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The Story of the Judges of Israel – The Deliverers of God_s People _ Bible Stories · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to our channel. Today, we are diving into one
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  Speaker 1: of the most turbulent and fascinating periods in Israel's history,
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  Speaker 1: the era of the Judges. After the conquest of Canaan
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  Speaker 1: under Joshua's leadership, Israel faced a leadership vacuum and an
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  Speaker 1: unprecedented spiritual challenge. For approximately three hundred and fifty years.
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  Speaker 1: Between Joshua's death and the crowning of King Saul, God
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  Speaker 1: raised extraordinary leaders known as judges, to deliver his people
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  Speaker 1: from foreign oppression. These men and women weren't judges in
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  Speaker 1: the modern legal sense, but rather military deliverers, spiritual leaders,
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  Speaker 1: and provisional rulers chosen directly by God. Their stories are
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  Speaker 1: filled with courage, unshakable faith, and often deep human flaws.
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  Speaker 1: In them, we witness the recurring cycle of apostacy, oppression, repentance,
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  Speaker 1: and deliverance, a pattern that reflects the very nature of
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  Speaker 1: God's relationship with his people even to this day. Join
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  Speaker 1: us on this journey through the stories of Othniel, Deborah, Gideon, Samson,
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  Speaker 1: and many others, who, in times when everyone did what
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  Speaker 1: was right in their own eyes, stood as beacons of
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  Speaker 1: divine faithfulness and instruments of God's mercy to his chosen people.
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  Speaker 1: After years of conquering the Promised Land, Joshua, Israel's great
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  Speaker 1: leader and successor to Moses, had grown old and weary.
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  Speaker 1: He gathered all the people at Shechem for his final address.
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  Speaker 1: With a voice firm yet weakened by age. He reminded
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  Speaker 1: the Israelites of everything God had done for them and
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  Speaker 1: challenge them to remain faithful. In Joshua twenty four fourteen
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  Speaker 1: till fifteen we find his words. Fear the Lord and
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  Speaker 1: serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
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  Speaker 1: ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and
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  Speaker 1: serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable
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  Speaker 1: to you, then chew for yourselves this day whom you
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  Speaker 1: will serve. But as for me and my household, we
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  Speaker 1: will serve the Lord. The people responded enthusiastically, promising to
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  Speaker 1: serve the Lord alone. That day, Joshua made a covenant
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  Speaker 1: with them and established laws and ordinances. Shortly after, as
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  Speaker 1: recorded in Joshua twenty four twenty nine, Joshua, son of Nune,
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  Speaker 1: the servant of the Lord, died at the age of
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and ten. They buried him in the land
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  Speaker 1: of his inheritance, at Timnath Sarah, in the hill country
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  Speaker 1: of Ephraim. With Joshua's death, Israel lost a great leader.
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  Speaker 1: There was no one to take his place, no one
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  Speaker 1: with the same authority and universal respect. It was as
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  Speaker 1: if a light had gone out, leaving Israel in darkness
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  Speaker 1: without clear direction. While Joshua's generation was still alive, the
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  Speaker 1: people remained faithful. Joshua twenty four thirty one tells us
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  Speaker 1: Israel's served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua, and
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  Speaker 1: of the elders who outlived him, and who had seen
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  Speaker 1: all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
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  Speaker 1: These elders had witnessed God's wonders. They had crossed the
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  Speaker 1: Jordan River on dry ground and seen the walls of
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  Speaker 1: Jericho fall. How could they forget such miracles? But time passed,
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  Speaker 1: a new generation grew up, and Judges two ten describes
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  Speaker 1: them as a generation who neither knew the Lord nor
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  Speaker 1: what he had done for Israel. They had not seen
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  Speaker 1: the Red Sea part, they hadn't eaten manner in the wilderness.
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  Speaker 1: They didn't witness the Jordan's waters stop flowing to them.
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  Speaker 1: Those were just old stories, tales told around the fire.
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  Speaker 1: While Joshua was alive, he had instructed the tribes to
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  Speaker 1: drive the Canaanites out completely. In Joshua one five, God
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  Speaker 1: had promised, no one will be able to stand against you.
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  Speaker 1: I will give you every place where you set your foot.
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  Speaker 1: But after his death, the tribes began to relax. The
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  Speaker 1: Book of Judges tells how they failed in their mission.
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  Speaker 1: Judges one twenty one records the Benjamins, however, did not
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  Speaker 1: drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem and
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  Speaker 1: in Judges one twenty seven, but Manasse did not drive
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  Speaker 1: out the people of beth Shahan or Tanach or Daw
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  Speaker 1: or Iblium or Megido and their surrounding settlements, for the
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  Speaker 1: Canaanites were determined to live in that land. Judges one
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  Speaker 1: twenty eight ads. When Israel became strong, they pressed the
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  Speaker 1: Canaanites into forced labor, but never drove them out completely.
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  Speaker 1: It seemed like a practical solution. Why fight if you
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  Speaker 1: could coexist, Why expel the Canaanites when you could benefit
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  Speaker 1: from their labor. But it was a critical mistake, like
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  Speaker 1: slow acting poison. Beginning to spread through Israel's body. A
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  Speaker 1: messenger of the Law brought a severe warning, recorded in
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  Speaker 1: Judges two one to three. I brought you up out
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  Speaker 1: of Egypt and led you into the land I swore
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  Speaker 1: to give to your ancestors. I said, I will never
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  Speaker 1: break my covenant with you, and you shall not make
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  Speaker 1: a covenant with the people of this land, but you
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  Speaker 1: shall break down their altars. Yet you have disobeyed me.
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  Speaker 1: Why have you done this? Now? Therefore, I tell you
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  Speaker 1: that I will not drive them out before you. They
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  Speaker 1: will become traps for you, and their gods will become
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  Speaker 1: snares to you. And that's exactly what happened. Living among
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  Speaker 1: the Canaanites, the Israelites began to adopt their customs and
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  Speaker 1: worse their gods. Judges two eleven and thirteen recounts, Then
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  Speaker 1: the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord
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  Speaker 1: and served the Bales. They forsook the Lord, the god
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  Speaker 1: of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.
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  Speaker 1: They aroused the Lord's anger because they forsook him and
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  Speaker 1: served Baal and the ashtreths Bahal was worshiped as the
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  Speaker 1: god of storms and fertility, an attractive deity to an
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  Speaker 1: agricultural people. Ashtareth or Asherah was the fertility goddess, often
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  Speaker 1: symbolized by carved poles or trees. Worship of these gods
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  Speaker 1: involved ritual prostitution and other practices. The God of Israel
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  Speaker 1: considered abominable. Thus began a cycle that would repeat itself
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  Speaker 1: many times during the era of the Judges. The first
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  Speaker 1: step sin Israel abandoned the Lord and turned to idols.
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  Speaker 1: In response, God handed them over to foreign oppressors. Judges
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  Speaker 1: two fourteen says, in his anger against Israel, the Lord
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  Speaker 1: gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them.
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  Speaker 1: He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they
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  Speaker 1: were no longer able to resist. These oppressors stole their crops,
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  Speaker 1: attacked their towns, and often imposed heavy tributes. Under the
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  Speaker 1: weight of oppression, the people finally remembered God and cried
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  Speaker 1: out for help. Repentance was the third step in the cycle.
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  Speaker 1: In Judges two eighteen, we read whenever the Lord raised
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  Speaker 1: up a judge for them, he was with the judge
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  Speaker 1: and saved them out of the hands of their enemies
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  Speaker 1: as long as the judge lived, for the Lord relented
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  Speaker 1: because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
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  Speaker 1: In his mercy, God responded by raising up a judge,
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  Speaker 1: a deliverer who rescued the people from the hands of
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  Speaker 1: their oppressors. These judges were not like modern day judges
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  Speaker 1: who merely interpret and apply the law. They were military
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  Speaker 1: and civic leaders who ruled with God's authority. After deliverance,
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  Speaker 1: there was a time of peace while the judge lived.
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  Speaker 1: Judges two nineteen tells us what happened next. But when
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  Speaker 1: the judge died, the people turned to ways even more
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  Speaker 1: corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and
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  Speaker 1: serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their
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  Speaker 1: evil practices and stubborn ways, and so the cycle would
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  Speaker 1: begin again, a downward spiral of unfaithfulness and consequences. The
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  Speaker 1: first of these judges was Othniel, the nephew of Caleb.
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  Speaker 1: Caleb was one of the only two adults who left
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  Speaker 1: Egypt and were allowed to enter the Promised Land because
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  Speaker 1: of their faith. Even at age eighty five, Caleb asked
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  Speaker 1: Joshua for the hill country of Hebron as his inheritance,
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  Speaker 1: saying in Joshua fourteen eleven, I am still as strong
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  Speaker 1: today as the day Moses sent me out. I'm just
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  Speaker 1: as vigorous to go out to battle now as I
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  Speaker 1: was then. That same warrior spirit was passed on to
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  Speaker 1: his nephew Othniel. When Israel fell into idolatry, Judges three
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  Speaker 1: eight says the anger of the law Lord burned against Israel,
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  Speaker 1: so that he sold them into the hands of Kushan Rishathaim,
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  Speaker 1: king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject
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  Speaker 1: for eight years. Kushan Rishathaim means Kushan of double wickedness,
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  Speaker 1: hinting at his cruelty. He ruled Mesopotamia, the region between
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  Speaker 1: the Tigris and Euphrates rivers modern day Iraq, for eight
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  Speaker 1: long years. The Israelites suffered under his yoke, paying heavy
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  Speaker 1: tribute and living in fear. Eventually weary from their suffering,
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  Speaker 1: Judges three nine tells us, but when they cried out
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  Speaker 1: to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel,
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  Speaker 1: son of khanaz Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. Othnil
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  Speaker 1: had already proven his courage. Years earlier, when Caleb offered
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  Speaker 1: his daughter Axa in marriage to whoever would capture Kiriath Sifa.
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  Speaker 1: It was Othnil who rose to the challenge and succeeded,
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  Speaker 1: as recorded in Judges one twelve. To now he would
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  Speaker 1: face an even greater challenge. Judges three ten tells us
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  Speaker 1: the spirit of the Lord came on him so that
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  Speaker 1: he became Israel's judge and went to war. The Lord
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  Speaker 1: gave Kushan Rishatim, king of Aram, into the hands of Othniel,
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  Speaker 1: who overpowered him. The Bible doesn't go into detail about
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  Speaker 1: the battle, but it makes it clear that victory came
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  Speaker 1: because the spirit of the Lord was with Othniel. After
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  Speaker 1: Kushan Rischetem was defeated, Judges three eleven records so the
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  Speaker 1: land had peace for forty years until Othnil's son of
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  Speaker 1: Kennas died. For four decades, Israel lived in peace and
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  Speaker 1: prosperity under Othnil's leadership, free from foreign attacks. But as
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  Speaker 1: soon as Othnil died, the Israelites quickly forgot the lessons
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  Speaker 1: they had learned and returned to worshiping Canaanite gods. Judges
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  Speaker 1: three twelve says again, the Israelites did evil in the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil,
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  Speaker 1: the Lord gave Eglon, King of Moab, power over Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Eglon didn't act alone. Judges three thirteen explains, getting the
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  Speaker 1: Ammonites and Amalekites to join him. Eglon came and attacked Israel,
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  Speaker 1: and they took possession of the City of Palms. The
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  Speaker 1: City of Palms refers to Jericho, an important strategic location.
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  Speaker 1: For eighteen years, the Israelites lived under Eglon's rule, paying
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  Speaker 1: heavy tribute. The situation seemed hopeless until God raised up
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  Speaker 1: a new deliverer, Ehud, the son of Ghera from the
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  Speaker 1: tribe of Benjamin. Ehud had an unusual trait. Judges three
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  Speaker 1: point fifteen tells us he was left handed. At the time,
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  Speaker 1: being left handed was considered a handicap, since the right
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  Speaker 1: hand was seen as the hand of strength and skill.
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  Speaker 1: But God often uses people with apparent weaknesses to acomplish
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  Speaker 1: great things. Israelites sent Ehud to deliver the tribute to Eglon,
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  Speaker 1: King of Moab. Before he went, Ehud prepared a daring plan.
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  Speaker 1: Judges three sixteen says, now Ehoud had made a double
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  Speaker 1: edged sword about a cubit eighteen inches long, which he
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  Speaker 1: strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. It was
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  Speaker 1: a clever move since Ehud was left handed, he could
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  Speaker 1: draw the sword with his left hand, and since the
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  Speaker 1: weapon was hidden on his right thigh, the guards wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: notice it. Guards were used to checking the left side
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  Speaker 1: were right handed people typically carried weapons. When Ehud arrived,
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  Speaker 1: he presented the tribute to Eglon. Judges three seventeen describes
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  Speaker 1: the king as a very fat man. After handing over
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  Speaker 1: the tribute, Ehud dismissed the men who had accompanied him,
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  Speaker 1: but returned alone. Ehud said to the king, I have
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  Speaker 1: a secret message for you. Ok. Curious, Eglon ordered every
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  Speaker 1: one out of the room, remaining alone with Ehood. Judges
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  Speaker 1: three twenty says Ehood then approached him while he was
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  Speaker 1: sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said,
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  Speaker 1: I have a message from God for you. As Eglon
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  Speaker 1: stood up, Ehud drew the sword with his left hand
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  Speaker 1: and plunged it into the King's belly. Judges three twenty
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  Speaker 1: two includes a vivid detail even the handle sank in
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  Speaker 1: after the blade and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not
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  Speaker 1: pull the sword out and the fat closed in over it.
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  Speaker 1: Ehud then escaped through the porch, closing and locking the
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  Speaker 1: doors behind him. When the servants returned and found the
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  Speaker 1: doors locked, they assumed the king was relieving himself. As
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  Speaker 1: Judges three twenty five recounts, they waited to the point
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  Speaker 1: of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors
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  Speaker 1: of the room, they took a key and unlocked them.
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  Speaker 1: There they saw their lord fall into the floor dead,
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  Speaker 1: while the servants hesitated. Ihoud fled, passing through the area
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  Speaker 1: of Stone Idols and arriving in Syrah. There he sounded
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  Speaker 1: the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim and gathered
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  Speaker 1: an army of Israelites. Ihud told the people, as recorded
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  Speaker 1: in Judges three twenty eight, follow me, for the Lord
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  Speaker 1: has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands. The Israelites
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  Speaker 1: followed him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab,
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  Speaker 1: and did not allow anyone to cross. At that time,
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  Speaker 1: they killed about ten thousand Moabites, all strong and able
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  Speaker 1: bodied men. Not one escaped. Judges three thirty concludes that
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  Speaker 1: day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land
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  Speaker 1: had peace for eighty years under Ishoud's leadership, Israel enjoyed
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  Speaker 1: eighty years of peace, the longest recorded period of tranquility
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  Speaker 1: during the era of the Judges. After a hood, a
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  Speaker 1: judge arose about whom we have very little information, Shamgar,
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  Speaker 1: son of Anath. His entire story is told in a
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  Speaker 1: single verse, Judges three thirty one. After Ahud came Shamgar,
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  Speaker 1: son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with
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  Speaker 1: an ox gode. He too saved Israel. Though brief, this
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  Speaker 1: account reveals much about Shamgar. He faced the Philistines, one
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  Speaker 1: of Israel's most powerful and persistent enemies. The Philistines were
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  Speaker 1: a warlike people, equipped with iron weapons, advanced military organization,
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  Speaker 1: and fortified cities. And what weapon did Shamgar use? An
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  Speaker 1: ox code, a long pointed farming tool used to drive
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  Speaker 1: cattle during plowing. It wasn't a sword, nor a spear,
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  Speaker 1: nor a bow, just a simple everyday tool in the
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  Speaker 1: hands of a man called by God. With this humble tool,
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  Speaker 1: Shamgar killed six hundred Philistine means this demonstrates not only
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  Speaker 1: his courage and extraordinary strength, but also how God can
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  Speaker 1: use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. When it is
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  Speaker 1: placed in his hands. The brevity of Shamgar's record suggests
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  Speaker 1: that his time as judge may have been short or
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  Speaker 1: perhaps geographically limited, impacting only the regions suffering from Philistine attacks. Still,
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  Speaker 1: the Bible honors him by declaring that he also saved Israel,
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  Speaker 1: placing him on par with the other judges God raised
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  Speaker 1: to deliver his people. Even in just a few words,
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  Speaker 1: Shamgar's story leaves us with a powerful lesson. God doesn't
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  Speaker 1: need large armies or sophisticated weapons to deliver his people.
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  Speaker 1: He can use anyone with whatever tool is available to
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  Speaker 1: fulfill his will and bring salvation. After Ehoud's death, the
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  Speaker 1: Israelites once again did what was evil in the eyes
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  Speaker 1: of the life Lord. Without a leader to guide them,
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  Speaker 1: they forgot the one who had delivered them so many
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  Speaker 1: times and returned to idols. Like a father who disciplines
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  Speaker 1: those he loves, God allowed them to suffer the consequences
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  Speaker 1: of their choices this time. Judges for too, tells us
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  Speaker 1: the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, King
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  Speaker 1: of Canaan, who reigned in Hazer. The commander of his
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  Speaker 1: army was Cicera, who lived in Hirosheth Hagoyum Hazer was
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  Speaker 1: a powerful city, and Jabin ruled with an iron fist.
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  Speaker 1: His commander Caesara, had a crushing military advantage. The Canaanites
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  Speaker 1: had nine hundred iron chariots, terrifying war machines for that era.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine the fear they inspired as they advanced in formation
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  Speaker 1: with giant wheels and armed warriors, ready to crush any resistance.
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  Speaker 1: For twenty long years, the Israelites lived under oppression, enduring extortion,
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  Speaker 1: watching their harvest plundered, and seeing their young taken to
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  Speaker 1: serve the oppressive king. The roads became deserted as travel
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  Speaker 1: had become dangerous, caravans stopped moving. In the midst of
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  Speaker 1: this darkness, a light began to shine, and that light
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  Speaker 1: came in the form of a woman. Verse four introduces
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  Speaker 1: this extraordinary leader. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth,
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  Speaker 1: was leading Israel at that time in a time and
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  Speaker 1: place where women rarely held positions of authority. God chose
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  Speaker 1: Deborah to be a judge over Israel. She was unique
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  Speaker 1: in every way. Deborah was a prophetess, some one who
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  Speaker 1: spoke God's word to the people, and the people trusted
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  Speaker 1: her wisdom. As verse five tells us, she held court
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  Speaker 1: under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in
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  Speaker 1: the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up
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  Speaker 1: to her to have their disputes decided. Picture the scene,
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  Speaker 1: a solitary palm tree on a hill, and under its
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  Speaker 1: shade a woman carrying the hope of a nation from
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  Speaker 1: all directions. People traveled to seek her council, to have
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  Speaker 1: disputes settled and to hear God's word applied to complex situations.
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  Speaker 1: While men hid from Jabin, Deborah remained visible, courageous, a
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  Speaker 1: living reminder that God had not abandoned his people. One day,
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  Speaker 1: God spoke to Deborah, giving her a plan to deliver Israel.
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  Speaker 1: She sent for Barak, son of Abinoam, who lived in
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  Speaker 1: Kadesh in Naftali in the north. When he arrived, Deborah
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  Speaker 1: delivered the divine command recorded in verses six and seven.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you go take
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  Speaker 1: with you ten thousand men of Naftali and Zebulun and
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  Speaker 1: lead them up to Mount Tabor. I will lead Sisera,
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  Speaker 1: the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and troops
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  Speaker 1: to the Kishan River and give him into your hands.
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  Speaker 1: This was a bold command. Barak was being called to
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  Speaker 1: face the most feared commander in the region, someone with
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  Speaker 1: overwhelming military superiority, and what's more, he was being called
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  Speaker 1: by a woman, something quite uncommon in that culture. Barak's
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  Speaker 1: response reveals his hesitation. In verse eight, Barak says to Deborah,
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  Speaker 1: if you go with me, I will go. But if
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  Speaker 1: you don't go with me, I won't go. Some see
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  Speaker 1: this as cowardice, others as prudence. Perhaps Barak was simply
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  Speaker 1: acknowledging that he needed the presence of God that Deborah represented.
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  Speaker 1: We don't know for sure, but we do know that
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  Speaker 1: Deborah accepted the challenge. Certainly, I will go with you,
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  Speaker 1: Deborah said in verse nine. But because of the course
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  Speaker 1: you are taking, the honor will not be yours. For
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  Speaker 1: the Lord will deliver cicera into the hands of a woman.
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  Speaker 1: This was a prophecy that would be fulfilled in a
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  Speaker 1: surprising way, but not in the word the way Barakh
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  Speaker 1: might have imagined. With Deborah at his side, Barak found
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  Speaker 1: courage and summoned the tribes of Zebulun and Naftali, ten
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  Speaker 1: thousand men climbed with him to Mount Tabor, just as instructed.
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  Speaker 1: It was a strategic position. From the top of the mountain,
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  Speaker 1: they could see the enemy approaching and plan their attack.
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  Speaker 1: When Cicera learned that Barak had gone up Mount Tabor
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: with an army, he gathered all his nine hundred iron
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: chariots and all his troops and marched to the Kishan River.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: The chariots were his greatest advantage, deadly on flat terrain,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: where they could maneuver freely. At the decisive moment, Deborah
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: said to Barak, as recorded in verse fourteen, go this
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: is the day the Lord has given Cisa into your hands.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Has not the Lord gone ahead of you? Trusting in
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: Debrah's words, Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by the
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: ten thousand men. What followed was one of the clearest
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: examples of divine intervention in a battle. Judges five twenty one.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Part of the song Deborah would later compose to celebrate
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: the victory gives us a clue. The River Kishon swept
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: them away, the age Old River, the River Kishon, it
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: seems a sudden rainstorm turned the Kishon into a raging torrent,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: and the surrounding land into a muddy swamp. The dreaded
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: iron chariots, the pride of Cesa's army, became useless. Their
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: wheels got stuck in the mud, making them impossible to maneuver.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: The technological advantage of the Canaanites became their own trap.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Judges four fifteen says the lord routed Sisera and all
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: his chariots and army by the sword, and Cicera got
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: down from his chariot and fled on foot. The defeat
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: was so complete that Cisera abandoned his chariot and ran
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: for his life, while Barak pursued the chariots and the
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: army all the way to Husheth Hagoyam, destroying everything. Sisara
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: ran for his life. He came to the tent of Jail,
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: the wife of Heber, the Kenite. The Kenites were allies
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of the Canaanites, so Cisora thought he'd be safe there.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Jail came out to meet him and said, come, my lord,
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: come right in, don't be afraid. Exhausted and desperate, Cissera entered.
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: Jael covered him with a blanket, and when he asked
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: for water, she gave him thick milk in a fine bowl,
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: a luxury in those days. The warm, rich milk helped
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: him relax. Stand in the doorway of the tent, Cisara
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: told Gile, if someone comes by and asks if anyone
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: is here, say no. Soon, overcome by exhaustion and the
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: comfort of the milk, Sisera fell into a deep sleep.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: That's when Jail Haber's wife did something extraordinary. Verse twenty
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: one describes it. But jael Heber's wife picked up a
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: tent peg and hammer and went quietly to him while
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: he lay fast asleep. Exhausted, she drove the peg through
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: his temple into the ground, and he died. When Barak
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: arrived still Jason Cisera, Jail came out to meet him
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: and said, come, I'll show you the man you're looking for.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: He went in with her and saw Cisera lying dead
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: the tent peg through his temple. Deborah's prophecy was fulfilled.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: The honor did not go to Barak, but to a woman.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: In fact, two women were the heroines of this story, Deborah,
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: the spiritual leader who inspired the uprising, and Jail, who
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: ended Cisera's reign of terror with a boldness that made history.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: After the battle Deborah and Barak composed a song, one
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: of the oldest poems in the Bible, to celebrate the victory.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: In Judges five. The song recounts how the tribes either
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: gathered or failed to gather for battle, praises the curry
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: of those who fought, and gives thanks to God for
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: the triumph. In the song, Deborah describes herself as a
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: mother in Israel, someone who not only leads, but also
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: loves and cares for her people. The final words of
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: the song express a desire shared by all. So may
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: all your enemies perish, Lord, but may all who love
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: The victory of Deborah and Barrack brought peace to Israel
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: for forty years. During that time, the people lived without fear,
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: harvesting their crops, raising their children in safety, and worshiping
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: God in gratitude for their deliverance. But the cycle continued.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: After forty years of peace, the Israelites once again did
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and God,
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: faithful to the pattern he had established, allowed them to
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: be oppressed. This time, the oppressors came from the Eastjudges
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: six one two says again, the Israelites did evil in
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: power of midian was so oppressive, the Israelites made shelters
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: for themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. The Midianites
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: were desert nomads who used camels in their raids, a
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: military innovation that gave them great mobility. They came like
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: locusts in swarms too numerous to count. Along with the
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Amalekites and other Eastern peoples, they invaded Israel during harvest time,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: set up camp, and destroyed the crops, leaving nothing for
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: the Israelites to eat, not even sheep, oxen, or donkeys.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Verse six describes the people's desperation. Midians so impoverished the
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: That was the beginning of repentance, the first step toward redemption. God,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: in his mercy, always responds to sincere cries for help.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: God's answer came through a prophet, who reminded the people
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: how he had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: given them the land. The prophet rebuked them for disobeying,
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: for worshiping the gods of the Amorites. It was a
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: hard message, but a necessary one. The problem wasn't the Midianites,
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: it was Israel's unfaithfulness. That's when the Angel of the
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Lord appeared to Gideon while he was threshing wheat in
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: a wine press. Normally, wheat was threshed in an open,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: elevated place where the wind could carry away the chaff,
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: but Gideon was doing it in a wine press, a
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: pit used for crushing grapes, to hide the wheat from
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: the Midianites. That shows the level of fear and oppression
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: he was under. The angel sat under the oak in
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Ophra that belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite, Gideon's father. When
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: he saw Gideon, the angel said something surprising recorded in
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: verse twelve, The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Gideon
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: must have seemed anything but a warrior at that moment, hiding, afraid,
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: just trying to secure food for his family. His response
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: reveals doubt and even a touch of bitterness. Pardon me,
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: my lord, Gideon replied, but if the Lord is with us,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: why has all this happened to us? Where are all
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: into the hand of Midian. Without directly answering Gideon's questions,
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: the Lord turned to him and said, go in the
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand?
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Am I not sending you? Gideon's response revealed his humility
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: and insecurity. How can I save Israel? My clan is
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: my family. Gideon didn't see himself as a leader or
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: a warrior. He was the youngest son from an insignificant
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: clan within a divided tribe. But God doesn't call the qualified,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: He qualifies the called. I will be with you, the
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Lord replied, and you will strike down the Midianites as
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: if they were one man. This is one of the
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: greatest promises in the Bible. God's presence overcomes every human weakness.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Still uncertain, Gideon asked for a sign to confirm he
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: was truly speaking with the Lord. He prepared an offering
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: a young goat and unleavened bred, and brought it to
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: the Angel. The angel told him to place the meat
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: and bread on a rock and pour the broth over them.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: When Gideon obeyed, the Angel of the Lord touched the
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: offering with the tip of his staff, and fire rose
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: from the rock, consuming everything. Then the angel vanished. Realizing
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: he had seen the Angel of the Lord face to face,
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Gideon feared he would die, but the Lord said to him,
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: peace be with you. Do not be afraid. You will
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: not die. Strengthened by the experience, Gideon built an altar
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: there to the Lord and named it the Lord is Peace.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: That same night, the Lord instructed Gideon to tear down
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: his father's altar to Bail and cut down the asheripole
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: beside it. In its place, he was to build an
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: altar to the Lord and offer a bull as a
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: burnt sacrifice. Afraid to do it during the day because
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: of his family and the townspeople, Gideon waited until nightfall.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: With the help of ten of his servants, he tore
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: down Bal's altar, cut down the ascherapole, and built an
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: altar to the Lord, offering the sacrifices commanded. In the morning,
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: the people of the town discovered what had happened and
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: demand and did the Joash hand over his son to
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: be put to death. But Josh defended Gideon with irrefutable logic,
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: will you fight for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: fights for him shall be put to death by mourning.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: If Baal is truly a god, let him defend himself.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: After all, it was his altar that was torn down.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: From that day on, Gideon was given a new name, Jerebal,
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: meaning let Baal contend with him, because he had challenged
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: the pagan god. Soon after, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: Eastern peoples gathered, crossed the Jordan and camped in the
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: valley of Jezreel. Then the spirit of the Lord came
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: upon Gideon and he blew the trumpet, summoning the Abysrites,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: his own clan, to follow him. He also sent messengers
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: throughout Manassa, Asher, Zebulun, and Naftali, and they all rallied
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: to his call. Still seeking reassurance, Gideon asked God for
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: another sign. In Judges six thirty six to thirty seven.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: He said, if you will save Israel by my hand
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: as you have promised, I will place a wool fleece
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: will know that you will save Israel by my hand,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: as you said, And that is exactly what happened. Gideon
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: rose early the next day, squeezed the fleece and filled
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: a bowl with water while the ground around it remained dry.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: But Gideon asked for one more confirmation. This time he
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: asked that the fleece remain dry while the ground was
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: covered with dew, and again God granted his request, confirming
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: he was with him. Gideon then gathered his army, and
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: thirty two thousand men responded to the call. It was
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: an impressive number for an oppressed people, yet still small
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: compared to the Midianites, who had so many men and
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: camels that they would not be counted as numerous as
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: the sand on the seashore Judges seven twelve. Surprisingly, God
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: told Gideon his army was too large. In verse two,
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: the Lord explained, you have too many men for me
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: to deliver midian into their hands. In order that Israel
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: may not boast against me that her own strength has
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: saved her, God instructed Gideon to send home anyone who
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: was afraid. Twenty two thousand men left, leaving only ten thousand.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: But still the Lord said, there are still too many.
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: He told Gideon to take the men down to the
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: water for a test. Those who lapped the water with
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: their hands to their mouths would stay, Those who knelt
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: to drink directly would be dismissed. Out of ten thousand,
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: only three hundred drank from their hands. These were the warriors.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: God chose three hundred against tens of thousands. It was
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: an impossible ratio, and exactly the point. The victory would
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: be by God's power, not human strength. That night, God
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: told Gideon to go down to the Midianite camp. If
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: he was afraid, he could take his servant Purer with him.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: In the camp, Gideon overheard a man telling a dream
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: to another. I had a dream A round loaf of
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: a tent with such force that it overturned and collapsed.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: The other man replied, this can be nothing but the
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: sword of Gideon's son of Joash, the Israelite. God has
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: Upon hearing this, Gideon worshiped God, empowered by divine confirmation.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: Returning to the Israelite camp, Gideon assembled his three hundred
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: men and divided them into three companies. He gave each
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: man a trumpet and ajar with a torch inside watch me.
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: He told them, follow my lead. When I and those
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: with me blow our trumpets, you do the same all
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: around the camp and shout for the Lord and for Gideon.
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: They approached the edge of the Midianite camp at the
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: beginning of the middle watch, just after the guard was changed.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: Suddenly they blew their trumpets and broke the jars in
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: their hands. Holding the torches in their left hands and
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: the trumpets in their right, they shouted a sword for
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: the Lord and for Gideon. Each man stood his ground
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: around the camp while the Midianites ran, crying out as
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: caused the Midianites to turn on each other with their swords.
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: The enemy fled to beth Shitta toward Zareia, as far
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: as the border of abel Mehola near Tabath. Gideon then
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: summoned the men of Naftali, Asher and Manasseh, and they
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: pursued the Midianites. He also sent messengers throughout the hill
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: country of Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites and
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: seized them the waters of the Jordan ahead of them
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: as far as beth Barrah. So all the men of
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: ephram were called out, and they took control of the
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: waters as far as Beth Barrah and the Jordan. The
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: Midianite princes Oreb and Zib were captured and killed. The
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Ephramites brought their heads to Gideon across the Jordan. However,
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: they complained that they hadn't been called earlier. Displaying diplomatic wisdom,
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: Gideon replied, what have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: the gleanings of Ephraim better than the full harvest of Abeza.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: With this humble response, he soothed their anger. The victory
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: was total. The Midianites, who had terrorized Israel for seven years,
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: were utterly defeated, and all of it came through a
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: man who was hiding in a wine press to thresh wheat.
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: Grateful for their deliverance, the Israelites asked Gideon to rule
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: over them and for his descendants to rule after him,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: but Gideon declined. The honor, speaking words that reflected his
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: loyalty to the true King of Israel. I will not
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: rule over you. However, Gideon asked for one request, a
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: gold ear ring from the plunder of each man. Since
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: the Midianites were Ishmaelites, they wore gold ear rings. The
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: men gladly spread out a cloak and each threw in
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: a gold ear ring from his share of the spoil.
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: The weight of the gold came to one to seven
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: hundred shekels, not including the ornaments, pendants, and the purple
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: garments worn by the kings of Midian, nor the chains
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: on their camels necks. With this gold, Gideon made an
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: effort a priestly garment and placed it in his hometown
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: of Ophrah. However, this creation became a snare to Gideon
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: and his family, for all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: it there, as recorded in Judge eight twenty seven. Despite
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: this failing, under Gideon's leadership, the land had peace for
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: forty years. The Book of Judges also notes that Gideon
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. Additionally,
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: his concubine who lived in Shechem, bore him a son
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: named Abimelech, meaning my father is king, ironically a title
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: Gideon had refused. Gideon lived to a ripe old age
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: in Ophra of the Abbeir's rites. Sadly, as had happened before,
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: no sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: themselves to the bales. They set up Bailberith as their god,
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: and did not remember the Lord, their god, who had
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: every side. Nor did they show kindness to the family
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: of Jerubal, that is Gideon, for all the good things
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: he had done for Israel. After Gideon's death, his son,
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: a Bimelech, born of his concubine in Shechem, saw a
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: chance to claim the power his father had turned down.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: He went to Shechem to his mother's family and said,
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: ask all the citizens of Shechem, which is better for
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: you to be ruled by all seventy of Jerobald's sons
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: or by one man. Remember, I am your own flesh
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: and blood. As recorded in Judges nine one two. The
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: people of Shechem were easily convinced. They gave him seventy
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: pieces of silver from the temple of Balberith, which Abimelech
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: used to hire reckless scoundrels who became his followers. According
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: to verse four, this band would become his private army
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: for the atrocities to come. Abimelech then went to his
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: father's home in Ophra, and in one of the Bible's
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: most brutal acts, he killed his seventy brothers, the sons
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: of Jerobal on one stone. Verse five ends with a
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: faint glimmer of hope in the horror, but Jotham, the
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: youngest son of Jerubal, escaped by hiding with his brothers dead.
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: Abimelech was proclaimed king beside the great Tree at the
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: Pillar in Shechem, but he was no legitimate king. He
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: was not chosen by God. He was a usurper, a
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: murderer who seized power through conspiracy and bloodshed. When Jotham
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: Gerrisim and shouted to the people of Shechem, telling them
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: a parable about trees seeking a king, the useful trees,
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: the olive, the fig and the vine refused the offer
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: to rule, preferring to keep producing their fruit. In the end,
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: the trees turned to the thornbush, which accepted with a
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: dark warning, if you really want to anoint me king
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: over you come and take refuge in my shade. But
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: if not, let fire come out of the thornbush and
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: consume the cedars of Lebanon. The message was sharp, and
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: Abimelech was like the thornbush, useless and dangerous, and if
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: the people of Shechem didn't serve him loyally, he would
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: destroy them. Jotham ended his message with a prophetic curse,
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: saying that if the Shechemites had not acted honorably toward
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: Gideon and his family, may fire come from Abimelech and
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: consume them. And may fire come from them and consume Abimelech.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: Then he fled to Beer, afraid of his brother. Abimelech
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: ruled over Israel for three years, but just as Jotham
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: had predicted, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: the people of Shechem, and they turned against him. Verses
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: twenty three and twenty four explain why so that the
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: crime against the seventy sons of Jerubal might be avenged
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: and the guilt for their blood be laid on their
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: brother Abimelech, who had murdered them, and on the citizens
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers. The
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Shechemites began to ambush travelers on the roads, and this
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: was reported to Abimelech. Around this time, a man named Ghal,
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: son of Ebed, moved to Shechem with his relatives and
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: won the trust of the townspeople. During the harvest festival
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: at their temple, as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: Ghal openly stirred rebellion, saying, who is Abimelech and who
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: is Shechem? That we should be subject to him? Isn't
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: he Jeobal's son? And isn't Zebel his officer served the
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: descendants of hamor Shechem's founder, Why should we serve Abimilech. Zebel,
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: the governor of the city and loyal to Abimelech, heard
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: Ghal's words and was furious. He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech,
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: warning him about the conspiracy and suggesting a plan of attack.
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: That night, Abimelech and his entire army marched out in
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: hid near Shechem, divided into four companies. The next morning,
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: as Ghahl went out to the city gate, Abimelech and
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: his men emerged from their hiding places. Ghal saw them
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: and said to Zebel, look, people are coming down from
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: the tops of the mountains. Zebel replied, you're just seeing
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: the shadows of the mountains. You're mistaking them for men.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: But Ghahl insisted, and Zebel finally revealed his true allegiance.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: Where is your big talk now? You who said who
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: is a Bimelech that we should serve him? Aren't these
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: the very people you scorned? Go out and fight them?
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: So Ghal led the citizens of Shechem into battle against Abimelech,
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: but was defeated and many were wounded and fell as
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: they fled all the way to the city gate. The
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: next day, when the people went out into the fields,
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: Abimelech was informed and seized the opportunity. He divided his
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: men into three companies and set up an ambush. When
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: he saw all the people coming out of the city,
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: he rose with his men and attacked Abimelech, and the
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: company with him charged forward and took a position at
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: the city gate, while the other two companies attacked everyone
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: in the fields and slaughtered them. Abimelech attacked the city
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: all day long. He captured it, killed all its inhabitants,
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: and then completely destroyed it, scattering salt over its ruins
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: as a sign that it should remain desolate forever. When
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: the citizens of the Tower of Shechem heard what had happened,
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: they fled to the stronghold of the Temple of Elberith.
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: Upon learning that they were all gathered there, Abimelech and
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an axe,
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: cut a branch from a tree, and hoisted it on
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: to his shoulder. Then he commanded his men, quick, do
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: what you've seen me do. Each man cut a branch
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: and followed Abimelech. They piled the branches against the stronghold
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: and set it on fire with the people still inside.
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: All those in the Tower of Shechem died about a
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: thousand men and women. Abimelech's cruelty knew no bounds. He
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: then moved on to the Bez, besieged the city and
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: captured it. But there was a fortified tower in the
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: middle of the city. All the men and women, all
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: the city's citizens fled to it, locked themselves inside, and
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: climbed up to the tower's roof. A Biemelech came to
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: the tower to set it on fire, just as he
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: had done in Shechem. But then something extraordinary happened, the
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: fulfillment of Jotham's prophecy. Judges nine fifty three says, but
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: a woman dropped an upper millstone on a Bimelech's head
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: and cracked his skull. Realizing he was dying, Abimelech quickly
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: called his arm a bearer and said, draw your sword
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: and kill me, so they can't say a woman killed me.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: So the young man ran him through, and he died.
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: In his final moments, Abimelech's pride proved more important to
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: him than his life. He couldn't bear the thought of
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: being remembered as the man slain by a woman. When
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: the Israelites saw that a Bimelech was dead, they each
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: returned home. In this way, God repaid a Bimelech for
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: the evil he had done to his father by murdering
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: his seventy brothers, and all of Jotham's curse. The son
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: of Jeribal came upon them. A Bimelech is not counted
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: among the judges of Israel. He was the opposite of
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: a judge. Instead of delivering the people, he oppressed them.
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: Instead of uniting the tribes, he caused division. Instead of
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: leading them to worship God, he promoted idolatry. His story
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: stands as a warning about the dangers of unchecked ambition
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: and leadership without divine principles. After a Bimelech's death, God
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: raised up a man named Tolah to deliver Israel. Judges
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: ten one to two gives us some basic info about him.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: After Abimelech, Tolah, son of Pua, the son of Dodo,
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: from the tribe of Isakar, rose to save Israel. He
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. He
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: led Israel twenty three years. Then he died and was
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: buried in Shamir. The Bible doesn't give us details about
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: Tola's deeds or the enemies he faced. We don't know
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: how he delivered Israel or what specific challenges he encountered.
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: What we do know is that after the chaos of
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: Abimelech's reign, Tolah brought stability for twenty three years. He
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: judged Israel a substantial period of peace and order. Perhaps
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: his greatest achievement was simply restoring normal life after Abimelech's terror.
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: Sometimes the most valuable kind of leadership is the one
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: that brings calm after the storm, the kind that allows
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: people to live in peace, to plant and harvest, to
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: raise their children, and to worship God without interference. After
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: Tola came Jayir from Gilead. Judges ten three five tells
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: us he was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: Israel twenty two years. He had thirty sons who rode
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: thirty donkeys and controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: this day are called Havoth Jayir. When Jaya died, he
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: was buried in Kamon. Jayir was from Gilead, a region
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: east of the Jordan River, part of the land given
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: to the tribes of Manassa, Gad, and Reuben. The fact
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: that he had thirty sons suggests he was wealthy and
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: held high status in that culture. Having many children was
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: a sign of divine blessing and prosperity. Each son rode
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: a donkey, another symbol of high social standing. Only people
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: of elevated position rode donkeyes most people walked on top
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: of that, each son ruled over a town. These towns
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: of Ja'ir formed a kind of small, family controlled network
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: of city states. The fact that these towns were still
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: known as the villages of Jair at the time the
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: Book of Judges was written shows the lasting impact this
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: judge had on his region. Jaya led Israel for twenty
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: two years, offering yet another extended period of stability. Tola
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: and Ja'ir are often called minor judges, not because they
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: were less important, but because the Bible gives fewer details
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: about them. Together, they ruled for forty five years, almost
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: half a century of relative peace and prosperity. Their leadership,
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: though less dramatic than that of Gideon or Deborah, was
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: just as valuable to the people. After Jaya's death, the
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: Israelites once again did what was evil in the eyes
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: of the Lord. They of the Bales, the Ashtreths, and
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: the gods of Aram, Sidon Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines.
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: They abandoned the Lord and no longer worshiped him. As
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: a result of this unfaithfulness, the Lord's anger burned against Israel,
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: and he handed them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites.
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: For eighteen years, they cruelly oppressed all the Israelites living
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: east of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah,
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: Benjamin and the tribe of Ephraim, bringing great distress to Israel.
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: In their despair, the Israelites cried out to the Lord, saying,
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: we have sinned against you, for we have abandoned our
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: God and served the Bales. God's response was direct and challenging.
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: He reminded them of all the times he had delivered
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: them in the past from the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Sidonians, Amalekites,
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: and Mayonites. But you have forsaken me and served other gods.
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: He said, Therefore I will no longer save you. Go
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: them save you when you are in trouble. Deeply remorseful,
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: the Israelites confessed, we have sinned. Do with us whatever
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: seems good to you, but please rescue us now. Then
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: they got rid of the foreign gods among them and
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: served the Lord and in judges ten sixteen. The Bible
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: records a moving line, and he could bear Israel's misery
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: no longer. Despite their repeated betrayals, God's heart turned toward
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: his people in compassion. When they truly repented, The Ammonites
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: were mobilized and camped in Gilead while the Israelites assembled
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: at Mizpah. The leaders of Gilead were desperate for someone
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: to lead the fight against the Ammonites. They declared, whoever
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: takes the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: over all who live in Gilead. It was at this
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: critical moment that Jefthera emerged. His story begins under difficult circumstances.
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: Judges eleven one to two tells us jeffther the Gileadite
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: was a mighty warrior. His mother was a prostitute. His
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: father was Gilead. Gilliad's wife also bore him sons, and
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: when they were grown, they drove Jefhtha away, saying, you
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: will not get any inheritance in our family because you
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: are the son of another woman. Rejected by his half
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: brothers and cast out of his father's house, jeff Thea
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: fled to the land of tob There he gathered around
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: him a group of adventurers who followed him on his expeditions.
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: He became a kind of mercenary leader, his skill in
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: battle recognized, though his background was scorned. When the Ammonites
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: attacked Israel, the leaders of Gilead went to tob to
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: find jefhther Come, They said, be our commander so we
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: can fight the Ammonites. Jeff The reply revealed the depth
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: of his pain. Didn't you hate me and drive me
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: from my father's house? Why do you come to me
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: now when you're in trouble, But the leaders pleaded, nevertheless,
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: we are turning to you. Now, come with us, fight
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: the Ammonites, and you will be head over all who
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: live in Gilead. Jeffthera set a condition. If I go
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: back with you to fight the Ammonites and the Lord
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: gives them to me, will I really be your head?
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: The leaders agreed, the Lord is our witness. We will
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: certainly do as you say. Before heading into battle, Jeffna
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: tried to resolve the conflict diplomatically. He sent messengers to
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: the king of the Ammonites, asking what do you have
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: against us that you have attacked our land? The king
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: replied that Israel had taken their land when they came
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: up from Egypt, from the Arnun to the Jabbuk, and
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: the Jordan now return it peacefully. Jeffthera responded with a
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: lengthy historical account, explaining that Israel had not taken the
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: land of Moab or the Ammonites. When the king of
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: Edom denied passage, Israel went around the same happened with Moab.
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: Upon reaching the Amorite territory, Israel asked King Sion for passage.
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: He refused and attacked. The Lord gave Sion and all
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: his men into Israel's hands, and they took possession of
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: the entire land of the Amorites, from the Arnun to
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: the Jabbuk, and from the wilderness to the Jordan. Jefftha
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: argued that if the Lord had driven out the Amorites
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: and given the land to Israel, why did the Ammonites
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: believe they had any claim to it. Shouldn't you take
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: what your God Kemosh gives you, so we will take
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: what the Lord, our God has given us. He concluded
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: with appointed question, are you better than Balak's son of
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: zippor king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: or er fight them. Israel had lived in Heshburn, Arrow
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: and the surrounding towns, and in all the cities along
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: the Arnon for three hundred years. Why didn't you recover
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: them during that time. I have not wronged you, Jeftha said,
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: But you are doing me wrong by making war against me.
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: Let the Lord the judge decide the dispute this day
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: between the Israelites and the Ammonites. But the King of
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: the Ammonites paid no attention to Jeptha's message. Diplomacy had failed.
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: War was now inevitable. Then the spirit of the Lord
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: came upon Jephtha. He crossed through Gilead and Manasseh, passed
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: through misper of Gilead and advanced against the Ammonites. Before
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: the battle, Jeftha made a vow to the Lord, if
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: of the door of my house to meet me when
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the lords,
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering. It
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: was a rash and unnecessary vow. God had already promised
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: to deliver the Ammonites into Israel's hands after their repentance.
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: Jeffa's faith, though real, was mixed with pagan practices foreign
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: to true worship of God. Jeftha advanced against the Ammonites,
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: and the Lord gave them into his hands. He devastated
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: twenty towns from a Rower to the vicinity of Minnith
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: and as far as able Kharamim. Thus the Ammonites were
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: subdued before the Israelites. When Jephtha returned to his home
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him, dancing
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: to the sound of tambourines His daughter, his only child.
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: He had no other son or daughter. When he saw her,
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: he tore his clothes and cried out, Oh, my daughter,
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: you have brought me down, and I am devastated. I
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: My father, she replied, you made a promise to the Lord.
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: Do to me just as you vowed, now that the
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: Lord has avenged you against your enemies, the Ammonites. Then
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: she asked, but grant me two months to roam the
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: After two months, she returned to her father, and he
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: fulfilled the vow. He had made concerning her. The Bible
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: does not explicitly describe what happened, sparking debate among scholars.
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: Some believe Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter, an act abhorrent
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: to God. Others suggest she was dedicated to life long
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: service at the Tabernacle, remaining a virgin for the rest
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: of her life, which would explain the morning over never marrying.
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: In either case, Jeftha's vow led to personal tragedy amid
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: national victory. From that time on, a tradition arose in Israel.
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: Every year, young Israelite women would go out for four
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: days to commemorate the daughter of Jefha, thee Guilliadite. Jeptha's
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: victory should have united Israel, but soon internal conflict arose.
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: The men of ephram feeling left out, crossed the Jordan
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: and confronted Jephthera, why did you go to fight the
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: Ammonites without calling us to go with you. We're going
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: to burn down your house with you in it. Jeftha
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: responded that he had indeed called upon the Ephramites, but
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: they did not come to help. Seeing no other choice,
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: he and his people risked their lives to face the Ammonites,
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: and the Lord delivered them. So why have you come
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: to day to fight me? He asked. Tensions escalated into
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: armed conflict. Jephtha assembled the men of Gilead and fought
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: against Ephraim. The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: leading back to Ephraim. When an Ephrimite fugitive said, let
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: me cross, the Gileadite men would ask, are you an Ephramite.
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: If he said no, they would say, say shibbaleth. If
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: he said sibylis unable to pronounce it correctly, they seized
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: and killed him on the spot at the Jordan crossings.
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: Forty two thousand Ephrimites died on that occasion. Jephtha led
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: Israel for six years. When he died, he was buried
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: in his town in Gilead. After Jephtha's death, Israel entered
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: a time of relative peace under three judges, Ibzan, Elon,
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: and Abdon. Their stories are brief, like small windows into
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: a period of calm before the coming storms. The Book
• 59:34
  Speaker 1: of Judges tells us in chapter twelve, verse eight. After Jephtha,
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. Ibzan was from Bethlehem, though
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: It's unclear whether this was Bethlehem in Judah to the
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: south or the Bethlehem in the territory of Zebulun to
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: the north. What is clear is that he was a
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: man of considerable influence and wealth. He had thirty sons
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters in marriage to
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: men outside his clan and brought in thirty young women
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: from outside for his sons. Imagine a family like that,
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: sixty children growing up together, playing, learning, developing, and then
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: thirty arranged marriages carefully planned to forge ties with other
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: families and clans. These weren't just personal decisions, they were
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: political ones. By arranging marriages with outsiders, Ibzan was creating
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: a network of alliances that promoted peace and stability in Israel.
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 1: Each son in law and daughter in law represented a
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: connection to another group, a reason to co operate rather
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 1: than fight. Ibzan led Israel for seven years. When he died,
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: he was buried in Bethlehem. We have no record of
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 1: major battles or crises during his leadership, which in itself
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: speaks volumes about his effectiveness. Sometimes the greatest sign of
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: good leadership is what doesn't happen. No war no famine,
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: no chaos. After Ibzun came Elon from the tribe of Zebulun.
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 1: Verse eleven simply says after him Elon the Zebulunite led
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: Israel for ten years. The tribe of Zebulun occupied land
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: in the north near the Sea of Galilee, a region
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: known for trade and agriculture. We know nothing about Elon's
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: character or deeds, only that he gave Israel a decade
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 1: of leadership. When Elon died, he was buried in Agelon,
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 1: in the territory of Zebulun. The Book of Judges mentions
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 1: no legacy or achievements, but the fact that he governed
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: for ten years suggests a period without major upheavals. Often,
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: the most effective leaders are the ones we hear the
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: least about, not because they did nothing, but because they
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: kept things running so smoothly that there was no crisis
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: worth recording. After el Ylon came Abdon, son of Hillel,
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: from Pirathon. The Biblical text gives us a few interesting details.
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: In verses thirteen to fifteen, Abdon, son of Hillel from Pirathon,
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: led Israel. After him, he had forty sons and thirty
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 1: eight years. Then Abdon, son of Hillel, died and was
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 1: buried at Perethon in Ephraim, in the hill country of
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: the Amalekites. Like Ibzan, Abdon had a large and prosperous family,
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: forty sons and thirty grandsons, and all of them rode
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: seventy donkeys, a sign of high status and wealth. In
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: that culture, riding a donkey was a privilege reserved for
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: the elite. Most people traveled on foot Pirathon. His hometown
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: was in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: This suggests the area once belonged to Israel's traditional enemies
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: and had since become part of Ephraim's inheritance. Abdon led
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: Israel for eight years. Like his two predecessors, we have
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: no record of wars or internal conflict during his rule.
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: It seems Israel enjoyed about twenty five years of relative
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: peace under these three judges, a precious period of rest
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 1: before the coming storms. While the central and northern parts
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 1: of Israel enjoyed peace under Ibzan, Elon and Abdon, the
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: aikidsa south faced a growing threat the Philistines. This warlike
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: people likely originating from the Aegean Sea, had settled along
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 1: Canaan's coast and were constantly pressing into Israelite territory. It
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 1: was in this context that one of the most well
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: known and controversial judges was born, Samson. The story begins
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: with a promise in the Book of Judgeste En Verses
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: two and three, we read a certain man of Zorah
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: named Manoah from the tribe of Dan, had a wife
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: who was childless unable to give birth. The Angel of
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: the Lord appeared to her and said, you are baron
• 1:04:16
  Speaker 1: and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: give birth to a son. Barrenness was considered a deep
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: sorrow in Israelite culture, where children were seen as the
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: greatest blessing from God. The promise of a child to
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 1: a barren woman was already extraordinary, but the angel went further,
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 1: giving very specific instructions. Now see to it that you
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 1: drink no wine or other fermented drink, and that you
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 1: have a son whose head is never to be touched
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: by a razor, because the boy is to be a
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: Nazirite dedicated to God from the womb. He will take
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 1: The Angel was making it clear this would be no
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: ordinary child. He would be a Nazirite, someone specially consecrated
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: to God. Most Nazirites made a temporary vow, but Samson
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: would be a Nazirite from birth for life. The Nazirit
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 1: vow had three key components, not cutting one's hair, abstaining
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 1: from wine or any fermented drink, and avoiding contact with
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: corpses or anything unclean. Samson's mother was to observe some
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: of these restrictions during her pregnancy to prepare her son
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: for his consecrated life. The woman ran to tell her
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: husband about the mysterious visitor and his astonishing message. Manoah prayed,
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 1: asking for the Man of God to return and give
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 1: more instructions on how to raise the boy. God answered
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: his prayer, and the Angel appeared again to the woman
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: while she was out in the field. She quickly ran
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: to get her husband. When Manoah arrived, he asked the Angel,
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 1: when your words are fulfilled, what is to be the
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 1: rule that governs the boy's life and work. The Angel
• 1:06:12
  Speaker 1: of the Lord answered, your wife must do all that
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 1: I have told her. She must not eat anything that
• 1:06:18
  Speaker 1: comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 1: fermented drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 1: I have commanded er, still not realizing he was speaking
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: to an angel, Manoah wanted to offer him a young goat.
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 1: The angel declined the meal, but suggested that Manoah offer
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 1: a burnt offering to the Lord instead. As the flame
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: from the altar rose toward heaven, the Angel ascended in
• 1:06:45
  Speaker 1: the fire, finally revealing his divine nature. Manoah and his
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 1: wife fell face down in awe. We are surely going
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 1: to die, Manoah said to his wife, because we have
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 1: seen God. She, showing a clearer faith, replied, if the
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands,
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: nor shown us all these things or told us this.
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son,
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: whom she named Samson. The boy grew and the Lord
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 1: blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 1: stir him that phrase. The spirit of the Lord began
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 1: to stir him. Will appear several times in Samson's story,
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 1: always before an act of extraordinary strength. It's a reminder
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 1: that his power didn't come from himself, but from God.
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: As Samson grew up, he saw a Philistine woman in
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: Tymna and wanted to marry her. His parents were deeply displeased.
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: all our people? They asked, must you go to the
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: uncircumcised philistine's to get a wife? But Samson insisted, get
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: her for me. She's the one I want. The text
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: adds an interesting note in verse four. His parents did
• 1:08:10
  Speaker 1: not know that this was from the Lord, who was
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 1: seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines, for at that
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 1: time they were ruling over Israel. God would even use
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 1: Samson's questionable choices to fulfill his purposes. On the way
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 1: to Tymna, something remarkable happened. A young lion came roaring
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: towards Samson. The spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him,
• 1:08:35
  Speaker 1: so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands,
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 1: as he might have torn a young goat. He did
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 1: this without any weapon, using only his supernatural strength, and
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 1: he told no one, not even his parents. Some time later,
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 1: when Samson returned to Tymna for the wedding, he left
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 1: the road to look at the lion's carcass. To his surprise,
• 1:08:57
  Speaker 1: a swarm of bees had made a hive inside the
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: dead body, and there was honey. Samson scooped it out
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: with his hands, ate some and gave some to his
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: parents without telling them where it came from. At the
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: wedding feast, which lasted seven days, Samson proposed a riddle
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 1: to the thirty Philistine companions assigned to him. Out of
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 1: the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 1: came something sweet. The wager thirty linen garments and thirty
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 1: sets of clothes. But if they couldn't solve it, they
• 1:09:31
  Speaker 1: owe him the same. After three days of failure, the
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: Philistines threatened Samson's bride, coax your husband into explaining the
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: riddle for us, or we'll burn you and your father's
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 1: household to death. Under a pressure, she wept before Samson
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: threw out the rest of the feast, saying, you hate me,
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: you don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle.
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: But you haven't told me the answer. On the seventh day,
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 1: he finally told her, and she immediately passed the answer
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 1: to her people before sunset. The Philistines said to Samson,
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: what is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 1: Realizing the betrayal, Samson replied bitterly, if you had not
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 1: plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle. Again,
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 1: the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He
• 1:10:24
  Speaker 1: went down to Ashcalon, struck down thirty men, took their
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 1: clothes and gave them to those who had explained the riddle. Furious,
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: he returned to his father's house and his bride was
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 1: given to one of his companions. Some time later, during
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: a young goat. I'm going to my wife's room, he said,
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: but her father wouldn't let him in. I was so
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: sure you hated her. He explained that I gave her
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 1: to your companion. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 1: her instead? Ded Enraged, Samson declared, this time I have
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 1: a right to get even with the Philistines. I will
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: really harm them. He caught three hundred foxes, tied them
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 1: tail to tail in pairs, fastened a torch to each pair,
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 1: lit the torches, and released them into the philistines grain fields.
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: The fire burned up the sheaves, the standing grain, and
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 1: even the vineyards and olive groves. When the Philistines found
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: out who was responsible and why they burned Samson's wife
• 1:11:28
  Speaker 1: and her father to death, Samson vowed, since you acted
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 1: like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: on you. He attacked them viciously, killing many, and then
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: took refuge in a cave in the Rock of Atam.
• 1:11:42
  Speaker 1: The Philistines invaded Judah and camped at Lehigh. When the
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: men of Judah asked why they were attacking, they replied,
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: we've come to tie up Samson and do to him
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: what he did to us. Three thousand men from Judah
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: went to the cave and said to Samson, don't you
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: realize the Philistines rule over us. What have you done
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 1: to us? I only did to them what they did
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: to me. Samson replied, We've come to tie you up
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: and hand you over to the Philistines. They told him.
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: Samson made them swear not to kill him. Themselves, and
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: then he allowed them to tie him up with two
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: new ropes and take him to the Philistines. When they
• 1:12:22
  Speaker 1: arrived at Lehigh, the Philistines came shouting to meet him,
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 1: But in that moment, the spirit of the Lord came
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Seeing
• 1:12:38
  Speaker 1: a donkey's jawbone on the ground, Samson grabbed it and
• 1:12:41
  Speaker 1: struck down a thousand men. After the slaughter, Samson was
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 1: overcome with thirst and cried out to the Lord, you
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 1: have given your servant this great victory. Must I now
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised.
• 1:12:57
  Speaker 1: Then God opened up a hollow place in Leahy, and
• 1:13:00
  Speaker 1: water flowed from it. Samson drank, his strength returned, and
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: he revived. Samson led Israel for twenty years during the
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: time of Philistine rule. His next episode took him to Gaza,
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 1: where he spent the night with a prostitute. When the
• 1:13:16
  Speaker 1: people of Gaza learned he was there, they surrounded the
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: place and waited for him at the city gate, planning
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: to kill him at dawn, But Samson got up at midnight,
• 1:13:27
  Speaker 1: tore loose the city gates along with their posts and bars,
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: hoisted them onto his shoulders, and carried them to the
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: top of the hill facing hebron a feat of superhuman strength,
• 1:13:38
  Speaker 1: lifting what would take several men to even budge. Samson's
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 1: weakness for women eventually led to his downfall. He fell
• 1:13:46
  Speaker 1: in love with Delilah from the Valley of Sorek. The
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 1: Philistine rulers approached her and said, see, if you can
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: seduce him and learn the secret of his great strength
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 1: and how we can overpower him, then we can tie
• 1:13:59
  Speaker 1: him up and due him. Each of us will give
• 1:14:02
  Speaker 1: you eleven hundred silver coins. Three times Delilah asked Samson
• 1:14:08
  Speaker 1: for the secret to his strength, and three times he lied. First,
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 1: he said that new ropes never used before would weaken him.
• 1:14:16
  Speaker 1: Then he claimed fresh leather cords would do the trick. Finally,
• 1:14:20
  Speaker 1: he said if his seven braids were woven into a loom,
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: he'd lose his strength. Each time, Delilah tested his claim
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: while he slept, and the Philistines waited to pounce, But
• 1:14:31
  Speaker 1: each time Samson easily broke free. Eventually, after she pressed
• 1:14:36
  Speaker 1: him day after day to the point that he was
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: sick to death of her nagging, Samson gave in, No
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 1: razor has ever touched my head, he confessed, because I
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 1: have been a Nazarite set apart to God from my
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: mother's womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 1: leave me and I would become as weak as any
• 1:14:56
  Speaker 1: other man. Delilah knew he had told her the truth.
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: She summoned the Philistine rulers, who brought the promised silver.
• 1:15:05
  Speaker 1: While Samson slept on her lap, she called a man
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: to shave off the seven braids of his hair. With that,
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: his strength left him, and she began to subdue him.
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: Then she shouted, Samson, the Philistines are upon you. He
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 1: woke up, thinking I'll escape like before and shake myself free,
• 1:15:25
  Speaker 1: but he didn't know that the Lord had left him.
• 1:15:28
  Speaker 1: The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 1: him to Gaza. There they bound him with bronze shackles
• 1:15:35
  Speaker 1: and put him to work grinding grain in prison, but
• 1:15:39
  Speaker 1: his hair began to grow back. The Philistine rulers gathered
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced, saying,
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 1: our God has delivered Samson, our enemy into our hands.
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 1: When the people saw Samson, they praised their God, saying,
• 1:15:55
  Speaker 1: our God has handed over our enemy, the one who
• 1:15:58
  Speaker 1: laid waste to our land and killed so many of us.
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 1: During the celebration, they shouted, bring out Samson to entertain us.
• 1:16:06
  Speaker 1: So they brought him from prison, and he performed for them.
• 1:16:10
  Speaker 1: They placed him between the pillars. Samson said to the
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: servant leading him by the hand, place me where I
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 1: can feel the pillars that support the temple, so I
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: can lean against them. The temple was crowded with men
• 1:16:22
  Speaker 1: and women. All the Philistine rulers were there, and about
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 1: three thousand people were on the roof watching Samson perform.
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 1: Then Samson prayed to the Lord, O Sovereign Lord, remember me,
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 1: O God, please strengthen me just once more. Let me,
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: with one final blow, take revenge on the Philistines for
• 1:16:43
  Speaker 1: my two eyes. He reached out for the two central
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: pillars supporting the temple, placing his right hand on one
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: and his left on the other. He cried out, let
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: me die with the Philistines. Then he pushed with all
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 1: his might, and the temple collapsed on the rulers and
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 1: all the people in it. In his death, he killed
• 1:17:05
  Speaker 1: more than he had during his entire life. His brothers
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 1: and his father's family came to retrieve his body. They
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 1: buried him between Zorah and Eshtaul in the tomb of
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 1: his father Manoah. He had led Israel for twenty years.
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 1: While Samson battled the Philistines in the south, another leader
• 1:17:24
  Speaker 1: emerged in Israel, Eli, a priest who also served as
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 1: a judge. This was an unusual combination. Judges were usually
• 1:17:33
  Speaker 1: military leaders, while priests handled religious duties. Samuel chapter one
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: introduces Eli as an old man sitting in a chair
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: by the entrance of the Lord's Tabernacle at Shiloh. For
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: forty years, he had served both as priest and judge,
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: a life devoted to God and his people. Shiloh was
• 1:17:54
  Speaker 1: a sacred place. It housed the Tabernacle, the holy tent
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 1: that contained the Ark of the Covenant, the most powerful
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 1: symbol of God's presence among his people. As high priest,
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 1: Eli was the guardian of this spiritual treasure. One day,
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: Eli saw woman praying so intensely that her lips moved,
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: but no sound came out. It was Hannah, who was
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 1: suffering deeply because she couldn't have children. She was pleading
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 1: with God for a son. Eli thought she was drunk
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: and rebuked her, How long will you stay drunk? Get
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 1: rid of your wine? Anna replied, it's not that, my Lord.
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 1: I am a woman deeply troubled. I have not been
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 1: drinking wine or any fermented drink. I was pouring out
• 1:18:42
  Speaker 1: my soul before the Lord. Do not take your servant
• 1:18:45
  Speaker 1: for a wicked woman. I have been praying here out
• 1:18:47
  Speaker 1: of my great anguish and grief. Eli was moved by
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 1: her sincerity and said, go in peace, and may the
• 1:18:55
  Speaker 1: God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: And God heard anna prayer. She became pregnant and gave
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: birth to a son, Samuel. When the boy was weaned,
• 1:19:06
  Speaker 1: Anna brought him to the tabernacle at Shiloh and gave
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: him to Eli to be raised in the service of
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 1: the Lord, just as she had promised. As young Samuel
• 1:19:17
  Speaker 1: grew up in the tabernacle serving the Lord under Eli's guidance,
• 1:19:21
  Speaker 1: something troubling was taking place. Eli's sons, Hofni and Finehas,
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: who were also priests, did not honor God. The text
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: in First Samuel two twelve is blunt. Eli's sons were scoundrels.
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: They had no regard for the Lord. They abused their position,
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: taking the best portions of the sacrifices before they were
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: offered to God. When anyone protested, they threatened to take
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: the meet by force. On top of that, they were
• 1:19:54
  Speaker 1: sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: the tent of meeting, desecrating the se sacred place. Time
• 1:20:02
  Speaker 1: after time, Eli heard about his son's actions and rebuked them.
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: Why do you do such things? I hear from all
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 1: the people about your wicked deeds. No, my sons, the
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: reports I hear spreading among the Lord's people are not good.
• 1:20:17
  Speaker 1: But his reprimand was weak, and his sons paid no attention.
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 1: One day, a man of God came to Eli with
• 1:20:24
  Speaker 1: a stern message. He reminded Eli that God had chosen
• 1:20:28
  Speaker 1: his ancestor, Aaron's family to be priests and had blessed
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 1: them greatly. Then he asked, why do you scorn my
• 1:20:36
  Speaker 1: sacrifices and offerings that I commanded for my dwelling. Why
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: do you honor your sons more than me by fattening
• 1:20:43
  Speaker 1: yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering made by
• 1:20:47
  Speaker 1: my people Israel? The message carried a dreadful warning. God
• 1:20:51
  Speaker 1: would cut off the strength of Eli's household and no
• 1:20:55
  Speaker 1: one in his family would reach old age. His two sons,
• 1:20:59
  Speaker 1: Hofni and Finihas would die on the same day, and
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: God would raise up for himself a faithful priest who
• 1:21:07
  Speaker 1: would act according to God's heart and mind. Meanwhile, the
• 1:21:11
  Speaker 1: boy Samuel continued to grow and found favor with both
• 1:21:15
  Speaker 1: the Lord and the people. One night, as he was
• 1:21:18
  Speaker 1: sleeping near the Ark of God in the tabernacle, he
• 1:21:21
  Speaker 1: heard a voice calling his name. Thinking it was Eli,
• 1:21:25
  Speaker 1: he ran to the elderly priest and said, here, I
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 1: am you called me. Eli said he hadn't called and
• 1:21:32
  Speaker 1: sent him back to bed. This happened three times. On
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 1: the third time, Eli realized it was the Lord calling
• 1:21:40
  Speaker 1: the boy and instructed him go and lie down, and
• 1:21:44
  Speaker 1: if he calls you again, say speak Lord, for your
• 1:21:47
  Speaker 1: servant is listening. When the Lord came once more and
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 1: called Samuel Samuel, the boy responded just as Eli had
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 1: taught him, and God gave Samuel a message that would
• 1:22:00
  Speaker 1: make the ears of all who heard it tingle, a
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: confirmation of the judgment against Eli's house. On that day,
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 1: I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke concerning
• 1:22:11
  Speaker 1: his family, from beginning to end. For I told him
• 1:22:15
  Speaker 1: that I would judge his family forever because of the
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: sin he knew about his sons made themselves contemptible, and
• 1:22:22
  Speaker 1: he did not restrain them. In the morning, Samuel was
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 1: afraid to tell Eli the vision, but the old priest insisted,
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 1: and Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing. Eli accepted the
• 1:22:35
  Speaker 1: judgment humbly. He is the Lord. Let him do what
• 1:22:39
  Speaker 1: is good in his eyes. Time passed and Samuel grew.
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 1: The Lord was with him, and let none of his
• 1:22:46
  Speaker 1: words fall to the ground. All Israel recognized that Samuel
• 1:22:50
  Speaker 1: was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. The situation
• 1:22:55
  Speaker 1: with the Philistines worsened, and Israel went to war against them.
• 1:23:00
  Speaker 1: In the first battle, the Philistines defeated Israel, killing about
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 1: four thousand men. The leaders of Israel asked, why did
• 1:23:08
  Speaker 1: the Lord bring defeat upon us to day before the Philistines?
• 1:23:13
  Speaker 1: Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 1: Lord from Shiloh, so that it may go with us
• 1:23:18
  Speaker 1: and save us from the hand of our enemies. So
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 1: the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord Almighty, who
• 1:23:27
  Speaker 1: is enthroned between the Cherubim, and Eli's two sons, Hofni
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 1: and Finihas, came with the Ark of the Covenant of God.
• 1:23:36
  Speaker 1: When the Ark arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted
• 1:23:39
  Speaker 1: so loudly that the ground shook. The Philistines heard the
• 1:23:43
  Speaker 1: uproar and were afraid. A god has come into the camp.
• 1:23:48
  Speaker 1: Woe to us, Nothing like this has happened before. Woe
• 1:23:51
  Speaker 1: to us. Who will deliver us from the hand of
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 1: these mighty gods. They are the gods who struck the
• 1:23:57
  Speaker 1: Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Even
• 1:24:01
  Speaker 1: though they were afraid, the Philistines encouraged one another, be strong, Philistines,
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 1: Be men, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews
• 1:24:10
  Speaker 1: as they have been to you. Be men and fight.
• 1:24:14
  Speaker 1: The Philistines fought, and Israel was once again defeated, this
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 1: time even more severely. Thirty thousand Israelite soldiers were killed.
• 1:24:23
  Speaker 1: The Ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons,
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 1: Hofni and Finihas, died. The prophecy against Eli's household was
• 1:24:32
  Speaker 1: being fulfilled. A man from the tribe of Benjamin fled
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: the battlefield and arrived in Shiloh that same day with
• 1:24:39
  Speaker 1: his clothes torn and dust on his head, a sign
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 1: of deep mourning. Eli was sitting on his chair by
• 1:24:48
  Speaker 1: the road, watching for his heart feared for the Ark
• 1:24:51
  Speaker 1: of God. When the messenger entered the town and delivered
• 1:24:55
  Speaker 1: the news, a great outcry arose. Eli, now ninety eight
• 1:25:00
  Speaker 1: years old and blind, heard the commotion and asked what
• 1:25:03
  Speaker 1: was happening. The messenger hurried to tell him, I have
• 1:25:06
  Speaker 1: just come from the battlefield. I fled to day. Eli asked,
• 1:25:11
  Speaker 1: what happened, my son. The messenger answered, Israel fled before
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: the Philistines and the army suffered great losses. Your two sons,
• 1:25:20
  Speaker 1: Hofni and Finnahas, are dead, and the Ark of God
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 1: has been captured. When he mentioned the Ark of God,
• 1:25:28
  Speaker 1: Eli fell backward off his chair by the city gate,
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 1: broke his neck, and died, for he was old and heavy.
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 1: He had led Israel for forty years. The tragedy didn't
• 1:25:39
  Speaker 1: end there. Eli's daughter in law, the wife of Phinihas,
• 1:25:43
  Speaker 1: was pregnant and near the time of delivery when she
• 1:25:45
  Speaker 1: heard the news that the Ark of God had been
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: captured and that her father in law and husband were dead,
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 1: She went into labor and gave birth to a son.
• 1:25:55
  Speaker 1: As she was dying, the women attending her said, don't
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: be afraid, you have given birth to a boy, but
• 1:26:02
  Speaker 1: she did not respond. In her final moments, she named
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: the boy Ichabod, saying the glory has departed from Israel
• 1:26:10
  Speaker 1: because the Ark of God had been captured and because
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 1: of the deaths of her father in law and her husband.
• 1:26:17
  Speaker 1: And so ended Eli's time as priest and judge. With
• 1:26:22
  Speaker 1: Israel's defeat, the death of his sons, the loss of
• 1:26:25
  Speaker 1: the Ark, and his own tragic demise. Despite his personal devotion,
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 1: his failure to discipline his son's brought disastrous consequences upon
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 1: the entire nation. As Eli's household came to an end,
• 1:26:40
  Speaker 1: God was preparing a new leader for Israel, Samuel, the
• 1:26:44
  Speaker 1: boy Hannah had dedicated to the Lord's service. As we've seen,
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 1: Samuel grew up in the tabernacle, learning to hear the
• 1:26:52
  Speaker 1: voice of God from a very young age. After the
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 1: Ark was captured and Eli died, Samuel lightly returned to
• 1:27:00
  Speaker 1: his hometown Rama. There he waited and watched as the
• 1:27:05
  Speaker 1: Philistines suffered because of the Ark's presence among them, The
• 1:27:09
  Speaker 1: Lord afflicted the Philistines with tumors, first in Ashdod, then
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: in Gath, and finally in Ekron. In every city where
• 1:27:17
  Speaker 1: the Ark was taken, a terrible disease struck the people.
• 1:27:20
  Speaker 1: After seven months, the Philistines decided to return the Ark
• 1:27:24
  Speaker 1: to Israel, along with a guilt offering five gold tumors
• 1:27:29
  Speaker 1: and five gold rats, representing the five rulers of the Philistines.
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 1: The ark was placed on a new cart pulled by
• 1:27:37
  Speaker 1: two cows that had just carved. If the cows made
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 1: their way to Israel, it would be a sign that
• 1:27:43
  Speaker 1: the Lord's hand had been behind their suffering. The cows
• 1:27:48
  Speaker 1: went straight to Beth Shamesh in Israel, not veering to
• 1:27:51
  Speaker 1: the right or to the left. For twenty years, the
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 1: Ark remained in Kirriath Jarim in the house of Abinadab.
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: That time. First Samuel seven two three tells us all
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 1: the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord.
• 1:28:08
  Speaker 1: Then Samuel said to all the Israelites, if you are
• 1:28:11
  Speaker 1: returning to the Lord with all your hearts, rid yourselves
• 1:28:15
  Speaker 1: of the foreign gods and the ashteraths among you. Commit
• 1:28:18
  Speaker 1: yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 1: will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
• 1:28:26
  Speaker 1: Samuel's words moved the people. They got rid of their
• 1:28:30
  Speaker 1: bales and ashterreths and began to serve the Lord alone.
• 1:28:35
  Speaker 1: Samuel said, assemble all Israel at Mispah, and I will
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 1: intercede with the Lord for you. They gathered at Mispah,
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 1: drew water and poured it out before the Lord. That
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 1: day they fasted and confessed we have sinned against the Lord.
• 1:28:52
  Speaker 1: When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had assembled at Mispah,
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 1: they prepared to attack them. The Israelites were afraid and
• 1:29:00
  Speaker 1: said to Samuel, do not stop crying out to the Lord,
• 1:29:03
  Speaker 1: our God for us, that he may rescue us from
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 1: the hand of the Philistines. Samuel offered a lamb as
• 1:29:10
  Speaker 1: a burnt offering and cried out to the Lord on
• 1:29:13
  Speaker 1: Israel's behalf, and the Lord answered him. While Samuel was
• 1:29:17
  Speaker 1: offering the sacrifice, the Philistines approached to battle Israel, but
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 1: the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines that day,
• 1:29:26
  Speaker 1: throwing them into such confusion that they were routed before Israel.
• 1:29:31
  Speaker 1: The men of Israel pursued the Philistines from Misper to
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 1: beth Khar, striking them down along the way. Then Samuel
• 1:29:37
  Speaker 1: took a stone and set it up between Mispah and Shen.
• 1:29:41
  Speaker 1: He named it Ebenezer, saying, thus far the Lord has
• 1:29:45
  Speaker 1: helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and did not
• 1:29:48
  Speaker 1: invade Israelite territory again. The Lord's hand was against the Philistines.
• 1:29:54
  Speaker 1: Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the towns the Philistines had taken were
• 1:29:58
  Speaker 1: restored to Israel, from Eci Cron to Gath, and there
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 1: was peace between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel continued to
• 1:30:06
  Speaker 1: serve as judge over Israel all the days of his life.
• 1:30:10
  Speaker 1: He established a circuit, traveling each year from Bethel to
• 1:30:14
  Speaker 1: Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places, but
• 1:30:18
  Speaker 1: he always returned to Ramah, where his home was, and
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 1: there he also judged Israel, and he built an altar
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 1: to the Lord there. But Samuel's leadership went beyond legal matters.
• 1:30:31
  Speaker 1: He also established schools for prophets. These were communities where
• 1:30:35
  Speaker 1: young men learned God's laws and how to worship him properly.
• 1:30:39
  Speaker 1: Under Samuel's leadership, a genuine spiritual revival took place in Israel. However,
• 1:30:45
  Speaker 1: as Samuel grew old, new problems arose. He appointed his sons,
• 1:30:50
  Speaker 1: Joel and Abija as judges in Beersheba. Unfortunately, they did
• 1:30:55
  Speaker 1: not follow their father's example. They pursued dishonest gain, accepted bribes,
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: and perverted justice. It echoed the very issue that had
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 1: plagued Eli sons, who failed to live up to their
• 1:31:07
  Speaker 1: father's integrity. The elders of Israel gathered and went to
• 1:31:11
  Speaker 1: Samuel at Ramah. They voiced two concerns. You are old,
• 1:31:16
  Speaker 1: and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now
• 1:31:19
  Speaker 1: appoint a king to lead us, such as all the
• 1:31:22
  Speaker 1: other nations have. This request displeased Samuel, and he prayed
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: to the Lord. And the Lord said to him, listen
• 1:31:29
  Speaker 1: to all that the people are saying to you. It
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: is not you they have rejected, but me as their king,
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 1: as they have done from the day I brought them
• 1:31:38
  Speaker 1: up out of Egypt until now, forsaking me and serving
• 1:31:42
  Speaker 1: other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen
• 1:31:45
  Speaker 1: to them, but warn them solemnly, and let them know
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 1: what the king who will reign over them will claim
• 1:31:51
  Speaker 1: as his rights. Samuel relayed all the Lord's words to
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 1: the people who were asking for a king. He warned
• 1:31:59
  Speaker 1: them about what a king would demand. He would take
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 1: their sons for his army and their daughters to serve
• 1:32:06
  Speaker 1: in his palace. He would claim the best of their lands.
• 1:32:09
  Speaker 1: He would demand a tenth of their crops and livestock,
• 1:32:12
  Speaker 1: and eventually they would become his slaves. When that day comes,
• 1:32:17
  Speaker 1: Samuel warned, you will cry out for relief from the
• 1:32:20
  Speaker 1: king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 1: you in that day. But the people refuse to listen
• 1:32:26
  Speaker 1: to Samuel. No, they said, we want a king over us.
• 1:32:31
  Speaker 1: Then we will be like all the other nations, with
• 1:32:34
  Speaker 1: a king to lead us and to go out before
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 1: us and fight our battles. After hearing everything the people said,
• 1:32:42
  Speaker 1: Samuel repeated their words to the Lord. The Lord replied,
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 1: listen to them and appoint a king for them. So
• 1:32:49
  Speaker 1: Samuel said, to the men of Israel, go back to
• 1:32:51
  Speaker 1: your towns. There was a man from the tribe of
• 1:32:54
  Speaker 1: Benjamin named Kish. His son Saul, was a tall and
• 1:32:58
  Speaker 1: handsome young man. No one in Israel surpassed him in appearance.
• 1:33:02
  Speaker 1: One day Kishu's donkeys went missing, and he sent Saul
• 1:33:06
  Speaker 1: to look for them. After a long and fruitless search,
• 1:33:09
  Speaker 1: Saul and his servant decided to seek the Seer, as
• 1:33:13
  Speaker 1: prophets were called in those days, in the near by town.
• 1:33:17
  Speaker 1: They didn't know it yet, but that seer was Samuel.
• 1:33:22
  Speaker 1: The day before, the Lord had revealed to Samuel to
• 1:33:26
  Speaker 1: morrow at this time, I will send you a man
• 1:33:28
  Speaker 1: from the land of Benjamin, anoint him as the leader
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 1: of my people Israel. He will deliver them from the
• 1:33:35
  Speaker 1: hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people,
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 1: for their cry has come to me. When Samuel saw Saul,
• 1:33:42
  Speaker 1: the Lord said, this is the man I spoke to
• 1:33:44
  Speaker 1: you about. He will rule over my people. Saul approached
• 1:33:49
  Speaker 1: Samuel and asked where the seer's house was. Samuel replied,
• 1:33:54
  Speaker 1: I am the Seer. Go ahead of me to the
• 1:33:56
  Speaker 1: high place, for you will dine with me to day.
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 1: To morrow morning, I will send you on your way
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 1: and tell you everything that is on your heart. Samuel
• 1:34:06
  Speaker 1: invited Saul to a banquet, gave him the place of honor,
• 1:34:10
  Speaker 1: and had a special portion of meat set aside for him.
• 1:34:14
  Speaker 1: After returning to town, Samuel and Saul talked on the
• 1:34:18
  Speaker 1: roof of the house. Early the next morning, Samuel called
• 1:34:21
  Speaker 1: Saul to send him on his way. As they were
• 1:34:25
  Speaker 1: leaving the city, Samuel said to Saul, tell the servant
• 1:34:28
  Speaker 1: to go ahead, but stay here for a moment, for
• 1:34:31
  Speaker 1: I have a message from God for you. Samuel took
• 1:34:35
  Speaker 1: a flask of oil, poured it on Saul's head, and
• 1:34:38
  Speaker 1: kissed him, saying, the Lord has anointed you ruler over
• 1:34:42
  Speaker 1: his inheritance. Then Samuel told Saul about the signs he
• 1:34:45
  Speaker 1: would encounter on the way, confirming his anointing. Everything happened
• 1:34:50
  Speaker 1: exactly as Samuel had foretold. Later, Samuel summoned the people
• 1:34:55
  Speaker 1: to gather before the Lord at Mispa. There he reminded
• 1:34:59
  Speaker 1: them how now God had delivered Israel from Egypt and
• 1:35:03
  Speaker 1: from all the kingdoms that had oppressed them. But to day,
• 1:35:06
  Speaker 1: Samuel said, you have rejected your God, who saves you
• 1:35:10
  Speaker 1: out of all your disasters and distress, and you said,
• 1:35:13
  Speaker 1: no appoint king over us. Samuel then had the tribes
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 1: of Israel come forward before the Lord, and the tribe
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 1: of Benjamin was chosen. Then the clans of Benjamin stepped forward,
• 1:35:25
  Speaker 1: and the Matrite clan was chosen. Finally, Saul, son of
• 1:35:31
  Speaker 1: Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he
• 1:35:34
  Speaker 1: was nowhere to be found. The Lord said, yes, he
• 1:35:38
  Speaker 1: is hiding among the baggage. They ran and brought him out.
• 1:35:42
  Speaker 1: As he stood among the people, he was taller than
• 1:35:45
  Speaker 1: any one else, head and shoulders above them all. Samuel said,
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 1: look at the man the Lord has chosen. There is
• 1:35:53
  Speaker 1: no one like him among all the people. Then all
• 1:35:56
  Speaker 1: the people shouted, long live the King. Samuel explained the
• 1:36:01
  Speaker 1: rights and duties of kingship to the people and wrote
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 1: them down on a scroll, which he placed before the Lord.
• 1:36:07
  Speaker 1: Then he sent everyone home. Throughout Saul's reign, Samuel remained
• 1:36:13
  Speaker 1: a prophet and adviser. On one occasion, Saul offered a
• 1:36:16
  Speaker 1: burnt offering without waiting for Samuel, as he had been instructed.
• 1:36:21
  Speaker 1: Samuel rebuked him. You acted foolishly. You did not keep
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 1: the command the Lord your God gave you. If you had,
• 1:36:30
  Speaker 1: he would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But
• 1:36:34
  Speaker 1: now your kingdom will not endure. The Lord has sought
• 1:36:37
  Speaker 1: out a man after his own heart and appointed him
• 1:36:41
  Speaker 1: ruler of his people because you have not kept the
• 1:36:43
  Speaker 1: Lord's command. On another occasion, when Saul spared king a
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 1: gag of the Amalekites and kept the best of the
• 1:36:50
  Speaker 1: live stock, disobeying a direct order from God. Samuel confronted
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 1: him again, does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and
• 1:37:00
  Speaker 1: sacrifices as much as in obeying his word? To obey
• 1:37:05
  Speaker 1: is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than
• 1:37:09
  Speaker 1: the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin
• 1:37:12
  Speaker 1: of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 1: you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has
• 1:37:20
  Speaker 1: rejected you as king. Samuel was deeply grieved by Saul's disobedience,
• 1:37:26
  Speaker 1: but the Lord said to him, how long will you
• 1:37:28
  Speaker 1: mourn for Saul since I have rejected him as king
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 1: over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go. I
• 1:37:35
  Speaker 1: am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have
• 1:37:38
  Speaker 1: chosen one of his sons to be king. Samuel went
• 1:37:41
  Speaker 1: to Bethlehem and anointed David, Jesse's youngest son, as the
• 1:37:45
  Speaker 1: future king, and the spirit of the Lord came powerfully
• 1:37:49
  Speaker 1: upon David from that day forward. This marked the beginning
• 1:37:52
  Speaker 1: of the transition from the period of the judges to
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 1: the monarchy in Israel. Samuel, who had dedicated aided his
• 1:38:00
  Speaker 1: life to God from childhood in the tabernacle, became the
• 1:38:04
  Speaker 1: last judge of Israel and the prophet who anointed the
• 1:38:07
  Speaker 1: first two kings of the nation. Samuel remained a moral
• 1:38:12
  Speaker 1: and spiritual authority until his death. When he died, all
• 1:38:17
  Speaker 1: Israel gathered and mourned for him, and they buried him
• 1:38:20
  Speaker 1: at his home in Ramah. His legacy as the last
• 1:38:23
  Speaker 1: of the Judges, the restorer of faith in Israel, and
• 1:38:27
  Speaker 1: the founder of the monarchy endured long after his death,
• 1:38:30
  Speaker 1: and he is mentioned in the Psalms as one who
• 1:38:33
  Speaker 1: called on the name of the Lord. Thus ended the
• 1:38:36
  Speaker 1: era of the Judges and began the monarchy in Israel,
• 1:38:40
  Speaker 1: with Saul anointed as the first king, followed by David,
• 1:38:44
  Speaker 1: a man after God's own heart. Dear friend, we've reached
• 1:38:49
  Speaker 1: the end of this fascinating journey through the time of
• 1:38:52
  Speaker 1: the Judges, an era of great contrasts, where we saw
• 1:38:56
  Speaker 1: extraordinary leaders who, despite their flaws, were used by God
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 1: to deliver his people. From Deborah to Samuel, we witnessed
• 1:39:04
  Speaker 1: how God is always ready to raise up deliverers when
• 1:39:07
  Speaker 1: his people cry out to him. We saw how unfaithfulness
• 1:39:11
  Speaker 1: leads to oppression, but sincere repentance opens the door to
• 1:39:15
  Speaker 1: divine deliverance. If this story touched your heart and you'd
• 1:39:20
  Speaker 1: like to keep learning about the incredible narratives of the Bible,
• 1:39:23
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• 1:39:27
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• 1:39:31
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• 1:39:35
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• 1:39:40
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• 1:39:45
  Speaker 1: Thanks for watching until the end. See you in the
• 1:39:48
  Speaker 1: next episode of our Bible Story series.