3:7
We now enter the main part of the book, with the various judges (or leaders). These people weren’t judges in the sense that we have judges today, and the Hebrew term is closer to “leader”. There are twelve judges named, and it is possible (though not certain) that there was one from each tribe. Wood gives the following list, associating each judge with a tribe:
Othniel - Judah
Ehud - Benjamin
Shamgar - Naphtal ?
Deborah - Ephraim Asher ?
Gideon - Manasseh
Tola - Issachar
Jair - Gad or Reuben
Jephthah - Gad or Reuben
Ibzan - from Bethlehem
Elon - Zebulun
Abdon - Ephraim
Samson - Dan
The section begins with the oft repeated phrase “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. They served the Baals and Asherahs. This “doing evil” was the root of all Israel’s problems.
3:8
The result of their doing evil was that the anger of the Lord burned against them. Most people don’t like the idea of the Lord being angry, but there are repeated mentions of this throughout the Bible, so it is wiser to face up to the fact. If we turn away from the Lord and worship idols then we are harming God’s precious creation, including ourselves. This is rightly an offence to God. So the Israelites were subjected to the king of Aram Naharaim for eight years. Would there be a politico-militaristic process explaining this? Yes, but they all worked out because the Lord was no longer with Israel.
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