The time of Joshua and Eleazar had passed and another generation grew up who had not seen what Yahweh had done for Israel. They forsook the God of their ancestors and began to worship Baal and Ashtoreth and all the various demons the people of that land worshipped as gods. Because they had chosen to turn away from Yahweh, they had broken their covenant and now could only rely on themselves for protection.
It was the Arameans, descendants of a son of Shem on Israel’s Northeast border, who first put Israel’s strength to the test. They found themselves hopelessly outmatched and soon much of Israel was enslaved. But the promises of Yahweh would not be forgotten, though Israel had betrayed its God. After eight years of suffering, the people cried out to Yahweh for mercy. Yahweh heard the groaning of the people and called one of them to become a judge, rescue Israel from its enemies, and lead the people back to their God. His name was Othniel, the nephew of Caleb. With Yahweh at his side, his small force overpowered the king’s army and freed Israel. Then the land had peace for 40 years until Othniel’s death.
But once Othniel died, the people again rejected Yahweh by worshipping other gods. With only themselves to rely on, they were soon conquered by the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Amalekites led by Balak’s successor, Eglon. He enslaved Israel for eighteen years before they cried to Yahweh who called Ehud to be a judge.
Ehud gathered a tribute to give to Eglon. Upon approaching the palace guards, he was searched, but they failed to find the short sword he had strapped to his right thigh under his clothing because they assumed that he, like most soldiers, was right-handed and only checked his left side for weapons. After personally delivering the gift to Eglon, he said, “I have a secret message for you.” Because he had so easily conquered the Israelites, Eglon had become arrogant and foolish and so sent everyone but Ehud out of the room. The slave approached the conqueror, and before Eglon could react, Ehud pulled the sword out from under his clothes and killed him before stealthily escaping from the king’s balcony without anyone realizing what had happened.
Ehud then went into the hills where every battle-ready Israelite had been told to wait for him. Once they heard the signal, they gathered and Ehud said, “Follow me into battle, for Yahweh will defeat our enemy. The battle against their oppressors was soon over and Israel once again knew peace. When Ehud had died, he was followed by Shamgar, who rescued Israel from invading Philistines.
But after 80 years, the people had forgotten who had rescued them and turned away from Yahweh once more. So when they were attacked by the Canaanite king Jabin, they were quickly defeated and cruelly enslaved for twenty years. They cried out to Yahweh who called the prophetess Deborah to be a judge. She sent for a man named Barak and told him, “Yahweh commands you to take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to defeat Jabin’s army.”
Barak replied, “I will only go if you come with me.”
Deborah replied, “I will go with you, but because you have hesitated in obeying the will of God when the story of this victory is told through the generations, you will not receive the glory. Instead, the people will remember that it was a woman who struck the final blow against our enemy.” Barak consented, though he did not fully understand Deborah’s words. By the power of Yahweh, Barak’s army completely destroyed Jabin’s, with only Sisera, his commander, escaping.
Fleeing pursuit, Sisera came to the tent of a woman named Jael, a Midianite who followed Yahweh. She took Sisera into her tent, covered him with a blanket, and gave him a drink. He told her, “stand at the entrance of your tent and if anyone asks if you’ve seen me, tell them no.”
But once he fell asleep she quietly killed him. At that moment, Barak came by with his men, looking for Sisera. Jael called them over and said, “Come into my tent. I will show you the man you are looking for.” When they entered they saw that the prophecy of Deborah had come true, for the final blow against their enemy came not from an Israelite soldier, but from a Midianite woman.
When the news of Sisera’s death came to Deborah, Yahweh put a song in her heart which she sang out to the soldiers gathered around her:
Listen, O you kings; give ear, O you princes;
I will sing praise to Yahweh, our God, for avenging Israel.
The earth trembles. The heavens fall.
The mountains melt before Yahweh.
In these latter days, the highways were unoccupied
And the inhabitants of the villages would not fight
Until I, Deborah, a mother of Israel, said,
‘Arise, Barak, and end your captivity.’
Yahweh gave me dominion over the mighty.
From throughout the land, they came to Deborah;
But why did Reuben stay among the bleatings of the flocks?
Why did Dan remain near its ships? Why did Asher stay on the shore?
But Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives fighting in the heights.
They came and fought, they fought the kings of Canaan
With no interest for the spoils of war.
O, my soul, Yahweh has broken down the strong.
Blessed above women shall Jael be, who smote Sisera.
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay dead.
So let all your enemies perish, God,
But let them that love Yahweh be as strong as the midday sun.
After this victory, Israel had peace for 40 years. But again the people turned their backs on Yahweh and were soon subject to savage raiding parties of Midianites who had survived the culling of their people in the time of Moses. For seven years, they were like a devouring swarm of locusts. The Israelite farmlands were destroyed before they could produce food and any herds or flocks the Midianites came upon were killed. The people ran to the hills, making their homes in caves. But out of this dark place, Israel called out to Yahweh who called Gideon to be a judge.
Gideon was trying to secretly harvest some grain without the Midianites knowing when an angel appeared to him and said, “Yahweh is with you, mighty warrior.”
Gideon replied, “Pardon me, but if Yahweh is with us, why is this happening? Where are the miracles our ancestors told us about? God has abandoned us and given us to the Midianites.”
The angel replied, “Go with the strength of God. You are being sent to save Israel.”
Gideon replied, “How am I to save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the weakest in my clan.”
The angel replied, “Yahweh is with you. You will completely destroy the Midianites.”
Gideon replied, “If I have really found favor in the eyes of Yahweh, give me a sign. Do not leave until I return with an offering.” Then Gideon went inside and prepared a goat and also baked a loaf of unleavened bread. He brought his offerings back outside and placed them on a rock. The angel touched it with a staff, and the rock caught fire and consumed the offering. Then the angel vanished and Gideon said, “Yahweh! I am doomed, for I have seen one of your angels face to face!”
But Yahweh spoke to Gideon and said, “Do not be afraid. You will not die. Throw down the altar of Baal and cut down the Ashtoreth pole that is by it. Then build an altar to me on top of this very rock which caught fire. Take your father's young bull and offer up a burnt sacrifice using the wood of the Ashtoreth pole that you cut down.
Gideon did as Yahweh asked, but he was afraid that his family and neighbors would find out and kill him, for they all worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth, so he did it at night. When the people woke up and saw what had been done they asked, “Who did this?” After carefully investigating, they figured out it was Gideon, and so they said to Joash, Gideon’s father, “Bring out your son. He must die for destroying Baal’s altar and the Ashtoreth pole.”
Joash replied, “Do you honestly mean to defend Baal and Ashtoreth? If they are really gods they can defend themselves. Anyone who is on their side will be dead by morning.”
Hearing that Gideon had desecrated their gods, Midian and its allies gathered an army and began to march towards him. When Gideon learned of the approaching force, he blew his horn and every soldier within earshot came to his side. As the two armies prepared for battle, Gideon asked Yahweh, “If I am going to defeat Midian, give me another sign. I will lay out this wool fleece tonight. If in the morning it is wet, but all the ground around it is dry, I will know our victory will come from you.”
The next morning he went out to find the fleece completely soaked while the ground was bone dry. Gideon said to Yahweh, “Don’t be angry with me, but give me one more sign. I will put out another fleece, but tonight, keep the fleece dry and make the ground around it wet.” The next morning, he went out to find the ground covered in dew, but the fleece, completely dry.
As Gideon finalized his battle preparations, Yahweh said to him, “Your army is too big. If you win with this force the people will boast about their own strength and will not return to me. Tell your army, ‘anyone who is afraid can return home.’” When Gideon did this, 22,000 soldiers left and 10,000 remained.
But Yahweh said to Gideon, “There are still too many. Take them down to the water and I will separate them further.” Yahweh had Gideon observe how each man drank and used this to winnow his army down to only 300, 100 times less than he had originally.
That night, Yahweh said to Gideon, Arise, and make your way to the edge of the army encampment; for I have delivered them into your hands. If you are afraid, listen to what they say; and you will have the courage to fight.”
The Midianites and their allies were in a valley, as thick as locusts. There were so many it would have been easier to count the sand on the beach. As Gideon carefully approached the camp, he overheard one soldier say to another, “I had a dream that a round loaf of barley bread came rolling into our camp and struck a tent with such force that it collapsed.”
His friend replied, “Though I can’t explain why, in my heart, I know your dream tells of our defeat at the hands of Gideon, the Israelite.”
When Gideon heard this, he silently gave thanks to Yahweh from his hiding place and then returned to his camp. He woke his men, saying, “Get up! God is with us and we will defeat the Midianites right now.” He divided his men into three groups of a hundred, giving each of them a trumpet and a jar with a torch inside. He said, “Sneak down and encircle the camp and follow my lead. When you hear me blow my trumpet, blow yours too and yell, “For Yahweh and for Gideon.”
In the middle of the night, just after the night watch changed guards, Gideon blew his trumpet and everyone else followed suit, shouting, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon.” They broke their jars and retrieved their torches. The Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. In their confusion, they pulled out their swords and slew each other. 120,000 men fell that day without Gideon’s forces raising their weapons. Never again would the Midianites do battle with Israel.
The Israelites said to Gideon, “You have saved us from the Midianites. Rule over us, you, your son, and your grandson after.”
But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will anyone in my family, because Yahweh is your ruler. Israel enjoyed 40 years of peace under Gideon’s leadership. After he died, the judges Tola and then Jair were called to protect Israel. But the people once again began to worship false gods, and soon they were defeated by the Philistines and the Ammonites. For eighteen years they oppressed Israel. Then the people cried out to Yahweh for mercy, saying, “We have sinned against you by worshipping these false gods.”
But Yahweh replied, “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, and when the people of Canaan oppressed you; and you cried to me, I delivered you out of their hands. Yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods: and so I will not rescue you now. Go and cry to the gods that you have chosen; let them deliver you in this time of tribulation.
The people replied, “We know we have sinned and we will accept any punishment you have for us, but rescue us from our enemies.” Then they got rid of their false gods, serving only Yahweh while they waited, hoping their God would save them once more.
There was a Gadite from Gilead, Jephthah, who had earned a reputation as a skilled warrior. He had been driven away from his home by his half-brothers because they did not share the same mother. Because the Ammonites had attacked Israel, these same men approached Jephthah and said, “We want you to lead us in battle.”
But Jephthah replied, “Didn’t you hate me enough to drive me out of our father’s house? Now you come to me because you are in trouble? Suppose I go with you and Yahweh allows me to defeat the Ammonites, what then?”
If you do, before Yahweh, we promise to make you the head of our entire clan.”
Jephthah agreed, and sent word throughout the land that he was looking for soldiers, but few came to his aid. He then sent a letter to the king of the Ammonites saying, “Why have you attacked our lands?”
The king replied, “You took away some of OUR land. Now return it to us peacefully.”
Jephthah sent another letter, “Israel has never taken any land from the Ammonites. When we were in the desert, whenever we wanted to travel across any lands, we asked permission, though we were denied repeatedly. The land that was taken from you was taken by the Amorites, who we then defeated in battle. What right do you have to claim this land as your own? Why don’t you keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you and we will keep whatever Yahweh gives us. For 300 years we have lived in these lands and you have never made any attempt, before now, to claim them. We have not wronged you, you have wronged us with this war. Let God be the judge.”
But the king paid no attention to the letter and instead went into battle against Jephthah’s forces, but could not overcome them because they were protected by Yahweh. After seeing the spoils of war from the defeat of the Ammonites, Ephraimite warriors came to Jephthah and said, “Why didn’t you include us in the glorious conquest of the Ammonites? We should kill you for showing us such disrespect.”
Jephthah replied, “My people were battling the Ammonites and I called for your help, but you never came. So at great risk I battled them alone, and Yahweh gave me victory over them. Why are you here trying to start trouble with your own people?” But for the Ephraimites, no words could quell their anger and so they went to war against their own kinsmen. Their feud continued for such a long time that 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
Jephthah died after leading Israel for six years. Then other judges, Ibson, Elon, and Abdon each watched over Israel for another 25 years. But in time the people once again turned away from Yahweh and were soon conquered by the Philistines. For forty years they lived under their rule. But Yahweh raised up a judge to deliver them who had been set apart before he was even born.
It began with a Danite man, Menoah, whose wife was unable to have children. One day, when she was alone and mourning her barrenness, a man came to her and said, “Though your struggle seems insurmountable, you will soon give birth to a son. You are to drink no alcohol and only eat the foods allowed under the law of Moses while you are pregnant. When the boy is born, you are never to shave his head, for it will be the sign for his entire life that he was chosen by God, who will give him great strength to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
When the man left, the woman went to her husband and said, “A man came to me today. I didn’t ask where he was from and he did not tell me his name. But he told me that we would have a son who would rescue Israel and gave me very specific instructions about him.”
Then Menoah prayed, “God, send this man back to us so that I can fully understand what you want for our child.”
So sometime later, the man again came to them and the husband asked him, “What is expected of us?”
He replied, “Your wife already knows what to do. She is not to drink or eat anything forbidden in the law of Moses and when the boy is born he is never to have his hair shaved.”
Menoah replied, “Would you like to stay while I prepare a goat for dinner?”
The man replied, “Even though I am your guest, I will not eat any of your food. But if you are going to prepare a goat, make it a burnt offering for God.”
Menoah prepared the sacrifice, and as it began to burn he asked the man, “What is your name so that we can honor you when your words come true?”
The man replied, “My name is beyond your understanding.”
Then, at that moment, the fire blazed up from the altar to heaven and the man ascended the flame. Menoah and his wife realized they had been speaking to an angel. They fell facedown and Menoah’s wife said, “We are doomed. We have seen an angel of God.”
But Menoah replied, “If Yahweh meant to kill us, our offering would not have been accepted and we would not have been given this prophecy about our son.” Soon after this, Menoah’s wife became pregnant and she obeyed every instruction that had been given to her. When the boy was born, she named him Samson and as he grew up, she never allowed his head to be shaved.
Many years later, as Samson was in a nearby town, he saw a young Philistine woman and said to his parents, “I want her as my wife.”
They replied, “Isn’t there an Israelite girl you could marry? Why do you need to look for a wife among these people who do not follow Yahweh and have oppressed us?” But Samson was stubborn and was soon engaged to the woman.
One day, as Samson was traveling to his fiance’s town, he was attacked by a lion. The power of Yahweh came upon Samson at that moment and he killed the lion with his bare hands. He didn’t tell anyone what had happened but continued on his way.
Many months later, as he was once again traveling to see his betrothed, he came upon the place where he had killed the lion. Among its bones, honey bees had built a hive. Samson ate some of the honey and continued on his way. When he arrived, they celebrated his upcoming marriage with a party, where he made a wager with some of the Philistine guests. “If you can solve this riddle during the seven days of this celebration I will give you thirty sets of clothes, but if you can’t, then you will give me thirty sets of clothes.
“Tell us the riddle,” they said.
“Out of the eater something to eat, out of the strong, something sweet.”
After three days of being unable to solve the riddle, they came to Samson’s fiance and threatened her. “You had better convince Samson to give you the answer to this riddle or we will burn you and family to death. Did you invite us here to steal from us?”
She went to Samson and cried, “If you loved me you would have told me the answer to this riddle.”
Samson replied, “Not even my own parents know the answer.” She cried for the next four days until he finally told her the answer, which she gave to the men.
When he asked them for their answer, they replied, “What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?”
He answered back, “If you hadn’t threatened my bride-to-be you wouldn’t have known the answer.”
The power of Yahweh returned to Samson and he went to a nearby Philistine town, defeating 30 of the men there in unarmed combat, and taking their clothes to give as his payment. Then he angrily returned to his hometown, leaving the woman behind.
As time passed, and the memory of being cheated faded, he got a gift and returned to the woman. When he arrived at her house, her father said, “I was certain you hated her so I gave her to another man to marry.”
Samson’s anger returned so he went out and caught 300 foxes and tied them together in pairs with cords by the tail. Then he tied torches to the cords and set them loose in the Philistines’ farmland where they burned their grain fields, olive groves, and vineyards to the ground.
The Philistines asked among themselves, “Who did this?”
“It was Samson, angry that his fiance had been given to another man.”
So they found his former fiance and her father and killed them because of what Samson had done. When Samson learned of this he said, “Now my anger will never end until I have my vengeance.” Then he killed many of them before hiding in the hills of Judah.
When the men of Judah found Samson they asked, “Why have you angered the Philistines. Don’t you know they rule over us? We’re here to hand you over to them.” Samson allowed himself to be tied up and led to his enemies. As he approached them, the power of Yahweh came to him and he broke loose as though the ropes were nothing. Lying nearby he found the jawbone of a donkey and used it to kill 1000 of the Philistines who attempted to capture him. After this, the land knew peace as Samson protected the people for 20 years, though the Philistines never stopped searching for a way to capture him.
Eventually, though, Samson once again found himself in love with a Philistine woman, Delilah. Sensing their opportunity, the Philistine rulers came to her and said, “If you are able to get Samson to tell you the secret of his strength so that we are able to finally capture him, we will make you a rich woman.”
So Delilah put the question to Samson, but he did not tell her the truth, instead saying, “If I am tied up with seven fresh bowstrings, I will be powerless.”
That night, as he slept, she tied him up as he described and then let several Philistines into her house. She said, “Samson, wake up, the Philistines are trying to capture you.” Then he broke the bowstrings as though they were nothing and they could not capture him.
The next night she said, “You lied to me. Come on, tell me the truth.” Two more times they repeated this pattern. Samson would tell her he could be subdued with ropes, or by weaving his hair with a loom, and at night she would attempt whatever he had said. The Philistines would ambush him, but he would always overpower them. She continued to pester him for an answer, night after night, until he was so frustrated he lost his patience and told her the truth.
“My hair has never been shaved as a sign of my lifelong dedication to Yahweh. If I were shaved, I would become as weak as any other man.”
That night his hair was cut off and the Philistines were able to capture him. Again, Delilah said, “Samson, wake up, the Philistines are trying to capture you.”
He thought to himself, “I will overpower these men just like I have done so many times before.” But he didn’t know that the strength of Yahweh had left him, not from some magic in his hair, but because in that moment he had put his desire for Delilah above his devotion to Yahweh. Unable to break his restraints, the Philistines blinded him, dragged him to prison, and chained him to a millstone to grind their wheat.
They threw a party to celebrate the capture of their great foe and to offer praise to Dagon, one of the demons that they worshipped as a god. Amidst their revelry, they ordered that Samson be brought before them for their amusement. Unable to see, he asked the servant who led him to lean him against the central pillars where the party was being held. Samson then prayed to Yahweh, “Remember me and strengthen me one last time. With one final act of strength let me get revenge on these Philistines who blinded me.” He then pushed against the pillars in the greatest feat of strength he had ever mustered and said, “So I die with these Philistines.” Then the building collapsed, killing thousands who had gathered there.
With Samson’s death, the age of the judges was nearing its end. He had been the 12th judge called by Yahweh, one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And though his final feat of strength was legendary, the people did not know that elsewhere a boy had been born who would achieve even greater victories than these.
It was the Arameans, descendants of a son of Shem on Israel’s Northeast border, who first put Israel’s strength to the test. They found themselves hopelessly outmatched and soon much of Israel was enslaved. But the promises of Yahweh would not be forgotten, though Israel had betrayed its God. After eight years of suffering, the people cried out to Yahweh for mercy. Yahweh heard the groaning of the people and called one of them to become a judge, rescue Israel from its enemies, and lead the people back to their God. His name was Othniel, the nephew of Caleb. With Yahweh at his side, his small force overpowered the king’s army and freed Israel. Then the land had peace for 40 years until Othniel’s death.
But once Othniel died, the people again rejected Yahweh by worshipping other gods. With only themselves to rely on, they were soon conquered by the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Amalekites led by Balak’s successor, Eglon. He enslaved Israel for eighteen years before they cried to Yahweh who called Ehud to be a judge.
Ehud gathered a tribute to give to Eglon. Upon approaching the palace guards, he was searched, but they failed to find the short sword he had strapped to his right thigh under his clothing because they assumed that he, like most soldiers, was right-handed and only checked his left side for weapons. After personally delivering the gift to Eglon, he said, “I have a secret message for you.” Because he had so easily conquered the Israelites, Eglon had become arrogant and foolish and so sent everyone but Ehud out of the room. The slave approached the conqueror, and before Eglon could react, Ehud pulled the sword out from under his clothes and killed him before stealthily escaping from the king’s balcony without anyone realizing what had happened.
Ehud then went into the hills where every battle-ready Israelite had been told to wait for him. Once they heard the signal, they gathered and Ehud said, “Follow me into battle, for Yahweh will defeat our enemy. The battle against their oppressors was soon over and Israel once again knew peace. When Ehud had died, he was followed by Shamgar, who rescued Israel from invading Philistines.
But after 80 years, the people had forgotten who had rescued them and turned away from Yahweh once more. So when they were attacked by the Canaanite king Jabin, they were quickly defeated and cruelly enslaved for twenty years. They cried out to Yahweh who called the prophetess Deborah to be a judge. She sent for a man named Barak and told him, “Yahweh commands you to take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to defeat Jabin’s army.”
Barak replied, “I will only go if you come with me.”
Deborah replied, “I will go with you, but because you have hesitated in obeying the will of God when the story of this victory is told through the generations, you will not receive the glory. Instead, the people will remember that it was a woman who struck the final blow against our enemy.” Barak consented, though he did not fully understand Deborah’s words. By the power of Yahweh, Barak’s army completely destroyed Jabin’s, with only Sisera, his commander, escaping.
Fleeing pursuit, Sisera came to the tent of a woman named Jael, a Midianite who followed Yahweh. She took Sisera into her tent, covered him with a blanket, and gave him a drink. He told her, “stand at the entrance of your tent and if anyone asks if you’ve seen me, tell them no.”
But once he fell asleep she quietly killed him. At that moment, Barak came by with his men, looking for Sisera. Jael called them over and said, “Come into my tent. I will show you the man you are looking for.” When they entered they saw that the prophecy of Deborah had come true, for the final blow against their enemy came not from an Israelite soldier, but from a Midianite woman.
When the news of Sisera’s death came to Deborah, Yahweh put a song in her heart which she sang out to the soldiers gathered around her:
Listen, O you kings; give ear, O you princes;
I will sing praise to Yahweh, our God, for avenging Israel.
The earth trembles. The heavens fall.
The mountains melt before Yahweh.
In these latter days, the highways were unoccupied
And the inhabitants of the villages would not fight
Until I, Deborah, a mother of Israel, said,
‘Arise, Barak, and end your captivity.’
Yahweh gave me dominion over the mighty.
From throughout the land, they came to Deborah;
But why did Reuben stay among the bleatings of the flocks?
Why did Dan remain near its ships? Why did Asher stay on the shore?
But Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives fighting in the heights.
They came and fought, they fought the kings of Canaan
With no interest for the spoils of war.
O, my soul, Yahweh has broken down the strong.
Blessed above women shall Jael be, who smote Sisera.
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay dead.
So let all your enemies perish, God,
But let them that love Yahweh be as strong as the midday sun.
After this victory, Israel had peace for 40 years. But again the people turned their backs on Yahweh and were soon subject to savage raiding parties of Midianites who had survived the culling of their people in the time of Moses. For seven years, they were like a devouring swarm of locusts. The Israelite farmlands were destroyed before they could produce food and any herds or flocks the Midianites came upon were killed. The people ran to the hills, making their homes in caves. But out of this dark place, Israel called out to Yahweh who called Gideon to be a judge.
Gideon was trying to secretly harvest some grain without the Midianites knowing when an angel appeared to him and said, “Yahweh is with you, mighty warrior.”
Gideon replied, “Pardon me, but if Yahweh is with us, why is this happening? Where are the miracles our ancestors told us about? God has abandoned us and given us to the Midianites.”
The angel replied, “Go with the strength of God. You are being sent to save Israel.”
Gideon replied, “How am I to save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the weakest in my clan.”
The angel replied, “Yahweh is with you. You will completely destroy the Midianites.”
Gideon replied, “If I have really found favor in the eyes of Yahweh, give me a sign. Do not leave until I return with an offering.” Then Gideon went inside and prepared a goat and also baked a loaf of unleavened bread. He brought his offerings back outside and placed them on a rock. The angel touched it with a staff, and the rock caught fire and consumed the offering. Then the angel vanished and Gideon said, “Yahweh! I am doomed, for I have seen one of your angels face to face!”
But Yahweh spoke to Gideon and said, “Do not be afraid. You will not die. Throw down the altar of Baal and cut down the Ashtoreth pole that is by it. Then build an altar to me on top of this very rock which caught fire. Take your father's young bull and offer up a burnt sacrifice using the wood of the Ashtoreth pole that you cut down.
Gideon did as Yahweh asked, but he was afraid that his family and neighbors would find out and kill him, for they all worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth, so he did it at night. When the people woke up and saw what had been done they asked, “Who did this?” After carefully investigating, they figured out it was Gideon, and so they said to Joash, Gideon’s father, “Bring out your son. He must die for destroying Baal’s altar and the Ashtoreth pole.”
Joash replied, “Do you honestly mean to defend Baal and Ashtoreth? If they are really gods they can defend themselves. Anyone who is on their side will be dead by morning.”
Hearing that Gideon had desecrated their gods, Midian and its allies gathered an army and began to march towards him. When Gideon learned of the approaching force, he blew his horn and every soldier within earshot came to his side. As the two armies prepared for battle, Gideon asked Yahweh, “If I am going to defeat Midian, give me another sign. I will lay out this wool fleece tonight. If in the morning it is wet, but all the ground around it is dry, I will know our victory will come from you.”
The next morning he went out to find the fleece completely soaked while the ground was bone dry. Gideon said to Yahweh, “Don’t be angry with me, but give me one more sign. I will put out another fleece, but tonight, keep the fleece dry and make the ground around it wet.” The next morning, he went out to find the ground covered in dew, but the fleece, completely dry.
As Gideon finalized his battle preparations, Yahweh said to him, “Your army is too big. If you win with this force the people will boast about their own strength and will not return to me. Tell your army, ‘anyone who is afraid can return home.’” When Gideon did this, 22,000 soldiers left and 10,000 remained.
But Yahweh said to Gideon, “There are still too many. Take them down to the water and I will separate them further.” Yahweh had Gideon observe how each man drank and used this to winnow his army down to only 300, 100 times less than he had originally.
That night, Yahweh said to Gideon, Arise, and make your way to the edge of the army encampment; for I have delivered them into your hands. If you are afraid, listen to what they say; and you will have the courage to fight.”
The Midianites and their allies were in a valley, as thick as locusts. There were so many it would have been easier to count the sand on the beach. As Gideon carefully approached the camp, he overheard one soldier say to another, “I had a dream that a round loaf of barley bread came rolling into our camp and struck a tent with such force that it collapsed.”
His friend replied, “Though I can’t explain why, in my heart, I know your dream tells of our defeat at the hands of Gideon, the Israelite.”
When Gideon heard this, he silently gave thanks to Yahweh from his hiding place and then returned to his camp. He woke his men, saying, “Get up! God is with us and we will defeat the Midianites right now.” He divided his men into three groups of a hundred, giving each of them a trumpet and a jar with a torch inside. He said, “Sneak down and encircle the camp and follow my lead. When you hear me blow my trumpet, blow yours too and yell, “For Yahweh and for Gideon.”
In the middle of the night, just after the night watch changed guards, Gideon blew his trumpet and everyone else followed suit, shouting, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon.” They broke their jars and retrieved their torches. The Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. In their confusion, they pulled out their swords and slew each other. 120,000 men fell that day without Gideon’s forces raising their weapons. Never again would the Midianites do battle with Israel.
The Israelites said to Gideon, “You have saved us from the Midianites. Rule over us, you, your son, and your grandson after.”
But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will anyone in my family, because Yahweh is your ruler. Israel enjoyed 40 years of peace under Gideon’s leadership. After he died, the judges Tola and then Jair were called to protect Israel. But the people once again began to worship false gods, and soon they were defeated by the Philistines and the Ammonites. For eighteen years they oppressed Israel. Then the people cried out to Yahweh for mercy, saying, “We have sinned against you by worshipping these false gods.”
But Yahweh replied, “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, and when the people of Canaan oppressed you; and you cried to me, I delivered you out of their hands. Yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods: and so I will not rescue you now. Go and cry to the gods that you have chosen; let them deliver you in this time of tribulation.
The people replied, “We know we have sinned and we will accept any punishment you have for us, but rescue us from our enemies.” Then they got rid of their false gods, serving only Yahweh while they waited, hoping their God would save them once more.
There was a Gadite from Gilead, Jephthah, who had earned a reputation as a skilled warrior. He had been driven away from his home by his half-brothers because they did not share the same mother. Because the Ammonites had attacked Israel, these same men approached Jephthah and said, “We want you to lead us in battle.”
But Jephthah replied, “Didn’t you hate me enough to drive me out of our father’s house? Now you come to me because you are in trouble? Suppose I go with you and Yahweh allows me to defeat the Ammonites, what then?”
If you do, before Yahweh, we promise to make you the head of our entire clan.”
Jephthah agreed, and sent word throughout the land that he was looking for soldiers, but few came to his aid. He then sent a letter to the king of the Ammonites saying, “Why have you attacked our lands?”
The king replied, “You took away some of OUR land. Now return it to us peacefully.”
Jephthah sent another letter, “Israel has never taken any land from the Ammonites. When we were in the desert, whenever we wanted to travel across any lands, we asked permission, though we were denied repeatedly. The land that was taken from you was taken by the Amorites, who we then defeated in battle. What right do you have to claim this land as your own? Why don’t you keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you and we will keep whatever Yahweh gives us. For 300 years we have lived in these lands and you have never made any attempt, before now, to claim them. We have not wronged you, you have wronged us with this war. Let God be the judge.”
But the king paid no attention to the letter and instead went into battle against Jephthah’s forces, but could not overcome them because they were protected by Yahweh. After seeing the spoils of war from the defeat of the Ammonites, Ephraimite warriors came to Jephthah and said, “Why didn’t you include us in the glorious conquest of the Ammonites? We should kill you for showing us such disrespect.”
Jephthah replied, “My people were battling the Ammonites and I called for your help, but you never came. So at great risk I battled them alone, and Yahweh gave me victory over them. Why are you here trying to start trouble with your own people?” But for the Ephraimites, no words could quell their anger and so they went to war against their own kinsmen. Their feud continued for such a long time that 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
Jephthah died after leading Israel for six years. Then other judges, Ibson, Elon, and Abdon each watched over Israel for another 25 years. But in time the people once again turned away from Yahweh and were soon conquered by the Philistines. For forty years they lived under their rule. But Yahweh raised up a judge to deliver them who had been set apart before he was even born.
It began with a Danite man, Menoah, whose wife was unable to have children. One day, when she was alone and mourning her barrenness, a man came to her and said, “Though your struggle seems insurmountable, you will soon give birth to a son. You are to drink no alcohol and only eat the foods allowed under the law of Moses while you are pregnant. When the boy is born, you are never to shave his head, for it will be the sign for his entire life that he was chosen by God, who will give him great strength to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
When the man left, the woman went to her husband and said, “A man came to me today. I didn’t ask where he was from and he did not tell me his name. But he told me that we would have a son who would rescue Israel and gave me very specific instructions about him.”
Then Menoah prayed, “God, send this man back to us so that I can fully understand what you want for our child.”
So sometime later, the man again came to them and the husband asked him, “What is expected of us?”
He replied, “Your wife already knows what to do. She is not to drink or eat anything forbidden in the law of Moses and when the boy is born he is never to have his hair shaved.”
Menoah replied, “Would you like to stay while I prepare a goat for dinner?”
The man replied, “Even though I am your guest, I will not eat any of your food. But if you are going to prepare a goat, make it a burnt offering for God.”
Menoah prepared the sacrifice, and as it began to burn he asked the man, “What is your name so that we can honor you when your words come true?”
The man replied, “My name is beyond your understanding.”
Then, at that moment, the fire blazed up from the altar to heaven and the man ascended the flame. Menoah and his wife realized they had been speaking to an angel. They fell facedown and Menoah’s wife said, “We are doomed. We have seen an angel of God.”
But Menoah replied, “If Yahweh meant to kill us, our offering would not have been accepted and we would not have been given this prophecy about our son.” Soon after this, Menoah’s wife became pregnant and she obeyed every instruction that had been given to her. When the boy was born, she named him Samson and as he grew up, she never allowed his head to be shaved.
Many years later, as Samson was in a nearby town, he saw a young Philistine woman and said to his parents, “I want her as my wife.”
They replied, “Isn’t there an Israelite girl you could marry? Why do you need to look for a wife among these people who do not follow Yahweh and have oppressed us?” But Samson was stubborn and was soon engaged to the woman.
One day, as Samson was traveling to his fiance’s town, he was attacked by a lion. The power of Yahweh came upon Samson at that moment and he killed the lion with his bare hands. He didn’t tell anyone what had happened but continued on his way.
Many months later, as he was once again traveling to see his betrothed, he came upon the place where he had killed the lion. Among its bones, honey bees had built a hive. Samson ate some of the honey and continued on his way. When he arrived, they celebrated his upcoming marriage with a party, where he made a wager with some of the Philistine guests. “If you can solve this riddle during the seven days of this celebration I will give you thirty sets of clothes, but if you can’t, then you will give me thirty sets of clothes.
“Tell us the riddle,” they said.
“Out of the eater something to eat, out of the strong, something sweet.”
After three days of being unable to solve the riddle, they came to Samson’s fiance and threatened her. “You had better convince Samson to give you the answer to this riddle or we will burn you and family to death. Did you invite us here to steal from us?”
She went to Samson and cried, “If you loved me you would have told me the answer to this riddle.”
Samson replied, “Not even my own parents know the answer.” She cried for the next four days until he finally told her the answer, which she gave to the men.
When he asked them for their answer, they replied, “What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?”
He answered back, “If you hadn’t threatened my bride-to-be you wouldn’t have known the answer.”
The power of Yahweh returned to Samson and he went to a nearby Philistine town, defeating 30 of the men there in unarmed combat, and taking their clothes to give as his payment. Then he angrily returned to his hometown, leaving the woman behind.
As time passed, and the memory of being cheated faded, he got a gift and returned to the woman. When he arrived at her house, her father said, “I was certain you hated her so I gave her to another man to marry.”
Samson’s anger returned so he went out and caught 300 foxes and tied them together in pairs with cords by the tail. Then he tied torches to the cords and set them loose in the Philistines’ farmland where they burned their grain fields, olive groves, and vineyards to the ground.
The Philistines asked among themselves, “Who did this?”
“It was Samson, angry that his fiance had been given to another man.”
So they found his former fiance and her father and killed them because of what Samson had done. When Samson learned of this he said, “Now my anger will never end until I have my vengeance.” Then he killed many of them before hiding in the hills of Judah.
When the men of Judah found Samson they asked, “Why have you angered the Philistines. Don’t you know they rule over us? We’re here to hand you over to them.” Samson allowed himself to be tied up and led to his enemies. As he approached them, the power of Yahweh came to him and he broke loose as though the ropes were nothing. Lying nearby he found the jawbone of a donkey and used it to kill 1000 of the Philistines who attempted to capture him. After this, the land knew peace as Samson protected the people for 20 years, though the Philistines never stopped searching for a way to capture him.
Eventually, though, Samson once again found himself in love with a Philistine woman, Delilah. Sensing their opportunity, the Philistine rulers came to her and said, “If you are able to get Samson to tell you the secret of his strength so that we are able to finally capture him, we will make you a rich woman.”
So Delilah put the question to Samson, but he did not tell her the truth, instead saying, “If I am tied up with seven fresh bowstrings, I will be powerless.”
That night, as he slept, she tied him up as he described and then let several Philistines into her house. She said, “Samson, wake up, the Philistines are trying to capture you.” Then he broke the bowstrings as though they were nothing and they could not capture him.
The next night she said, “You lied to me. Come on, tell me the truth.” Two more times they repeated this pattern. Samson would tell her he could be subdued with ropes, or by weaving his hair with a loom, and at night she would attempt whatever he had said. The Philistines would ambush him, but he would always overpower them. She continued to pester him for an answer, night after night, until he was so frustrated he lost his patience and told her the truth.
“My hair has never been shaved as a sign of my lifelong dedication to Yahweh. If I were shaved, I would become as weak as any other man.”
That night his hair was cut off and the Philistines were able to capture him. Again, Delilah said, “Samson, wake up, the Philistines are trying to capture you.”
He thought to himself, “I will overpower these men just like I have done so many times before.” But he didn’t know that the strength of Yahweh had left him, not from some magic in his hair, but because in that moment he had put his desire for Delilah above his devotion to Yahweh. Unable to break his restraints, the Philistines blinded him, dragged him to prison, and chained him to a millstone to grind their wheat.
They threw a party to celebrate the capture of their great foe and to offer praise to Dagon, one of the demons that they worshipped as a god. Amidst their revelry, they ordered that Samson be brought before them for their amusement. Unable to see, he asked the servant who led him to lean him against the central pillars where the party was being held. Samson then prayed to Yahweh, “Remember me and strengthen me one last time. With one final act of strength let me get revenge on these Philistines who blinded me.” He then pushed against the pillars in the greatest feat of strength he had ever mustered and said, “So I die with these Philistines.” Then the building collapsed, killing thousands who had gathered there.
With Samson’s death, the age of the judges was nearing its end. He had been the 12th judge called by Yahweh, one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And though his final feat of strength was legendary, the people did not know that elsewhere a boy had been born who would achieve even greater victories than these.
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