Judges
Outline
I.
The Roots and
Fruits of Apostasy (1:1-3:4)
A. A Request for Guidance (1:1-2)
B. Substantial Progress in the South (1:3-21)
1. At Bezek (1:4-7)
2. At
3. At Debir (1:11-15)
4. Other Campaigns (1:16-18)
5. Status Report on the South (1:19-21)
C. Uneven Progress in the North (1:22-36)
1. Initial Success (1:22-26)
2. Failures of the Joseph Tribes (1:27-29)
3. Failures of Other Tribes (1:30-36)
D. A Divine Rebuke and Warning (2:1-6)
1. The Appearance (2:1a)
2. The Message (2:1b-3)
3. The Reaction (2:4-5)
E. A Prophetic Dialogue (2:6-3:4)
1. God’s Assessment (2:6-13)
2. God’s Actions (2:14-18)
3. God’s Anger (2:20-3:6)
II.
A Strange
Salvation (3:7-5:31)
A. Othniel: Salvation Through and Old Man (3:7-11)
1. The Anger of God (3:7-8)
2. The Grace of God (3:9)
3. The Action of God (3:10)
4. The Gift of God (3:11)
B. Ehud: Salvation Through a Lefty (3:12-30)
1. The Oppressor (3:12-14)
2. The Deliverer (3:15-16)
3. The Assassination (3:17-22)
4. The Escape (3:23-26)
5. The Victory (3:27-30)
C. Shamgar (Salvation Through a Gentile?) (3:31)
D. Deborah: Salvation Through a Woman (4:1-24)
1. The Need for Salvation (4:1-3)
2. The Tools of Salvation (4:4-11)
3. The Day of Salvation (4:12-16)
4. The Completeness of Salvation; Jael (4:17-24)
E. Salvations Strange Song (5:1-31)
1. The Savior (5:1-11)
2. The Summons (5:12-18)
3. The Struggle (5:19-23)
4. The Slaying (5:24-27)
5. The Sorrow (5:29-30)
6. The Supplication (5:31)
III.
Gideon: Strength
in Weakness (6-8)
A. The Need for Salvation (6:1-6)
B. A Prophetic Explanation (6:7-10)
C. The Call of a Deliverer (6:11-40)
1. A Theophanic Revelation (6:11-24)
2. A Verbal Revelation (6:25-32)
3. Action Revelations (6:33-40)
D. The Methods of Faith (7:1-18)
1. Reduction of the Force (7:1-8)
2. Concession to Weakness (7:9-14)
3. Preparation for
E. The Defeat of Midian (7:19-8:28)
1. The Initial Rout (7:19-22)
2. The Involvement of Reserve Troops (7:23-8:3)
3. The Pursuit of the Midianites (8:4-12)
4. The Return from the
F. Closing Note about Gideon (8:27-35)
IV.
A. Abimelech: Tragic Ambition (9:1-57)
1. Sinful Ambition Unleashed (9:1-6)
2. Sinful Ambition Exposed (9:7-21)
3. Sinful Ambition Thwarted (9:22-29)
4. Sinful Ambition Punished (9:30-55)
5. A Prophetic Explanation (9:56-57)
B. Tragedy Mitigated (10:1-5)
1. Judgeship of Tola
(10:1-2)
2. Judgeship of Jair
(10:3-5)
C.
D. Jephthah: A Tragic Figure (10:17-11:1)
E. King of Ammon: Tragic Stubborness (11:12-28)
F. Jephthah: A Tragic Vow (11:29-40)
1. Circumstances of the Vow (11:29-33)
2. Compliance with the Vow (11:34-40)
G. Ephraim: A Tragic Pride (12:1-7)
H. Tragedy Mitigated (12:8-15)
1. Judgeship of
Ibzan (12:8-10)
2. Judgeship of Elon
(12:11-12)
3. Judgeship of Abdon
(12:13-15)
V.
Samson: The
Beginning of Deliverance (13-16)
A. Glorious in His Birth (13:1-25)
1. First Appearance of the Angel (13:2-7)
2. Second Appearance of the Angel (13:8-23)
3. Birth and Growth of the Child (13:24-25)
B. Weak in his Judgment (14:1-20)
1. The Attraction Trip (14:1-4)
2. The Arrangement Trip (14:5-7)
3. The Celebration Trip (14:8-18)
4. The Vengeance Trip (14:19-20)
C. Mighty in his Vengeance (15:1-20)
1. First Provocation and Response (15:1-6a)
2. Second Provocation and Response (15:6b-8)
3. Third Provocation and Response (15:9-17)
4. Personal Crisis (15:18-20)
D. Pitiful in his Downfall (16:1-31)
1. Cornered at
2. Entrapped at Sorek (16:4-20)
3. Bound in Prison (16:21-22)
4. Mocked in a
5. Epilogue (16:31)
VI.
The Moral Mess
(17-21)
A. Apostasy Illustrated (17:1-13)
1. Micah and his Mother (17:1-3)
2. Micah and his Shrine (17:4-6)
3. Micah and his Levite (17:7-13)
B. Lawlessness Illustrated (18:1-31)
1. A Spy
2. A Tribal Migration (18:11-26)
3. A Capture (18:27-29)
4. A Cult (18:30-31)
C. Immorality Illustrated (19:1-30)
1. A Trip to
2. A Stopover in Gibeah (19:10-21)
3. An Attack by the Gibeaites (19:22-26)
4. Reaction to the Atrocity (19:27-30)
D. Disunity Illustrated (20:1-48)
1. The Assembly (20:1-10)
2. The Positions (20:11-17)
3. The Battles (20:18-35)
4. The Victory (20:36-48)
E. Legalism Illustrated (21:1-25)
1. Virgins of Jabesh (21:1-14)
2. Daughters of