The Bible In A Year
Joshua-Judges week 2 of 2
September 10-15, 2018
Readings for the Week
Theme of the week: Judges
We begin the week with a review of some laws and boundaries. Then we engage the series of Judges
- Monday Numbers chapters 5, 33, 34, & 35
- Tuesday Deuteronomy chapter 27, Judges chapters 1, 2 & 3
- Wednesday Judges chapters 4, 5, 6 & 7
- Thursday Judges chapters 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12
- Friday Numbers chapters 6, 15, Judges chapters 13, 14, 15 & 16
These portions from Numbers are to help show the care and expectation that was laid out for Samson. - Saturday Judges chapters 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21
The Bible In A Year
A Framework for Understanding
Judges
The book of Judges is a collection of stories which occurred from the time when Joshua led the Hebrew people in conquest of the land of Canaan until the point in time when a monarchy was established. This book is not intended to be a model of fidelity for us to imitate, but is rather the sad story of the decline of the people as a whole as “each did what was right in his own eyes.”
The term “judges” is used to indicate tribal leaders or war heroes rather than people presiding over legal matters. The beginning and ending of the book is stories about the Hebrew effort to occupy the land of Canaan, the trials and triumphs and internal quarreling. In the center of the book, beginning in chapter 3 and going through chapter 16, we read about the “Judges.” The stories tend to flow in a cycle:
• Israel does what is evil in the sight of the Lord
• They become oppressed by a foreign people
• They call out to the Lord
• The Lord raises up a leader
• The leader triumphs
• The land once again “had rest”…. until….
• Israel does what is evil in the sight of the Lord
As the stories progress we can see that with each cycle the people, as a whole, continue to move away from God and the covenant, until the ending of the book is filled with idolatry and intertribal war.
Also note the role of women. In the early chapters, women are strong leaders. As the stories progress and the people move further and further away from God, the role of women deteriorates. The central woman portrayed in the final story is a silent victim of extremely violent acts perpetrated by men.