Summary

...What happened to the next generations totally depended upon their own commitment to the Lord which did not last past the death of those who lived in the desert for the 40 years. Even they did not fully obey God's command to completely remove the inhabitants of the land and their alters. Neither did they teach their children about God. As a result, God said the people they left would always be a "thorn in their sides".

Although the period of the judges, the time from when they entered the Promised Land until King Saul, includes many famous "Sunday School heroes", it actually shows a people spiraling deeper and deeper into sin. The Bible repeats the cycle over and over: Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, they were oppressed by foreigners, they called out to God, God raised up a judge to deliver them, the land had rest, Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord...

The judges included Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson. The same time period also included stories of people hiring "personal priests", a Levite having a concubine and giving her up to be raped, all the tribes attaching one tribe then allowing that tribe to kidnap their daughters for brides.

At some point during the time of the judges, God called a Moabites, a woman from Moab, to join the people of Israel. She became the great-grandmother of Israel's second king, King David.

The people eventually rejected God's kingship and wanted an eartly king like the surrounding nations. Samuel warned them of the consequences, but the people would not listen and kept insisting on a king. So, God gave them what they wanted...

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The Facts

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Judges - ESV - KJV - NIV
Ruth - ESV - KJV - NIV
1 Samuel 1 - 7- ESV - KJV - NIV

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Important People

God, the people of Israel, and the judges of Israel Ruth, Naomi, & Boaz
Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, & David

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Major Events/Accounts

There are many favorite and popular "Sunday School stories" and heroes in these four books. Be sure to read about each one.
Summary: Failure to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and break down their alters and the consequences of not doing so, God raising up judges to deliver the people from oppression, the people of Israel asked for a king to be like the people around them, God gave them Saul David for their king

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Key Words/Repeated Phrases

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord
The people cried out...
God raised up a deliverer
And the land had rest for .... years
Everyone did what was right in their own eyes

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Names of God

Jehoval Shalom: the LORD is peace - Name Gideon called God.

Judges 6:24 - Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom...

Jehoval Raah: the LORD is my shepherd - Name David called God.

Psalm 23 - David had been a shepherd boy for years, so he fully understood what the name meant.

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Jehovah Sabaoth: the LORD of Hosts - First used by an invdividual in the story of Hannah, in 1 Samuel although the propehts used it often.

1 Samuel 1:3 - And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.

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Hide the Word in Your Heart

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Verses from the Account

Judges 2:11

And all that generation also were gathered to their father. And there arose another geneartion after them who did know 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...

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Ruth 1:16-18

16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

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1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

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Psalm 54:2

Hear my prayer, O God: give ear to the words of my mouth..

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Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

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Verses to Share the Truths Taught through the Account

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

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Nahum 1:7

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

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Luke 11:9

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

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Jesus in the Account

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The people cannot uphold their side of the Covenant and need a perfect Savior.

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The leaders/judges cannot uphold their side of the Covenant and need a perfect Savior.

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Ruth foreshadows the Gospel is for all people. Boaz foreshadows the "redeeming" work of Jesus.

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Jesus comes from the line of David.

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Did You Know?

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God taught the second generations of Israelites who came out of Egypt (those under 20 the first time they reached the Promised Land) His ways and showed them He was always with them during the 40 years in the desert.

The people who conquered the Promised Land spent their adult life totally dependent upon God for their every need. They knew He was with them when they crossed the Jordan, marched around Jericho, and proceed into the Promised Land. But.....they did not completely follow this commands nor did they teach their children as God had commanded. Each generation suffered the consequences.

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The fact Gideon was threshing in the wine press shows he was hiding.

People usually threshed grain on the top of a hill so the wind could drive away the chafe. Gideon was basically in a hole threshing grain where there was no wind, but it make a good hiding place.

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The time between judges decreased more and more as the period of the Judges progressed.

In other words, Israel needed a deliver more and more often because they sinned more and more.

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The cycle of Judges shows Israel sinking deep and deeper into sin.

The actions of the people of Israel eventually parallel Sodom and Gomorrah (Judges 19:22-30) - the cities they always hold as examples of rampant sin and in need of judgment - or are even worse (Judges 20-21).

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Ruth is a descendant of Lot.

The Moabites are the descendants of Lot and his oldest daughter - Genesis 19.

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Only God could have brought the Ark home to Israel yoked to the cows in 1 Samuel 6.

Cows that had never been yoked would not have known how to work together to pull the cart. Plus, they never would have left their calves (babies).

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Discuss It

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1. What is the most interesting thing or something new you learned from reading and studying this account?
2. Summarize the account and its message in your own words.
3. What did you learn about God from reading and studying this account?
4. How does this account point to God's plan to redeem this world through the sacrifice and obedience of Jesus?
5. How can you apply the truth of what you learned from reading and studying this account in your own life?

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Teach It

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Coming in 2021!

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Share It

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Coming in 2021!

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Celebrate It

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Coming in 2021!

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