Through The Bible 
7 Judges

March 11 - Judges 1 - 2

​The book of Judges shows the sad cycle of the Children of Israel.  They began following the Lord, they fell into sin and worshiped other false gods, they were ruled by other people, they repented and the Lord delivered them, and they followed the Lord.  This cycle was repeated over and over in the book of Judges.  The book opens on a positive note, as the Israelites sought direction from the Lord.  "Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?  And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand."  (Judges 1:1-2)  We read again of Caleb and Othniel.  "And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.  And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife."  (1:12-13)  Hebron was given to Caleb.  They took Jerusalem and also Bethel.  "And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them."  (1:22)  (Looking back - Abraham built an altar near Bethel, Genesis 12:8.  Bethel is where Jacob had the dream of the ladder with angels going up and down on it.  Genesis 28.  God sent Jacob back to Bethel in Genesis 31:13, "I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.")  The chapter tells of the land they conquered, but it also tells of the cities where they didn't drive out the inhabitants, and many Canaanites still dwelt in the land.  Chapter 2 begins with disobedience.

"1  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
3  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept."  (2:1-4)

​The chapter tells of the death of Joshua, and how the following generation did not know the Lord and served false gods.  We must teach our children about the Lord, so they can teach their children.

"7  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
8  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
9  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
11  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:"  (2:7-11)

​So the hand of the Lord was against them.  

"18  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
19  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
20  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
21  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
22  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not."  (2:18-22)

​March 12 - Judges 3 - 4

Life Lesson... Let us not forget our God!  In Chapter 3 of Judges we see that the Children of Israel married the strangers of the land and served their gods.  Othniel was the first judge to deliver Israel.

"7  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
8  Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.
9  And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
10  And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
11  And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died."  (Judges 3:7-11)

​In verses 12 through 14 the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and He allowed them to serve Eglon, king of Moab, 18 years.  Ehud was a left handed man and he took a present to the king of Moab.  Because he was left handed he hid the dagger on his right thigh and it was not discovered.  He told the king that he had a message for him and everyone was sent out of the room.  Ehud killed him with the dagger and went out through the porch, shut the doors, and escaped.  He blew a trumpet and called for Israel to follow him and they slew about 10,000 men of Moab.  They had rest for 80 years.  The third judge was Shamgar who slew 600 Philistines with an ox goad and he delivered Israel.    

​I will try to summarize Chapter 4.  The Israelites did evil after Ehud was dead and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan.  The captain of his host was Sisera.  The Israelites cried unto the Lord, for he had 900 chariots of iron and oppressed them for 20 years.  Deborah, a prophetess, judged Israel at that time.  She sent and called Barak and told him to take 10,000 men and the Lord would deliver Sisera and his multitude into his hand.  "And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh."  (4:8-9)  Sisera gathered his 900 chariots of iron and his people to war against Israel.

"14  And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15  And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
16  But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
17  Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18  And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
19  And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20  Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21  Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22  And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23  So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel."  (4:14-23)

​March 13 - Judges 5 - 6

Life Lesson... God can see our potential even when we can't.  Chapter 5 is the song of Deborah and Barak.  They begin with praise to the Lord.  Several verses tell how God fought for them. 

 "LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.  The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel."  (5:4-5)

"20  They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
21  The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
22  Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones."  (5:20-22)

The song describes how Jael killed Sisera.  And then Deborah sings as only as a mother would sing... 

"28  The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
29  Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
30  Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
31  So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years."  (5:28-31)

In Chapter 6 the Children of Israel did evil again and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Midianites 7 years.  The Israelites hid in dens and caves while the Midianites took their cattle and camels and let them destroy the land.  

"11  And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13  And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14  And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."  (6:11-15)

Wheat needs to be threshed in the open where the wind can carry away the chaff.  Gideon was hiding, as he had to thresh it down in the winepress.  In verse 12 the Lord called Gideon a "mighty man of valour."  Isn't it wonderful that God sees our potential, and not just what we are at the moment!  Then Gideon asked for a sign.  And I don't see any indication that the Lord got angry at him for asking for a sign.  The Lord answered Gideon's requests and gave him his sign, time and time again.  Gideon made the angel a meal.  The angel touched it with his staff and fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the meal.  Then the angel told Gideon to take his father's bullock and tear down the altar of Baal and the grove.  Then he was to build an altar to the Lord and offer the bullock to the Lord.  Gideon took 10 men of his servants and they tore down his father's altar and sacrificed the bullock during the night because he was afraid of the people.  Gideon was afraid of the Midianites.  He was afraid he would die because he had seen an angel.  He was afraid of the men of the city.  But he was not afraid of the false god Baal.

"30  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31  And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
32  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar."  (6:30-32)  

Then all the Midianites and Amalekites gathered against Israel.  "But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him."  (6:34)  He sent messengers unto Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali to help him in the battle.  Then God answered the sign of Gideon's fleece.

"36  And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37  Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38  And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39  And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40  And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground."  (6:36-40)

March 14 - Judges 7 - 8

​Life Lesson... God places in our hands what things we need to fight our battles.  In Chapter 7 Gideon prepared for the battle.  "And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.  Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand."  (7:2-3)  Then the Lord reduced his small army down to 300 men.  The Lord told Gideon to go down with Phurah his servant to the enemy camp and hear what they were saying.  

"12  And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
13  And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
14  And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
15  And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian."  (7:12-15)

Gideon divided his 300 men into 3 companies and gave each man a trumpet and a lamp inside an empty pitcher.  When the men put the pitchers over their torches, the light probably went down to a soft glow to give them enough light to find their way in the dark. 

"17  And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
18  When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
19  So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
20  And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
21  And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
22  And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host:"  (7:17-22)

The enemies fled and Gideon and his men chased after them.  He called for the men of Ephraim to help them and they slew the two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. 

"1  And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.
2  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3  God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that."  (8:1-3)

Gideon and his 300 men passed over Jordan and asked the men of Succoth for bread and they refused to give them any.  Then they asked the men of Penuel and they refused also.  When Gideon returned from the battle he went to the men who refused to give them bread.  "And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.  And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city."  (8:16-17)  Then the men of Israel wanted Gideon to rule over him.  "And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you."  (8:23)  Gideon asked them for the earrings and it was 1,700 shekels of gold and he made an ephod of it, which became a snare to him and to his house.  After Gideon died Israel turned again to serve Baalim and Baalberith and did not remember how the Lord delivered them and did not show kindness to the house of Gideon.

​March 15 - Judges 9 - 11

When we come to Chapter 9 of the book of Judges we see the bitterness of sin.  Gideon, also called Jerubbaal, had many wives and 70 sons.  He had a concubine in Shechem and another son was named Abimelech.  Abimelech talked to the men of Shechem and asked them if it was better for 70 men to rule over them, or him, and reminded them that he was family.  They gave him 70 pieces of silver and he "hired vain and light persons, which followed him."  (Judges 9:4)  He killed his brothers, all except Jotham, the youngest, who hid. Then the men of Shechem made Abimelech king in Shechem.  Jotham stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and compared them to trees asking a bramble to rule over them.  

"14  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
15  And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
16  Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
17  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
18  And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)
19  If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother."  (9:14-21)

The chapter continues with the battles Abimelech fought.  The people of Shechem went up into a tower and Abimelech and his men started a fire around the tower and killed about a thousand men and women.  Abimelech then tried to take Thebez and the people went into a tower.  

"52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died."  (9:52-54)

​Chapter 10 tells us that Tola judged Israel 23 years, and then Jair judged Israel 22 years.  Verse 10 is a good summary for the rest of the chapter.  "And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim."  (10:10)  Chapter 11 gives the story of Jepthah.  The people asked him to be their captain and fight with the children of Ammon.  

"29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands."  (11:29-32)

To his dismay, his only child, his daughter came to meet him with timbrels and dances. I don't know if Jephthah sacrificed his daughter or paid the estimation of his vow as in Leviticus 27.  I know that God did not allow Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.  (Genesis 22)  But we also see in Jeremiah 7:31 that the Israelites sacrificed their children to false gods even though God didn't want them to offer their children.  "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart."  (Jeremiah 7:31)  Whether she was sacrificed, or just had to remain unmarried and childless, either way it is a very sad end to a great victory.  

"36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year."  (11:36-40)

March 16 - Judges 12 - 14

Life Lesson... It is great to start right, but we also need to finish right!  In Chapter 12 the men of Ephraim were jealous of the victory of Jephthah, as they had been against Gideon (Judges 8:1).  They fought against the men of Gilead and 42,000 Ephraimites went down.  The next judges were, Ibzan who judged 7 years, Elon who judged 10 years, and Abdon who judged Israel 8 years.  Chapter 13 begins with the Philistines over them and the story of Samson.  (Once I wrote a devotional about "The Story Of Two Sams."  Samson and Samuel were both born to mothers who had been barren.  They were both set apart and began their lives right in serving the Lord.  They were both born during the time of Judges and may have known each other.  But their ends were quite different.)  The angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, who was barren, and she relayed his message to her husband.  "Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:  For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."  (Judges 13:4-5)  These were the three parts of the Nazarite vow from Numbers 6:2-8.  Manoah asked God to let the man of God come again and teach them how to bring up the child.  When the angel of the Lord returned they wanted to prepare a meat offering for him.  "So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.  For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground."  (13:19-20)  "And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.  And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol."  (13:24-25)

Chapter 14 begins with Samson wanting a wife in Timnath of the Philistines.  "Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel."  (14:3-4)  Samson and his father and mother went to the vineyards of Timnath.  The vow was that he couldn't drink any wine or vinegar of wine or eat any grapes, moist or dried.  He may have broken this part of the vow since he went to the vineyards.  A young lion roared against him. "And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done."  (14:6)  On the way back bees had made honey in the carcase of the lion and he ate it and took some to his father and mother.  I think this broke the part of the vow about not eating any unclean thing.  They made a wedding feast and Samson asked 30 companions to answer his riddle.  

"12  And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
13  But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
14  And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle."  (14:12-14)

They did not know the answer to the riddle and told his wife that they would burn her and her father's house with fire if she did not get the answer for them.  So she cried and told him that he hated her because he didn't tell her the answer to the riddle.  She wept to him seven days and he finally told her the answer.  

"18  And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
19  And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.
20  But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend."  (14:18-20)

March 17 - Judges 15 - 16

​After a while Samson went back to see his wife and her father told him that she had been given to someone else.  Samson caught 300 foxes and tied them tail to tail and put a firebrand between each pair and set them loose in the fields of the Philistines' crops.  So the Philistines burned her and her father with fire.  "And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.  And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam."  (Judges 15:7-8)  The Philistines went to go up against Judah and 3,000 men went to Samson and bound him with two new cords to take him to the Philistines.

"14  And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15  And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16  And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men."  (15:14-16)

Samson was thirsty and the Lord made a hollow in the jawbone and water came out for him to drink.  Chapter 16 begins with Samson going to Gaza and he went in with a harlot and the Gazites waited that night and said they would kill him the next morning.  But, Samson went out at midnight and took the doors of the gate and the two posts and carried them on his shoulders up to the top of a hill.  After that Samson loved a woman named Delilah.  The lords of the Philistines told her to find out the source of his great strength and each of them would give her 1,100 pieces of silver.  She asked Samson and he told her that if they would bind him with seven green withs that were never dried he would be weak as another man.  So the Philistines brought them to her and she bound him with them.  "Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known."  (16:9)  Delilah asked him again and he told her that if he was bound with new ropes that had never been used he would be weak as another man.  So, she bound him with the ropes and said, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson" and he broke the ropes from off his arms like a thread.  The next time he told Delilah that if they wove the seven locks of his hair, so she did while he was asleep, but when she told him that the Philistines were there he got up and walked away.

"16  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17  That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18  And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."  (16:16-20)

​I think the saddest verse in the life of Samson is the last part of verse 20.  "And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."  This reminds me of the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. There are churches, and pastors, and people today who started out serving the Lord and now  they "wist not" that the Lord has departed from them.
To the church of Ephesus he wrote... "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."  (Revelation 2:4-5)  
And to Sardis... "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God."  (Revelation 3:1-2)  
​And to Laodicea...
"15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."  (Revelation 3:15-19)

​The Philistines took Samson and put out his eyes and bound him with fetters of brass and made him grind in the prison house.  But, Samson knew that his hair was growing back.  The Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their false god, Dagon, for delivering Samson to them.  

"26  And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
31  Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years."  (16:26-31)

​March 18 - Judges 17 - 21

​Chapter 17 gives us the story of Micah.  "And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son."  (Judges 17:2)  I suppose she was happy to get the silver back, even though her son was the one who took it.  She took 200 shekels of silver and had a graven image and a molten image made.  Micah had a house of gods and made an ephod and teraphim and consecrated one of his sons to be his priest.  Now, we come to the verse that sums up the entire book of Judges.  "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."  (17:6)  (This verse is repeated as the last verse of the book.  (21:25)  The date above this chapter in my Bible shows it to correspond to the date above chapter 3 where Othniel was the first judge.  If the dates are correct, we can say that this historical book began this way and ended this way)  When a Levite journeyed his way Micah told him that he would pay him to be his priest.  "Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest."  (17:13)  Oh, how confused and wrong he was!  In the next chapter the children of Dan were searching the land for their inheritance and they came to the house of Micah.  They took Micah's images and told the Levite that he could be the priest for their tribe and not just a priest for one man, so he went with them.  They took the city of Laish and burnt it with fire and built a city and called it Dan.  The last three chapters are horrifying and I will give a short summary of them.  Chapter 19.  A certain Levite took a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah, but she went back to her father's house and was there four months.  He went to get his wife and stayed there three days.  Each time he started to leave his father in law fed him and talked him into staying another night.  On the fifth day he stayed late into the evening, but decided to leave anyway.  The sun went down and they turned in to lodge at Gibeah, but the people were Benjamites.  An old man was going home from his work in the field, and he told them to stay the night with him, and not lodge in the street. Some men of the city beat at the door for the man to come out and instead they sent out the concubine and they abused her all night.  At the dawning of the day they let her go and she fell at the door of the man's house and died.  He put her on his donkey and took her home and cut up her body into twelve pieces and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.  In Chapter 20 the Children of Israel gathered against Gibeah of Benjamin.  They went to Gibeah and told them to deliver the children of Belial so they could put away evil from Israel, but they would not.  The tribe of Benjamin gathered together to Gibeah with 26,700 men against the men of Israel with 400,000 men of war.  Israel asked counsel of the Lord.  In the first battle the men of Gibeah destroyed 22,000 men of Israel.  Again they asked the Lord, and on the second day they destroyed 18,000 men.  They asked the Lord again and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings and the Lord told them to go up against Benjamin again and this time they would win the battle.  "So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.  But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months."  (20:46-47)  In Chapter 21 the men of Israel wept before God that a tribe of Israel had been destroyed and they had sworn not to give their daughters to them for wives.  Jabeshgilead had not helped them in battle so they went and killed the people of the city, but took 400 young women who had not been with men and gave them to the Benjamites but there were not enough.  They told the remaining men that there was a feast in Shiloh and they could go and catch a wife when the women came out to dance.  We have come to the end of this sad, sad book.

"23  And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
24  And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes."  (21:23-25)