A BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE OFFERED BY THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST
"And you shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
TRUTH FOR THE WORLD
P.O. BOX 5048
Duluth, GA 30096-0065
U.S.A.
OLD
TESTAMENT
SURVEY
The time of the Judges was a very dark period in the history of God’s chosen
people. Israel continued to be faithful to God during the lifetime of Joshua and the
elders of his generation. However, the next generation “did not know the Lord nor the
work which He had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). This shows that God’s people
are never more than one generation from apostasy. The only way to prevent this from
happening is for every generation to teach its children well (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
Israel’s history during this time can be summed up in four words: (1) sin; (2)
slavery; (3) supplication; (4) salvation. Israel began worshiping idols. God punished them
by allowing one of the neighboring nations to bring them into bondage. The people prayed
to God for deliverance. God sent a judge to free them from their enemies. Israel remained
faithful to God until the death of the judge. Then the cycle was repeated.
The book of Judges shows what happens to people when they forget God and follow their own
ways. Twice it is recorded that: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone
did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). Read also Jeremiah 10:23
and Proverbs 14:12).
The book of Judges covers the period of time between the death of Joshua and the first
king of Israel. There were 15 different judges in all. The first judge was Othniel and the
last was Samuel. The human author of Judges is unknown. Possibly it was written by Samuel,
but we do not know for sure.
When the book of Judges begins, we find the Canaanites still controlling some of the land.
There are several reasons for this. First, God had said He would drive out the Canaanites
gradually “lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too
numerous for you” (Exodus 23:29,30). Second, Israel failed to destroy all the people
of the land as God had commanded them (Judges 2:1-5). Third, the Canaanites who were left
recaptured some of the land when Israel became weak (Judges 19:10-13). Fourth, because of
their sins Israel could no longer stand up to their enemies (Judges 2:13,14).
The first judge of Israel that God raised up was Othniel (Judges 3:7-11). He delivered the
people from the oppression of Cushanrishathaim, king of Mesopotamia.The second judge was
Ehud, a left handed man (Judges 3:12-30). Because the people forgot God after the death of
Othniel, God allowed Eglon, king of Moab, to oppress them. When the people repented and
cried to God, Ehud was sent to deliver them. He brought tribute to Eglon. He asked to be
alone in the king’s presence. Eglon thought Ehud had a secret message for him so he
sent all the people out. Ehud then stabbed the king with a dagger and escaped.
Deborah was the only female judge (Judges 4:4-5:31). Israel was oppressed by the
Canaanites. The commander of the Canaanite army was Sisera. Israel’s commander was
Barak. The armies of the two nations fought against each other. When Sisera saw his army
was being defeated, he fled. He came to the tent of Heber and asked Heber’s wife,
Jael, to hide him. He lay on the ground and Jael covered him. While he was sleeping, Jael
drove a tent peg through his head and killed him. Another well known judge of Israel was
Gideon (Judges 6:1-8:35). The Israelites had again turned away from God. God allowed the
Midianites to loot the land and take what they wanted. Finally, the people cried to God
for help. God sent His angel to Gideon to tell him he had been chosen to be the deliverer.
Gideon did not believe the angel and demanded proof. The proof was given and Gideon called
his army together. God did not want the people to think they would win because of their
own strength. He told Gideon to allow all the fearful to return home. Twenty-two thousand
left and ten thousand remained. God said there were still too many. The army was put to a
test. As a result, everyone was sent home except for three hundred. Gideon then gave the
men trumpets and torches in pitchers. He divided them into three groups. At his signal,
they broke their pitchers, blew their trumpets, shouted and rushed at the Midianite camp.
The Midianites fled in confusion. A great victory was won that day when three hundred men
defeated thousands of their enemies.
Perhaps the best known of all the judges was Samson (Judges 13-16). Samson was a Nazirite
from birth (Judges 13:4,5; Numbers 6). He was not allowed to drink wine, nor was his hair
allowed to be cut. He grew up to be a man of very great strength. In his day, the
Philistines oppressed the people of Israel. Samson loved a Philistine girl. He insisted on
marrying her in spite of his parent’s objections. He became angry with his wife at
their wedding feast and left. When he returned, he found she had been given to another
man. He took revenge by sending foxes with firebrands tied to their tails into the grain
fields of the Philistines. Later he killed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
Next, Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah. The leaders of the
Philistines offered Delilah money to find the secret of Samson’s strength. Three
times Samson lied to Delilah. Finally he told her that if his hair was cut, his strength
would be gone. She had his hair cut while he was sleeping. He was captured and his eyes
were put out. In prison, Samson’s hair began to grow. On a great sacrifice day, all
the Philistine leaders and their wives assembled in the temple of their god. They brought
Samson out to entertain them. He rested upon two pillars of the temple and prayed to God
for strength. He then pulled the temple down killing 3,000 Philistines as well as himself.
The Book of Ruth
The little book of Ruth is a beautiful story of love. It also shows how God cares and
provides for His people. Most important, however, is that the book of Ruth provides
another link in the family line of our Savior. We have seen the family line of Jesus come
from Adam to Seth to Noah to Shem to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and to Judah. Judah is the
tribe from which the Christ came. The book of Ruth shows the family from which Christ
came. It is the family of Jesse who was the father of David (Ruth 4:13-22).
Ruth was another Gentile who was in the lineage of Christ (Matthew 1:5). Elimelech and
Naomi, Israelites from Bethlehem in Judah, left their home in a time of famine. They went
to live in Moab. Their sons Mahlon and Chilion married Moabite girls. Ruth was one of
them. Elimelech died. Later Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi decided to return to her home
in Bethlehem. She tried to send her daughters-in-law back to their own people. Ruth did
not want to go. She loved her mother-in-law. She had also become a believer in the God of
Israel. Ruth’s words to Naomi are among the most beautiful words of love recorded in
the Bible. Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following
after you; for wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people
will be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be
buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death part you and me”
(Ruth 1:16,17).
Through God’s providence, Ruth met Boaz, a wealthy farmer. Boaz was a relative of
Ruth’s husband who had died. According to the Law of Moses, if a man died without
children, his nearest relative must marry his wife and raise up children (Deuteronomy
25:5-10). Boaz married Ruth. They had a son named Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse who
was the father of David. Jesus was a descendant of David.
STUDENT INFORMATION
Truth for the World is a mission work of the churches of Christ. It is a total approach to world evangelism involving radio and television programs, literature and campaign follow-up.
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