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Judges Chapter 15

Samson Burns the Philistine Crops Samson is denied his wife

15 1 Gen 38:17; 1 Sam 16:20; Luk 15:29 B1But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

2 Jdg 14:20 2And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. He burns the Philistines' corn with foxes and firebrands

3And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

4And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. His wife and her father are burnt by the Philistines

6 Jdg 14:15 6Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

7And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. Samson smites them hip and thigh

8 1 Chr 4:3; 2 Chr 11:6 8And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. He is bound by the men of Judah, and delivered to the Philistines

9¶Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

11 Jdg 14:4; Jdg 2:13-14; Deu 28:43-44; Lev 26:25 11Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

12And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. He kills them with a jawbone

14And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 2 Sam 23:8; Jdg 3:31; Jos 23:10; Deu 32:30 15And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

16And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. God makes the fountain En-hakkore for him in Lehi

18 Psa 3:7 18¶And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19 Gen 45:27; Isa 40:29 19But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 Jdg 13:1 20And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

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Introductions and Outlines courtesy Grace to You. Used by permission)

Introduction to Judges
by John MacArthur

Title

The book bears the fitting name “Judges,” which refers to unique leaders God gave to His people for preservation against their enemies (Jdg 2:16-19). The Hebrew title means “deliverers” or “saviors,” as well as judges (cf. Deut 16:18; 17:9; 19:17). Twelve such judges arose before Samuel; then Eli and Samuel raised the count to 14. God Himself is the higher Judge (Jdg 11:27). Judges spans about 350 years from Joshua’s conquest (ca. 1398 B.C.) until Eli and Samuel judged prior to the establishment of the monarchy (ca. 1043B.C.).

Author and Date

No author is named in the book, but the Jewish Talmud identifies Samuel, a key prophet who lived at the time these events took place and could have personally summed up the era (cf. 1 Sam 10:25). The time was earlier than David’s capture of Jerusalem ca. 1004 B.C. (2 Sam 5:6, 7) since Jebusites still controlled the site (Judg 1:21). Also, the writer deals with a time before a king ruled (Jdg 17:6; 18:1; 21:25). Since Saul began his reign ca. 1043 B.C., a time shortly after his rule began is probably when Judges was written.

Background and Setting

Judges is a tragic sequel to Joshua. In Joshua, the people were obedient to God in conquering the Land. In Judges, they were disobedient, idolatrous, and often defeated. Judges 1:1-3:6 focuses on the closing days of the book of Joshua. Judges 2:6-9 gives a review of Joshua’s death (cf. Josh 24:28-31). The account describes 7 distinct cycles of Israel’s drifting away from the Lord starting even before Joshua’s death, with a full departure into apostasy afterward. Five basic reasons are evident for these cycles of Israel’s moral and spiritual decline: 1) disobedience in failing to drive the Canaanites out of the Land (Judg 1:19, 21, 35); 2) idolatry (Jdg 2:12); 3) intermarriage with wicked Canaanites (Jdg 3:5, 6); 4) not heeding judges (Jdg 2:17); and 5) turning away from God after the death of the judges (Jdg 2:19).

A four-part sequence repeatedly occurred in this phase of Israel’s history: 1) Israel’s departure from God; 2) God’s chastisement in permitting military defeat and subjugation; 3) Israel’s prayer pleading for deliverance; and 4) God raising up “judges,” either civil or sometimes local military champions who led in shaking off the oppressors. Fourteen judges arose, six of them military judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson). Two men were of special significance for contrast in spiritual leadership: 1) Eli, judge and High-Priest (not a good example); and 2) Samuel, judge, priest, and prophet (a good example).

Historical and Theological Themes

Judges is thematic rather than chronological; foremost among its themes is God’s power and covenant mercy in graciously delivering the Israelites from the consequences of their failures, which were suffered for sinful compromise (cf. 2:18, 19; 21:25). In 7 periods of sin to salvation (cf. Introduction: Outline), God compassionately delivered His people throughout the different geographical areas of tribal inheritances which He had earlier given through Joshua (Josh 13-22). The apostasy covered the whole land, as indicated by the fact that each area is specifically identified: southern (Jdg 3:7-31); northern (Jdg 4:1-5:31); central (Jdg 6:1-10:5); eastern (Jdg 10:6-12:15); and western (Jdg 13:1-16:31). His power to faithfully rescue shines against the dark backdrop of pitiful human compromise and sometimes bizarre twists of sin, as in the final summary (Judg 17-21). The last verse (Jdg 21:25) sums up the account: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Interpretive Challenges

The most stimulating challenges are: 1) how to view men’s violent acts against enemies or fellow countrymen, whether with God’s approval or without it; 2) God’s use of leaders who at times do His will and at times follow their own sinful impulse (Gideon, Eli, Jephthah, Samson); 3) how to view Jephthah’s vow and offering of his daughter (Jdg 11:30-40); and 4) how to resolve God’s sovereign will with His providential working in spite of human sin (cf. 14:4).

The chronology of the various judges in different sectors of the Land raises questions about how much time passed and how the time totals can fit into the entire time span from the Exodus (ca. 1445B.C.) to Solomon’s fourth year, ca 967/966 B.C., which is said to be 480 years (1 Kin 6:1; see Judg 11:26 and note). A reasonable explanation is that the deliverances and years of rest under the judges in distinct parts of the Land included overlaps, so that some of them did not run consecutively but rather concurrently during the 480 years. Paul’s estimate of “about 450” years in Acts 13:20 is an approximation.

Outline of Judges
by John MacArthur

I. Introduction and Summary—The Disobedience of Israel (Jdg 1:1-3:6)

A. Incomplete Conquest over the Canaanites (Jdg 1:1-36)
B. The Decline and Judgment of Israel (Jdg 2:1-3:6)

II. A Selected History of the Judges—The Deliverance of Israel (Jdg 3:7-16:31)

A. First Period: Othniel vs. Mesopotamians (Jdg 3:7-11)
B. Second Period: Ehud and Shamgar vs. Moabites (Jdg 3:12-31)
C. Third Period: Deborah vs. Canaanites (Jdg 4:1-5:31)
D. Fourth Period: Gideon vs. Midianites (Jdg 6:1-8:32)
E. Fifth Period : Tola and Jair vs. Abimelech’s Effects (Jdg 8:33-10:5)
F. Sixth Period: Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon vs. Philistines and Ammonites (Jdg 10:6-
12:15)
G. Seventh Period: Samson vs. Philistines (Jdg 13:1-16:31)

III. Epilogue—The Dereliction of Israel (Jdg 17:1-21:25)

A. The Idolatry of Micah and the Danites (Jdg 17:1-18:31)
B. The Crime at Gibeah and War Against Benjamin (Jdg 19:1-21:25)

Introduction to Judges
by John MacArthur

Title

Author and Date

Background and Setting

Historical and Theological Themes

Interpretive Challenges

Outline of Judges
by John MacArthur

I. Introduction and Summary—The Disobedience of Israel (Jdg 1:1-3:6)

II. A Selected History of the Judges—The Deliverance of Israel (Jdg 3:7-16:31)

III. Epilogue—The Dereliction of Israel (Jdg 17:1-21:25)

The 1440 Agenda

Remembering Marcy

Study Bible

Introduction to Judgesby John MacArthur

Title

Author and Date

Background and Setting

Historical and Theological Themes

Interpretive Challenges

Outline of Judgesby John MacArthur

I. Introduction and Summary—The Disobedience of Israel (Jdg 1:1-3:6)

II. A Selected History of the Judges—The Deliverance of Israel (Jdg 3:7-16:31)

III. Epilogue—The Dereliction of Israel (Jdg 17:1-21:25)

Books of the Bible

Chapters in Judges

The 1440 Agenda

Introduction to Judges
by John MacArthur

Outline of Judges
by John MacArthur