided into th ree parts. The first two chapters contain th e account of the conquests and failures of the trib es after the death of Joshua. Chs. 3-16 give th e list of apostasies and deliverances by th e Judges. The five closing chapters give the sp iritu al and social de cline in two sample narratives. The story of Micah shows the decline of th e priesthood and th e sp iritu al life. The w ar w ith Benjam in shows lawlessness linked w ith idolatry and resulted in the declination of th a t p articu lar tribe. The times of rest between the apostasies are especially a ttrac tive. The book of R u th belongs to one of these earlier times. The tabernacle was located a t Shiloh. H ere the priests performed th e ir m inistries b u t it is probable th a t the whole Mosaic law was never observed perfectly a t any tim e any more th an the commands of Christ are fully carried o u t by th e church today. The Philistines were the last of th e op
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