A Series on the Book of Judges - Background

There have been many forms of government in history – such as democracies, oligarchies, monarchies and dictatorships.  But a fairly unusual type, a judicial model headed by a judge, once operated in Israel. 

It is best known from the period covered by the Bible book of Judges but not limited to then.  Moses was a judge leader and in Exodus 18, we learn that (as is often the case today) his court was swamped with cases; delays and exhaustion were the result.  Many more judges were appointed to help out the chief judge and each had to adhere to certain standards of integrity and impartiality.  Even when the judge was replaced by the king as the figurehead of the nation and the chief dispenser of civil justice (see David in 2 Samuel 15:2), judges remained a vital part of Israelite life (see Ezra 7:25, 2 Chronicles 19:5).

Perhaps the first thing you might think of in relation to a judge is dealing with criminals.  You’ll recall the famous case of Solomon, the baby and the sword? It typifies the kind of civil law justice that would have been their main focus – the resolving of disputes.  There were certain important administrative functions to be performed which also oiled the wheels of social life; an example of which is the recognition of the lifelong binding of a slave to his master (Exodus 21:5-6).  At times, the worked in tandem with the priests (see Deuteronomy 17:8-10) and logically the latter would have been the primary experts on ceremonial law.   But it would also seem that guilt in the context of criminal law was established not by the judges but by witness testimony of the community (see Deuteronomy 17:6 for example).

In Judges, the judges were pressed into emergency service - rescuing the people from raiding marauders (Judges 2:16).   The name of one of the famous judges, Joshua, means Saviour – relevant of course to his role and also a pointer to the future Saviour of the same name.

Did this model work?  The judges themselves were of varying calibers and there was a general dearth of strong leadership role models across the nation which meant that the moral and spiritual environment was poor.  As a result the period was very volatile and instability was never far away.   

How long God would have persisted with the model is a matter of speculation, but it was the people themselves that called for a change.  Their motives were largely selfish but they were given an excuse by the unethical behavior of Samuel’s sons (see 1 Samuel 8).   Behind that, the people wanted a more visual and dynamic leader which would make them like everyone else.  

God took this very personally – he somewhat surprisingly told Samuel that the people were actually rejecting him.  God knew full well what they were letting themselves in for but his warnings fell on deaf ears.  Key differences in the monarchical model would cause issues over time.  The main difference was that kingship was hereditary (and not raised up directly by God like the judges) and this was to cause trouble:

·         many sons proved to be unsuitable candidates

·         often undue influence of family members or family battles for succession

·         potential for inexperienced kings and unstable government

·         focus on self-aggrandizement and passing on of wealth

·         increase in political and military maneuvering  for own gain

Ironically, these issues often resulted in less justice for the people. Despite these drawbacks, at least the highlights of the reign of David are a foreshadowing of the great King that was, and is, to come.   Today, we often rightly complain about the apparent unfairness of life, the social inequalities that exist and a sense that justice is not being done.  We can look forward to a future day, in the Millennium, where the Lord will reign on earth as King/Judge and we will really see what good civil government looks like:

“In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness." (Isaiah 16:5).

Words!

In 11^th century Europe, the First Crusade to recapture Jerusalem was started by the Pope by just 3 words “deus le volt”, or “God wills it” in English.  In 1960’s America, the cause of race relations was greatly advanced by 4 words from Martin Luther King – “I have a dream”.

Matthew 12 v 36-37 says, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

James 3 v 6-8 says. “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell...no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

This being the case we should watch our words carefully.  It seems to be that advice which the Bible gives – to limit our words to each other and to God in certain circumstances.

One of the challenges we face is that we have unlimited numbers of words at our disposal.  In addition, English is the richest language in the world, with over 700,000 to choose from.  It is estimated that men use 25,000 words per day, whereas women use twice that amount.  They probably would claim it is because the men were not listening the first time they said it! It was said of Samuel in 1 Sam 3 v 19 that God did not let any of his words fall to the ground.  What an interesting expression.  Not one word was wasted, and this also shows that God was also listening at all times.  Are any of our words only fit to be thrown away?

There appear to be 3 good options here:

1)  Be slow to speak – assess the situation from all angles, challenge the motives behind what you are about to say, and then prepare and select your words with great care

2) Speak few words – the law of averages tells us that the fewer words we speak, the less chance of putting our foot in it.  As James vividly indicates to us in his letter, our tongues can get out of control – he uses the word “hell” in his description, which is not a word to be used lightly.

3)  Don’t speak at all – its very unnatural for many, particularly when you feel under attack and you feel the need to defend yourself.  But think of Jesus’ example and how it was said of him, when he was reviled he did not revile again.  Our culture today is one that demands instant opinions – whether it be in relation to politics, news or sports events.  Some stars are even contracted to be interviewed after an event – they cannot get out of it!  We can though and sometimes its better not to say anything at all.

However we must also be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Of course there are times when we must speak out, and infact we are commanded to do so!

- Confession of Jesus as Lord – Romans 10 v 9.  Consider this as a daily exercise to start the day

- Building up of fellow saints – Ephesians 4 v 15.  Its certainly harder to do this than tear someone down!

- Declaring God’s praises – Psalm 145 v 6.  Don’t forget our words can still be few.  After all, if our bodies are a living sacrifice to God throughout the week, isn’t that what God wants more?

- Witnessing – 1 Peter 3 v 15.  Words should be used like a scalpel though - and not a blunt instrument like a mallet.  The words here are in response to a specific question from an enquirer (presumably triggered by the distinctive lifestyle of the Christian) and not simply a scattergun approach to the gospel.

May our prayer be that of David in Psalm 19 v 14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”