Sword in the Fire

The final chapters of Judges are some of the most depressing reading in the Old Testament.  Israel's confederacy of tribes is on the brink of self-destruction.  The author continues his rallying cry -- "there was no king in Israel, and the people did what was right in their own eyes." These chapters should come as no surprise, for each proceeding judge encountered greater and greater resistance until the people became so comfortable in their conformity to pagan culture, there was no longer a cry for salvation.  God appointed Samson, the lone judge, with no army and no support to disturb His people from their slumber with Philistine life.  Even Samson was less than ideal, succumbing himself, only to cry out for salvation at life's end. Within these chapters the caretakers of the covenant, the Levites, those who should be prodding the perpetuation of the faith, reject their duties and are as confused spiritually as the common man.  One tribe has beco...

In a previous post, the oft criticized Samson was defended as a better judge than his reputation usually suggests.  Samson's life is full of contradictions--much like ours.  On we hand we aspire to unite to God but so often we push against God's hand to follow our own path.  Samson speaks to this. 1.  Samson -- the possibility of purpose Samson personifies God's plan for His people Israel.  At the blessing of Abraham, God gives a vision of His people blessing the earth and all nations, but within a handful of generations this promise looks shattered as His people become enslaved and will stay so for 400 years.  Moses then arrives as a vessel to rescue the people from slavery, consolidating them into one nation, establishing clarity of purpose and vision through the law he receives on Sinai.  Israel was to be a light to the nations. One purpose of the law separates Israel from the rest of mankind, so that they might display the greatness and lovin...

In my mind, I always viewed Samson as the bumbling judge, wondering if he made it in the Bible just for sheer entertainment purposes.  It seems like he always stumbling over himself, and being made a fool like a circus sideshow.  Rereading his story over the last couple weeks and dipping into the commentary of the Fathers (especially St. Ambrose), I am thinking differently about this man. He wasn't perfect, but there is much that is admirable about him.  Here's at least 5 reasons, Samson stands out as a true hero and faithful judge. 1.  He was a thorn to Israel.   Unlike previous judges, there was no cry from Israel for deliverance from their oppressor.  God raised up Samson to deliver Israel from their own complacency.  They embraced their Philistine master allowing themselves to become assimilated into this pagan people, losing their identity as God's covenant people.  He irritated Israel.  Judah seemed frustrated at his actions, arre...

So what happened to Jephthah's daughter, was she offered as a human sacrifice or something else?  A quick reading could lead to this conclusion, but read it again and another option appears.  In a  previous post , the circumstances of this story was developed, but no answer was given to her fate.  Among Jewish and Christian commentators, two basic views dominate.  One is she was tragically sacrificed and the other is her sacrifice was a life of perpetual virginity wholly devoted to the service of God. Let's weigh both views. 1.  A Human Sacrifice.  The greatest argument for this view is it is the plain reading of the text.  This was common among ancient Rabbinical writers, and along with their comments a tradition emerged about Jephthah himself.   Among these ancient Jews arose a belief Jephthah was ultimately punished for this act along with the contemporary high priest, Phineas, who could have annulled the vow but was too proud to act...

In Judges, there is a disturbing story in the midst of a heroic and praiseworthy leader.  This man, Jephthah, was an illegitimate child, was rejected by his brothers, excommunicated from the presence of his clan, and forced to live in a land of foreigners.   In contrast to the judges surrounding his story, he did not have multiple wives and prolific numbers of children, as if to create a ruling dynasty memorializing his own heroism.  Jephthah did not even have a son who would carry on his name, only a daughter, a daughter who appears precious to his very soul. Out of fear from invading armies, his brothers called him back from the exile they imposed upon him to lead them into victory over their enemies.  Jephthah's only condition was future acceptance and continued leadership of his clan.  They agreed.   Jephthah cries to God for victory and out of zeal or desperation makes a vow to God, unthinkable to modern ears.  If victorious, he will ...

The sun beat down on his head as he trudged along the rocky path to bring presents to his oppressors.  Ehud was chosen from his people to be the tribute-giver, and had somehow gained a measure of trust from the enemy, but he felt like a traitor.  Regularly gathering the first-fruits and prime livestock for this back-water Moabite empire that had managed to enslave his people, he loaded his cart and camels with extortion.   Entering the palace, the guards grabbed him, two brutes rifling his sacks, removing them from the pack animals, laughing at his ringlets of hair, hanging down his face in front of his ears, the marks of the devout or patriotic among his people, marks most cut long ago hide their true heritage.  Ehud's small tribe had a greater secret to hide than the edges of their hairlines, for this secret forced them to embrace a clumsy existence, marking them as slow and stupid.  Most of his people were cursed with the left-hand.   Some, o...

In the imagination of their hearts, the sky god Baal looked down with longing upon the earth goddess Ashtoreth, overcome with desire toward her, he took her for himself, and through this union--creation sprang forth. The peoples of Canaan, for their own safety, security, and the fulfilling of their own desires created a system to explain, control, and placate these elemental forces.  Much like we bend nature with technology to satisfy needs and passions, these ancients sought their own religious techniques based upon their own observation of their world.   If Baal was angry, life, weather, and crops would go bad--so he needed something to soothe his restless heart.  Sacrifice was required to settle Baal and bring harmony once more.  This was not so much as worship as it was manipulation.   Sexuality, fertility rites, and debauchery were acts that prompted Baal and his goddess Ashtoreth to move in favor toward man.  And Israel was attracted t...

Othniel, the first judge, presents an uneventful story, at least compared with later judges Gideon and Samson, especially considering his backstory in the previous chapters.  With family like Caleb , and the support of his wife Achsah , the anticipation of greatness disappears in a whisper. Yet, he is faithful, he delivers, he rescues his people from the bondage of their idolatry.   Othniel may not have an impressive story, but a phrase, stinging with truth, is injected into the account, describing the heart of his people, the book's people, even our people--"they forgot the Lord."   Could anything be a more damning accusation?  God has delivered their forbears from the greatest power of the ancient by drowning the king and his army in the same waters that were their way of escape; He rescued them from thirst and starvation by pouring water from rocks and raining bread from heaven; He marched them into their Promised Land, parting waters once again, giving them v...

The first chapters of Judges overlap the ending of Joshua and set the stage for the remainder of the book.  The tribe of Judah becomes the new leader to drive out the rest of the Canaanites, and a familiar face from the sons of Judah appears once more.  Back in the wilderness, 12 spies were picked to scout out the land, and only two embraced the promise of God and the hope of victory.  The rejection of conquest by the majority relegated the people to 40 yrs of wandering, but the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb , became future leaders for the people of Israel.   The last years of Caleb ’s life mentioned in Joshua are recounted again in this first chapter.  Aged Caleb needs help conquering the last remaining bits of his inheritance, and seeks out a man of bravery with the promise of his daughter’s hand in marriage.  The man that steps forward from Caleb ’s tribe of Judah is Othniel.  Othniel appears a couple chapters later as the first judge men...

Before reading, here are a couple thoughts about the setup for the book of Judges.  Chronology is almost impossible to pin down.  Even though each cycle from sin to salvation is given a number of years of oppression then a number of years for peaceful rest, to total all those years generates a calculation either too long or too short for what we know about the time from Moses to King David.  It appears the author is giving us snippets and vignettes from this time, as evidence each tribe gets a representative judge.  Then in the middle of the of the list of judges, full attention and space is given to the man Gideon.  The structure alone suggests the author is not recounting a linear history, but has a design in place, without Gideon being highlighted as the ideal judge.   The book begins by giving the third-born tribe of Judah a new preeminence, guaranteed by God’s stamp of approval.  This has been coming for some time, even in Genesis, we find the...

I stumbled onto this great poem by Fr. Lawrence Farley , and because of ongoing Sunday School preparation the book of Judges is almost always on my mind.  I hope you enjoy, and make sure to add Fr. Lawrence to your blog reader, and check out his books as well. Here’s to the Israelite Judges Here’s to the Israelite judges: lying facedown and forgotten, buried in the backpages, doomed to molder, their very names left unpronounced by all save German scholars who sit in towers of Teutonic irrelevance, scribbling unreadable tomes for the anaemic. They deserved better. Here’s to the Israelite judges: not old men who sit heavily on British benches, white wigs perched ridiculously on bald pates consulting books, handing out sentences, but young men, running furiously down foothills, their hot blood intent on their cold swords, shouting wildly to the wind about God and death and freedom, young men whose arms hugged their women hard and hoisted ...

We recently started going through the book of Judges in our Sunday School class, and even though it traces event taken place long ago, the stories remain fresh. Here's a little intro, providing a short summary of the events: Sin, Slavery, Supplication, & Salvation, I shout!  An old-time preacher is channeling me with a 4 part alliterated list, yet this list summarizes the repeated cycle of this book.  The Bible reader got hints of this as Israel was in the wilderness, and glimpses in Joshua (remember the Achan story), but it is on full display in Judges, setting the stage as a microcosm of Israel’s history.   The Pharisee in us all snickers at Israel’s continual fall into sin and slavery, and their cry of supplication for salvation from God.  In our distance from the events at hand, arrogance bubbles up, giving thanks to God that we are more enlightened than these ancient dolts, but if we allow a moment of reflection our life is shot through with...