Deborah the judge was the 4th of the 15 judges who ruled over the land of israel during ancient times, before the israelites had kings. Those that remain behind turn israel toward the worship of their idol gods not those gods. In judges 5, we read judge deborahs story again, but this time as a poem. Aug 16, 2009 the book of judges describes a decentralized period of israels history.
After attending a lecture at the seminary where i teach, i saw a female student whom id not seen in months. The book closes with two sorrowful incidents which are typical of what life is like when people do that which is right in their own eyes 17. The story of deborah is in judges 4, and the song is in judges 5. The lord spoke through her as she held court under a tree called the palm of deborah in ephraim. But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength. The same word is used in hebrew for woman and wife, so we dont know for sure if deborah was a woman of lappidoth a place or wife of lappidoth a person. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess and the only female judge mentioned in the bible. And then we are going to talk about what deborah might want to say to us today. Gunn has not only provided a useful tool for students of the book of judges but also established a new standard for biblical commentaries in general. As a part of gods dynamic word, or message, the book of. Jan 23, 2014 prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. Whether this theory is true or not, it was deborah who urged barak into battle when sisera and his troops arrived judges 4. A bible commentary focusing on the book of judges, best known for the tale of samson and delilah, but full of many other rich and colourful stories.
The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. Events within the book of judges span the geographical breadth of the nation, happening in a variety of cities, towns, and battlefields. Several names on the list have an image with them to highlight the life and activity of the judge ex. Here are the other interesting facts about deborah to notice. Her story is found in the book of judges in the hebrew bible. She was the only woman who served as a judge during those extended years of turmoil. The military hierarchy recognizes her as supreme commander and in fact will only go to war on her personal command judg. Yhwh is the true judge of israel who delivers and whose judgments are right and just 11. I will sing 4 to the lord god of israel 4 o lord, when you departed 5 from seir. The book of judges acts as the sequel to the book of joshua, linked by comparable accounts of joshuas death joshua 24. The people recognize her wisdom and come to her for counsel and conflict resolution judges 4. The judges themselves stand out as sterling examples of faith. The book of judges contains the history of about 300 years when israel had no king.
The book ends with two very disturbing stories that show how incredibly lawless the. Highlights from the book of judges watchtower online library. Therefore he is one of the many judges in the bible that god used. Does jehovah provide a way of escape for them even then. It is considered part of the deuteronomic history that begins in the last book of the torah and ends with the second book of kings. She is called a prophetess and the wife of lappidoth. Every deliverance in the book of judges is specifically attributed to yhwh. A prophetess is a woman whom god chooses to convey his special messages to others. Deborah and the book of judges by avi lazerson the story of deborah the prophetess which is told in the book of judges shoftim in hebrew is a story that has a special relevance for our generation.
The song of deborah on that day deborah and barak son of abinoam sang this song. Deborah, the only female judge in the bible, excelled in multiple areas. Deborah was a leader, a judge, and a prophetess in israel one to whom god could reveal his secrets. The book of judges of which the book or ruth formed originally a part, contains a history from joshua to samson. I will make music to the lord, the god of israel 4 b lord, when you went out from seir. I give this book three stars because the author gets this story off the ground, but then leaves you with no want for the romance is lacking and the plot has no grab factor. Firstly, to better understand deborah, we have to discover the world she lived in. The powerful woman of deborah and the book of judges. With this additional short summary of the book of judges you can discover the people, places and stories detailed in this holy scripture. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborahs private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. After greeting me, she enthusiastically told me about the exciting ministries god was allowing in and through her life. This suggests that judges were seen as gods people, and their gender was unimportant. The book of judges follows the book of joshua which is the sequel to the five books of moses.
At that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel. When you, lord, went out from seir, when you marched from the land of. We must have a regular program of bible study so as not to forget jehovahs doings. The recurring cycle of israels apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance by heavensent deliverers forms the key theme of the book of judges. She lived during the time of israels judges, as told in the bibles book of judges. Deborah stands out due to both her spiritual and civil leadership. She was an exemplary prophetess, who succeeded in delivering her people from the hands of their oppressors. Key personalities include othniel, ehud, deborah, gideon, abimelech, jephthah, samson, and delilah. As a part of gods dynamic word, or message, the book of judges is of great value to us. Her governance is so good that the land had rest for forty years judg. Another occasion where shamgar was mentioned was in the song of deborah. Judges and ruth bible lessons for older preschoolers.
What we learn about faith and courage from judge deborah. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders. The lord also used her to set her people free and defeat the king of canaan. That breaks israels covenant not to mention hurts gods feelings. See more ideas about bible, bible lessons, bible class. These judges start off fairly well othniel, ehud, deborah but become increasingly worse gideon, jephthah, samson. The book of judges is a history book in the old testament of the bible. This bundle includes the judges of israel as listed in the book of judges. Tragedy and hope in the book of judges bibleproject. Based on the book of judges chapters 4 and 5, his husband was lapidoth. Book of judges contemporary lessons from the book o judges 2 the judges were ehud and shamgar. This chapter in scripture, often referred to as the song of deborah, is believed to be written as early as the 12th century bc and is considered by many biblical scholars as one of the earliest examples of hebrew poetry.
Deborah lived somewhere about 1150 bce, about a century or so after the hebrews entered canaan. The biblical book of judges contains culturally familiar stories such as that of samson and delilah and deborah and baraq. Othniel, ehud, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephthah, ibzan, elon, abdon, samson the j see more. Deborah was the wife of lapidot, and was brought to the people of israel as a judge at a time. In their story, we see not only faithfulness and love, but gods sovereignty in action. Deborah is introduced, as are the other 11 judges in the book of judges, without fanfare. Exactly as deborah stated, sisera moved his forces to the river of kishon v. The book of judges takes its name from the gifted leaders hebrew shopetim, who guided the fortunes of israel from the death of joshua to the days of samuel, israels last judge. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan. Instead, god appointed special people, called judges to lead the people. After the death of joshua, god raised up judges to lead his people. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the book of judges. Periodically, the lord would endow a leadera judgein one of these tribes with his holy spirit, and that leader would rise to rally the israelites together to face down a common foe. It was a period of repeated spiritual apostasy, growing immorality, social degradation, and political instability.
Judges spans about 350 years from joshuas conquest ca. The bible however, never stated how long he ruled as a judge judges 3. Approaching judges as a unified literary document, tammi schneider shows that the. Watch our overview video on the book of judges, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Deborah was one of the judges of israel during a time of oppression. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament.
The quick view bible highlights from gideons reign quick. But despite the popularity of these stories, other important stories in judges such as that of achsah, the raped pilegesh, and the final civil war are virtually unknown to the average reader. As deborah prophesied, a woman settles the score with sisera. The only woman who judges, deborah used to sit under the palm treeand the sons of israel came up to her. Israel continues to conquer canaan after the death of joshua, but fails to completely drive out the canaanites as god commanded. May 18, 2017 i thoroughly enjoyed luke walkers book he gave them judges.
The book of judges chapters 4 and 5 record the history of the nation of israel in the time of the prophetess deborah. During the premonarchic israel, she was recognized as the fourth judge. The story moves well at the start, then slow drifts off giving you no hook to keep you wanting to read on, especially if you have read the story of deborah in the bible. She was also a prophet and the wife of lappidoth judg. For the most part, the book of judges reflects a negative picture of gods people drifting away spiritually and. The book of judges answers these and other vital questions. The prophetess deborah a strong woman of god beginning. When the princes in israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves praise the lord. Assignments on judges 1 please read the whole book of judges at least once as we study chapter 1.
Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. In the bible, deborah was the only female judge ever. The lessons that we learn from them strengthen our faith and help us to get a firm hold on. In judges, the israelites turn away from god and face the consequences. Samson did not always obey god or his plan, yet god used samson to lead and protect israel. Highlights from the book of judges information for personal study highlights of judges a vigorous account of the deliverances that jehovah repeatedly performed for israel through the judges when israel abandoned idolatrous practices and earnestly sought his help.
Judge deborah, a prophet and warrior, came after shamgar who followed ehud in the book of judges. The book of judges thus fills the gap between joshua and 1 samuel in such a way that it prepares the reader for what is to come in 1 and 2 samuel. Deborah judges 45 bible commentary theology of work. Skim the book of judges, reading as much as you can, and state the theme of the book. We will see a cycle that the israelites pass through repeatedly in the history of the judges. Apr 12, 2019 deborah is introduced, as are the other 11 judges in the book of judges, without fanfare. His writing style is easy to read, the flow is smooth, he is witty and encouraging. What if they repeatedly fall away and call on him for help only when they are in distress. Though the other judges are not called prophets, yet they all seem to have had direct communications from god, either of knowledge or power, or. Deborah lived during the period of the judges, when israel was not united as a nation under one leader but rather existed as a loose confederation of tribes. The book of judges highlights six judges during this time and shows their increasing corruption. A bible study on the prophetess deborah in the book of judges.
This summary of the book of judges will help with many different forms of bible study. It is here that the unique contribution of the book of judges can be identified. During this period the israelites, now in the promised land after the military conquests of joshua, went through a constant cycle of falling into sin, being punished by god via an attack by enemy invaders, crying out to the lord in repentance and a judge being raised up to lead. The song of deborah is a very ancient poem, one of the earliest writings that the bible preserves. The thoughts are clear, concise and the christological connections take shape. The book of judges includes several interesting genres. Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborah s private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. At one point samson was surrounded by the philistines in gaza to capture him. Sproul that is, sometimes we can zero in on one period of time in the past, observe how the entire span of human history recapitulates that particular period, and then learn from that period what we should do today. The book ends with two very disturbing stories that show how incredibly lawless the people have become. Mar 09, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of judges, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Its author is anonymous but it is usually assumed that samuel, the prophet wrote it.
These books tell of the israelites reign over the land of canaan and have a heavy focus on divine reward and punishment. The judges of the bible coloring pages bundle pack. You can read the full story about her in judges 45. The book of judges is the second book in neviim prophets, the second section of the tanach hebrew bible. This book is very accessible for the average reader. The years of comparative spiritual prosperity which israel enjoyed under the reign of ehud came to an end with his death. When deborah received instruction from god, she moved to act on it. With encouragement from deborah, who serves as a prophetess, and with jehovahs backing, barak and his lightly equipped army of ten thousand men rout the powerful army of sisera. How does jehovah respond when his own people turn their back on him and begin to worship false gods. She is a faithful women of god and an example for godly christian women the prophetess deborah a strong woman of god beginning and end. This singleman war against the philistines started a 20 year reign of samson over the philistines. Contemporary lessons from the book of judges bible charts.
Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in harosheth haggoyim. Deborahs prophecy about sisera comes true the israelite warriors won the day, and general sisera fled the battleground on foot. True to the cycle of the times, the lord sent a judge to save the people the prophetess, deborah. The lessons that we learn from them strengthen our faith and help us to get a firm hold on the real life, everlasting life in god s. Shamgar, judge amazing bible timeline with world history. This judges and ruth unit highlights the leadership provided by three of israels judgesdeborah, gideon, and samson. Great for your vbs, sunday school or homeschool activities. Using an ox goad, he was able to slaughter 600 foreign invaders in the region. Judge shamgar, in the book of judges, was a great man who was able to drive away the philistines and prevent them from invading the israelite regions. So barak went down from mount tabor, and ten thousand men after him. Thus jehovahs saving ability and his longsuffering, mercy, undeserved kindness, and justice are highlighted. Judges is linked with the preceding bible book by its opening words, and after the death of joshua. And this is one incredible book of stories and people. I will praise the lord, the god of israel, in song.
This bible commentary traces the reception of judges through the ages, not only by scholars and theologians, but also by preachers, teachers, politicians, poets, essayists and artists. When the people answered the call to war praise the lord 3 hear, o kings pay attention, o rulers. Highlights from the book of judges watchtower online. Judges 5 the song of deborah on that day bible gateway. The bible records no dissent or rebellion against her. It also features a true story involving a grieving woman, naomi, and her faithful daughterinlaw, ruth.
Her story is told in the book of judges, chapters 4 and 5. Book of judges overview insight for living ministries. Jan 18, 2016 in this first volume of the new blackwell bible commentaries series to treat a book from the tanak, david m. Leadership resides not in gender but in character and gifting. Note that deborah is introduced as one judging israel sitting under a tree and calling barak to deliver the nation 4.
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