2. There Was No King

Week 5
Written By 3Crosses Church

Week 5 • Day 2

Yesterday, we left the book of Joshua wondering if Israel was going to follow God’s rule which required the promised kingdom place to be cleansed of any serpent-like foreigners who could possibly influence God’s people with their foreign gods. This new generation verbally committed to following the ways of YHWH 3 times, but if you’ve been following the scriptural pattern of humanity under the influence of the serpent kingdom, you can probably predict the outcome.

The opening chapter of Judges not only suggests that the majority of tribes failed to drive out the serpent kingdom inhabitants of the land, the chapter goes so far as to highlight one tribe in particular that was “pressed back” by the enemies of Israel.

Judges 1:19-34

  • And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron…

  • But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day

  • Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants…When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

  • And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites…

  • Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants…the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

  • Asher did not drive out the inhabitants…the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

  • Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants…so they lived among the Canaanites

  • The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country

Even though Israel - now in the promised place - had repeatedly claimed that they would surely follow the Lord, they too remained in bondage to sin and the powerful kingdom of the serpent. As a result, the pattern of the book of Judges is as follows:

1. God’s people live peacefully while obeying God’s rule as their king.

And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. - Judges 2:7

2. God’s people inevitably forget God and worship the gods of their neighbors.

And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. - Judges 2:10–13

3. God punishes His people by sending enemies to rule them.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. - Judges 2:14–15

4 → 1. (4) God’s people turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. God hears the cries of His people and rescues them. (1) God’s people live peaceably once again.

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them….Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. - Judges 2:16–18

1 → 2. (1) A new generation of God’s people rises up in peace and (2) inevitably forgets God’s rule by beginning to worship the gods of their neighbors.

But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. - Judges 2:19

Instead of seeing God reestablishing His rule over the serpent once and for all and restoring the hearts of His people to love God and love others, the book of Judges reeks with this ugly serpent-like pattern of rebellion that repeats itself over and over again. Yet in His mercy, YHWH remains faithful to the covenant promise made with Himself to bring the gospel of the kingdom through the judges He raises up. The stories that highlight Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, or any of the 13 other judges offer a glimmer of hope that the kingdom plans might still be intact.

Perhaps you are wondering if any of these 13 judges (or tribal leaders) mentioned in this book could be the serpent-crusher we have been looking for. The fact is that Judges highlights 7 of these leaders in order to show how these leaders become more deeply associated with Israel’s foreign neighbors as time goes on.

 
 
 

The pattern of progression toward the kingdom of the serpent is best illustrated through the life of the final, and the most famous judge: Samson.

1. Samson begins his life by living in obedience to God’s rule.

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. - Judges 13:1-5

Even before Samson was born, he was destined to be used by God. He was to be a Nazirite - or set apart for God according to the law given in Numbers 6.

(Law in Question) “When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

“All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

“All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord. - Numbers 6:2-8

As Samson’s life began, his commitment to his vow was strong. The Bible tells us that Samson would experience moments where, "the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power." However, Samson, like the rest of Israel, inevitably begins to test the limits of his obedience to his vow. As he grew older, his commitment to his vow began to weaken.

 

2. Samson forgets his vow and compromises towards idols.

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" - Judges 14:1-3a

(Law in Question) You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Deuteronomy 7:3–4

God wanted Samson to be set apart from the idol-worshiping Philistines, but here we find Samson falling in love with a Philistine woman and looking to marry her. The story continues:

"Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass." - Judges 14:5-9

(Law in Question) “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.” - Numbers 6:6

(Law in Question) And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. - Leviticus 11:39–40

Samson is flirting with the serpent as he indulges in the honey of a dead carcass as opposed to remaining in God’s place that was said to “flow with milk and honey”.

 

3. God punishes Samson by turning him over to his enemies.

Samson eventually makes too many compromises and finds himself as a prisoner to the foreign powers under the kingdom of the serpent; in this case the Philistines.

Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her…After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And when she [Delilah] pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” - Judges 16:1, 4

She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him….And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. - Judges 16:16–17, 19, 21

His hair had been shaved off, his eyes had been gouged out, and his hands were bound to a wheat grinding stone like a donkey. As one speaker put it: the kingdom of the serpent "blinds us, binds us, and grinds us." Samson found himself in the pit of despair, separated from God’s powerful rule, outside of God’s place, imprisoned by a foreign people.

4. Samson turns back to God and asks for His forgiveness

At the end of his life, Samson was brought into the Philistine temple to their idol Dagon. This is what happened when Samson was at this central place of the serpent kingdom.

"When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” - Judges 16:25b-28

4 → 1. God hears Samson’s cries and offers supernatural help

Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived." - Judges 16:29-30

This isn't just Samson's pattern, or Israel's pattern, but our pattern too. Just like Samson and as we have seen throughout this study, God wants us to obey His rule, to be amongst His family of people, and to enjoy His presence in His kingdom place. As image-bearers, we have been delegated ruling power to bless the nations and to spread the glory of YHWH across every square inch of His cosmic temple. Yet just like Samson, we are prone to compromise; we are prone to distraction; we are prone to disobedience; we are prone to the kingdom of the serpent and his rule which puts us on our very own thrones in life.

But also like Samson's story, God remains merciful to us. We serve a God who, despite our failures, continues to work out the gospel of the kingdom in which God’s people will be rescued from all enemies, returned to God’s kingdom place, and restored as rulers who love God and love others…if only the great serpent-crusher would come and reestablish God’s rule over the serpent!

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD

The book of Judges ends by making us consider the horrific degenerative pattern of sin and the serpent kingdom. How far would God’s mercy continue to extend? What are the consequences of generation after generation forgetting God and falling deeper into the schemes of the serpent? Would God remain faithful to the gospel of the kingdom even if sin spiraled out of control? The concluding “serpent stories” in Judges begins with a man named Micah from Ephraim (northern Israel), a Levite from Bethlehem (Judah), and the tribe of Dan (pushed back by God’s enemies). Israel had drifted so far towards the serpent that their inhabitants - including the Levites and a son of Moses - had entirely forgotten about God’s chosen kingdom place of worship.

(Law in Question) When you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. - Deuteronomy 12:10–11

And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest… “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. - Judges 17:5, 9-10

The people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire…And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. - Judges 18:27, 30

Moreover, the victims of this serpent-like degeneration were often the most vulnerable image-bearers in God’s kingdom family of image-bearing people.

Levite Travels with Concubine to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin

As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. - Judges 19:22-25

Levite Butchers Concubine to Send Message of Gibeah’s Crime

And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. - Judges 19:29

Civil War Ensues Between Benjamites and Israel

And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites…. And the men of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the city, men and beasts and all that they found. And all the towns that they found they set on fire. - Judges 20:20-21, 48

The Surviving Benjamites Kidnap Wives for Inheritance

And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin….And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. - Judges 21:20-21, 23

Simply put, the Bible does not sugarcoat the serious ramifications of sins. By now, hopefully you are growing more and more desperate for God’s solution to the chaos and disorder of the serpent kingdom. The uncensored images in the book of Judges fuels our desire to see God’s powerful rule “crush the serpent”. Judges ends with a hint at God’s solution by reciting this key phrase stated 4 different times throughout this glimpse into the serpent kingdom at its most wicked:

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." - Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25

Would this finally be the era of the promised king that would come from Jacob, from the tribe of Judah, the greater Moses who would finally take the scepter and crush the serpent? The next segment of Israel’s history begins with their quest for this promised king. In the meantime we pray that the Lord would somehow put an end to this vicious cycle of sin once and for all.

Share the Gospel: God wants us to obey His rule, to be amongst His family of people, and to enjoy His presence in His kingdom place. As image-bearers, we have been given delegating ruling power to bless the nations and to spread His glory in every square inch of His cosmic temple. Yet we are prone to compromise, distraction, disobedience, and our very own thrones under the serpent kingdom. However, we serve a God that, despite our failures, continues to work out the gospel of the kingdom in which God’s people are rescued from all enemies, returned to God’s kingdom place, and restored as rulers who love God and love others because of God’s reeestablished rule over the serpent!

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