We continue to see the struggles between the Judges and the people. Sometimes the Judges were genuinely wanting the best for Israel and at other times they served themselves. Jephthah rules and teaches rebellious Ephraim and the mighty Samson is born.
Judges 12: Jephthah's Conflict with Ephraim
1 The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire."
2 And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand.
3 And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?"
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."
5 And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No,"
6 they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan, and thirty daughters he brought in from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.
11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years.
12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years.
15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Judges 13: The Birth of Samson
1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.
3 And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,
5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,
7 but he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'"
8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born."
9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."
11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am."
12 And Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?"
13 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.
14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe."
15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you."
16 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.)
17 And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honour you?"
18 And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?"
19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.
20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."
23 But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."
24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Things to think about…
1. Jephthah could not pacify the men of Ephraim this time as he did earlier in Jgds 8:1-3. Civil war ensues, Jdgs 12:1-7. The tribe of Ephraim never again played an important role in Israel after their defeat. What a tragedy it is when the people of God find something to quarrel about. Seek after peace in Christ’s body wherever possible. Who can you encourage today?
2. Jephthah is from Gilead. The Gileadites were descendants from the tribe of Manasseh. They were considered outcasts by Ephraim and as Jephthah was the son of a prostitute and an outcast himself who was now leading them, they were considered even more as fugitives. Now the tribe of Ephraim are saying they are “fugitives of Ephraim”, Jdgs 12:4, and therefore not really part of Israel, to justify division against them. What a tragedy it is when believers judge the walk of other believers, even though they are still under the same covenant of grace.
3. These next three Judges; Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon are recorded but are only mentioned in passing. Ibzan having taken women from outside Israel for his son’s as wives and for their wealth. Their characters are not worthy enough to be mentioned. They were called to separate from the nations, not be married to them. Here we see Israel’s continued descent into moral and spiritual decline. What spiritual legacy are we leaving for our children and the next generation in the church?
4. Samson’s birth and role is prophesied by the angel, Jdgs 13:2,3. Note the times, Judgs 13:1. They do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord and now the Philistines rule over them for 40 years. Samson was a gift of God, but also a product of his age. His parents were told how they should prepare and how he should be raised as a Nazarite, vss 5-14. Has the Lord spoken to you about His call on your life or upon the lives of your children?
5. Note it says “the angel of the Lord” in Judges 13 and not “an angel”. This is none other than the pre-incarnate Christ. He says His name is Wonderful, vs Jdgs 13:18. This is a title given to Jesus as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in Isa 9:6 when he calls Him Wonderful Counsellor. They had seen the Lord and not died as Manoah was worried about, Jdgs 13:22. If the pharisees had rightly understood their scriptures there could have accepted Jesus as an expression of God incarnate simply by considering references like this in the OT. One day many of them will turn to Christ and believe that the Lord did in fact come in the flesh, cf 1John 4:2.
6. Manoah’s wife is not mentioned by name but she has more discernment about the Lord’s purpose than her husband, Jdgs 13:22,23. It is interesting that the angel of the Lord appears to her even a second time even after her husband prays that he may meet with Him. The Lord answers his prayer through his wife. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me where the Lord has blessed my prayers through Fiona. Are there any godly women speaking into your life today? If not, find one!
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon and reading topic for this week – Sermon “Don’t judge me”
Reading – Judges 2:1-19
1. The period of the Judges was cyclical in nature. They would fall into idol worship, they would be oppressed by Canaanite rulers, they would cry out for a Judge, God would raise up a Judge who would deliver them, they would live in prosperity, then fall back into idolatry and the cycle would repeat. This was because the Israelites did not get rid of the Canaanite inhabitants which caused Israel to turn their hearts towards idols. Discuss some of the idols in Australia. Which ones is the Australian Christian church struggling to fight against.
2. We are often told that we shouldn’t judge others. As Doug mentioned on Sunday the verses quoted to justify such a position are found in Mt 7:1-7. What is your understanding of these verses and what right judgement looks like? Are we in a position to Judge anyone? If so, how?
3. Doug mentioned the Apostle Paul’s words in 1Cor 5:9-13 regarding judgement that occurs in the church and those who are outside the church. Essentially we are called to judge those who name the name of Christ in the church, we are not even meant to eat with someone who claims to be a Christian yet falls morally, 1Cor 5:11. How do you understand these verses and how should we apply them as a church that wants to show the love of Christ?
4. Discuss some prayer points of the group. Church prayer points.
Prayer Points
1. Recharge youth and Kids@Church ministries. Pray for Maddison and Melinda as they Coordinate Kids and Youth ministries.
2. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
3. Church finances to meet our new staff and to put a roof over our café.
4. Getting drawings into council.
5. Sunday’s message from Judges 12 - “You’re not saying it right” – Pastor Jay.
Praise Points.
1. More visitors to church on Sunday.
2. Two cell groups starting up this term.
3. Praise and worship – pray for continued growth and blessing.
4. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
Announcements
1. Members meeting 23rd May after the morning service.
2. Recharge on this week all high schoolers – 6:30pm-8:30pm Friday at church. $2 coin donation. Melinda Fourie heading up this ministry.
3. Kids Church for all primary schoolers. Maddison Willey is the ministry contact. Parents please check your rosters. Remember to sign your kids in and out.
4. Working bee – Saturday 5th June, 8:00am start at the church.
5. Outdoor service in the morning 6th June followed by lunch on “the common”
6. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
