week of 4/27

Unit 08  Session 4

GOD INTERVENES FOR HIS PEOPLE

JUDGES 16:4-5; 16-30

 

Key Concept:

God can vindicate His people even through the seeming hopelessness of death.

Samson was the final deliverer of Israel described in the book of Judges. His story occurs in three parts. First, in Judges 13, an angel appeared to a barren woman and said she would have a son set apart for the Lord's service as a Nazirite (see Numbers 6:1-21). Then in Judges 14-15, when Samson was grown, he married a Philistine woman and clashed with the Philistines. Finally in Judges 16, Samson became involved with Delilah, who ultimately betrayed him. Through it all, Samson's unconventional judgeship showed that God's purpose cannot be thwarted.

As you examine Judges 16:4-5; 16-30:

✞   Understand that when we take God lightly, we drift further from God and 

    deeper into sin.

     

✞   Remember that God can use anything, even our failures, to accomplish His 

    good purposes for His people.

week of 4/20

Unit 08  Session 3

GOD STRENGTHENS HIS PEOPLE

JUDGES 6:36-40; 7:1-9

 

Key Concept:

God Almighty strengthens us in our weakness.

The story of Gideon is the longest and most complex narrative of deliverance in Judges, stretching from Judges 6-9. Israel had turned to idol worship once again. God gave them into the hand of the marauding Midianites, who oppressed them for seven years. Again, God's people cried out to Him. In response, the Lord called Gideon to deliver His people. But before Gideon faced off against the pagan Midianites, he had to deal with idolatry closer to home. God told Gideon to destroy his father's idols, and he obeyed. With that preliminary task behind him, he mustered troops to face the Midianites.

As you examine Judges 6:36-40; 7:1-9:

✞   Notice that God was patient with Gideon's fears and gave him reassurances to 

    strengthen his faith.

     

✞   Acknowledge that Gideon, like other judges, was used by God, but God is the 

    One Who delivered His people.

week of 4/13

Unit 08  Session 2

GOD WORKS THROUGH HIS PEOPLE

JUDGES 4:4-16

 

Key Concept:

God works powerfully through His people to accomplish His purposes.

Three times previously in the book of Judges, God delivered Israel from their oppressors. First, He used Othniel to deliver Israel from Aram (Judges 3:7-11). Next, He used Ehud to deliver them from the Moabites (vv. 12-30). Then He used Shamgar to save them from the Philistines (v. 31). Yet when Ehud died, Israel's external restraint from sin was removed, and they descended again into idol worship. To discipline them, God sold His people into the hand of Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Jabin's army had a decided advantage over Israel because he possessed a powerful military technology: nine hundred iron chariots.

As you examine Judges 4:4-16:

✞   Recognize that God understands our struggles and fears, yet He gives us everything 

    we need to obey His calling.

     

✞   Reflect upon the fact that God works through others to encourage His people.

week of 4/6

Unit 08  Session 1

GOD RESPONDS TO HIS PEOPLE

JUDGES 3:1-11

 

Key Concept:

God both disciplines and delivers His people.

When God led Israel into the promised land, they obeyed Him by defeating the wicked Canaanites in the land (Judges 1:1-26). However, they failed to complete the conquest as God instructed (vv. 27-36). As a result, the Lord told Israel the remaining peoples of the land would be thorns in their side and their gods a constant temptation (2:3). This began a cycle repeated time and again in Judges: (1) Israel sinned; (2) God disciplined His people by handing them over to a foreign oppressor; (3) Israel cried out to God; (4) God raised up a judge to deliver them; and (5) Israel had rest as long as the judge was alive. Rinse and repeat.

As you examine Judges 3:1-11:

✞   Consider that without Joshua's leadership, the people of Israel quickly fell into 

    idol worship.

     

✞   Recognize that God's discipline is an expression of His Fatherly love.