Judges

Topic in Providential Figures. By Charles Kamins.

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The Ancient Israelite Judges were leaders of the 12 tribes, descendants of Jacob, who had grown into a small nation during the 400 year period of captivity in Egypt. The Judges were the natural leaders during the period of settlement in Canaan after the Exodus from Egypt. As such, they were the founding fathers of the first nation of Israel. Consequently their leadership was essential in order for people to build an ideal nation centered on God's principles. The Judges were later made out to be divinely inspired leaders whose rectitude was a model of wise and faithful behavior. The Book of Judges contains what came to be known as their official history. The era of the Judges began after the death of Joshua and lasted to the time of Samuel the last of the Judges. The era of the Judges ended when the Israelites lost faith in God and demanded a king over them like the Canaanite nations around them.

The people lose faith in God

In 1 Samuel 8, God laments that the people had lost faith in Him even though He brought them out of Egypt and saved and preserved them over and over. In the land of Canaan, God alone wanted to be King over the people. God regretted that the people rejected Him for this position.

This episode of providential history holds several important lessons for God's faithful today.

1 Samuel 8 New International Version (NIV)

Israel Asks for a King

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead[b] us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”

Origins

The first judges were elders of the 12 tribes of Israel before the Exodus. During the wilderness period the people were organized by tribe. The earliest leaders would have been heads of households and large families. As families expanded, clans emerged sometimes cooperating sometimes fighting with one another. Before Moses, the Israelites identity as a separate race was imposed on them by the Egyptians in whose land they sojourned. Tradition holds they were an oppressed minority with less rights than native Egyptians. Tradition also holds that Jethro, Moses father-in-law encouraged Moses to delegate authority to the judges so that they could move as one when the time was right.

Exodus 18:13-26 (NIV)

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

Foreigners in Egypt

The people of the Exodus formed as a clan under the yoke of Egyptian culture. They were foreigners, strangers in a strange land, oppressed and mistreated by the Egyptians the descendants of Abraham bonded together as a lose confederation of families and clans. It was the Exodus that formed the beginnings of their identity as Israelites, descendants of Jacob who battled an angel and won the name Israel.

Israel

Israel is the name given to Jacob after his encounter with an angel (Gabriel) at the Ford of Jabbok (Genesis 32:28). The name is interpreted in a number of ways "he who has prevailed with God," for example although the name was given in recognition of Jacob overcoming the angel. Why did Gabriel attack Jacob? The reasons are well hidden for millenium however it can be understood that since the time of Adam, angels dominated the human race and feared Jacob would be the first to raise himself above them. By losing the fight at Jabbok, the angel was forced to acknowledge Jacob and gave him the name Israel that means victor over the angels. It is important to note that Jacob did not found a religion but rather, founded a family.

The Period of the Judges

The biblical period of judges follows the story of Israel's exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua as told in the book of Joshua. However most scholars agree that the book holds little historical value as none of the stories are supported by the archaeological record. A revised view of Israelite origins suggest that the Israelites entered Canaan peacefully rather than through conquest or were partly made up of indigenous Canaanites. Modern studies indicate that the Israelites emerged as a people of the central hill country of Canaan around 1200 BCE. They were organized in clans governed in most cases by elders and military leaders a role that came to be known as Judges.

The Judges influence usually extended only to his tribe or clan and possibly a neighboring tribe. Whereas most judges were military leaders, they sometimes were called upon to decide disputes. Some were priests or prophets. Scholarly opinion dates the period to roughly 1200-1050BCE beginning with Joshua and ending with Samuel the last of the great judges. Samuel is credited with uniting the tribes of Israel into a national federation by choosing a king. Although the Book of Judges names 12 judges, only five are dealt with in detail-the so called "Great Judges." The Book also contains an appendix dealing with inter-tribal relations and includes an early mention of Yahweh worship which early Hebrew prophets insisted Israelites must worship alone above all Canaanite gods. Yahweh centered monotheism was to become one of the defining characteristics of Jewish religion.

In the oldest biblical literature (12th–11th centuries BC), Yahweh is a typical ancient Near Eastern "divine warrior" who leads the heavenly army against Israel's enemies; he and Israel are bound by a covenant under which Yahweh will protect Israel and, in turn, Israel will not worship other gods.In the oldest biblical literature (12th–11th centuries BC), Yahweh is a typical ancient Near Eastern "divine warrior" who leads the heavenly army against Israel's enemies; he and Israel are bound by a covenant under which Yahweh will protect Israel and, in turn, Israel will not worship other gods.

Seven Evil Tribes

Before the Israelites could enter Canaan, there stood seven evil tribes who occupied the land. According to bible history, all the peoples of the world were descended from Noah and while the Flood Judgement was meant to separate humanity from sin, evil had crept back in. The seven tribes of the land were the descendants of Noah's grandson Canaan who himself was the son of Ham, the second son whom Noah cursed after the flood.

When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,

“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves

will he be to his brothers.” (Genesis 9:24-25)

The descendants of Noah’s grandson Canaan took possession of this land. Canaan himself had 11 sons and each bore a tribe. Six of them dwelt in Syria and Phoenicia, and the remaining five in Canaan. The Lord mentioned seven nations by name who inhabited the land of Canaan in the time of Abraham unto the time of Joshua:

The Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Jebusites, Hivites, Perizzites, and Girgashites.