JUDGES

1. Read Judges 10:1-18 • (1)(a) Following the death of Abimelech, who led Israel? ___________ • (b) For how many years did he reign? __________________________ • (c) Following the death of this judge, who was the next person to reign over Israel? __________________________________________ • (d) For how many years did he reign? __________________________ • (2)(a) In what way did the Israelites again do evil in the sight of the Lord? ____________________________________________________ • _________________________________________________________ • _________________________________________________________ • (b) What did the Lord allow to happen to the Israelites so as to wake them up from their sin? _____________________________________ • _________________________________________________________ • _________________________________________________________ • (c) For how many years did the Israelites live in this way? __________ • (3) How did the LORD respond to the Israelites when they initially cried out to Him? • Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from others who oppressed you • You have forsaken me and served other gods. I will deliver you no more • Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen, let them deliver you in your time of need • All of the Above • (4)(a) When the Israelites said to the Lord “We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to you, only deliver us this day, we pray”; what is this an example of? _______________________________________ • (b) What was the Lord’s reaction to this prayer by the Israelites? ____ • _________________________________________________________ • (c) What are some of the things we can do to turn back to God when we recognise that we have sinned? ____________________________ • _________________________________________________________ • _________________________________________________________ Name: Year: Word scramble Unscramble the following letters to reveal the words cried out by the Israelites to the Lord eW hvea dnneis gstaain uoy escbaue ew ehva ___ ____ ______ ______ ___ _______ ___ ___ thob nkerfosa uor dgo dan dsrvee hte labas ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___ ____ • Read Judges 11:1-28 • (5) Why did Jephthah’s brothers despise him and feel that he had no right to any of their father’s inheritance? ______________________ • ________________________________________________________ • (6) (a) What promoted the leaders of Ammon to approach Jephthah after a long period of time? _________________________________ • ________________________________________________________ • (b) What request did the elders of Gilead ask of Jephthah? ________ • ________________________________________________________ • Under what condition did Jephthah agree to what the elders asked of him? ____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ • (7)(a) What reason did the King of the Ammonites give for going to war with Israel? __________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________ • (b) In fighting against the Ammonites, why do you think Israel was able to win so easily (Hint- verse 21) __________________________ • ________________________________________________________ • (c) According to verses 21-22,in addition to victory, what were the Israelites able to acquire from the Ammonites? _________________ • ________________________________________________________ JUDGES

2. Read Judges 11: 29-40 (8)(a) What vow did Jephthah make with the Lord? ______________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ (b) Did the Lord give Jephthah what he wanted? ________________ (9)(a) What happened as Jephthah approached his home? ________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ (b) How did Jephthah react when he saw his daughter approaching him? ___________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ (c) What was the only request Jephthah’s daughter made to her father? _________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ (d) How did Jephthah react to the news of what was to befall her and what can you learn from her example? ________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ (e) Did Jephthah fulfill his end of the vow with the Lord? __________ (f) What custom originated in Israel following these events? _______ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands (Judges 11:32) Jephthah’s Daughter Jephthah was an Old Testament superhero. He had a daughter he loved. Unfortunately, Jephthah didn't always see how his job as a superhero might affect the life of his daughter. Jephthah got into trouble with a rash promise. He publically announced he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house if he returned from war victorious. His great victory march came to a halt when the first thing he saw from home was his daughter. The dignity Jephthah’s daughter displayed was so powerful that she is remembered. She offers an example of costly obedience to the fifth commandment- to honour thy father and mother. She did so, even when her father had made a mistake. When people make mistakes, others find out how difficult it is to honour and forgive. But dishonour and unforgiveness do not lead to freedom. Honouring and forgiving other people doesn‘t let them off the hook, it lets us off the hook. As long as we hold hurts against other people, we too, are bound… JUDGES Did you know? Although it may sound like Jephthah had to kill his daughter as a sacrifice to God, this is probably not what really happened. Firstly, human sacrifice was forbidden by the law of Moses. Secondly, the passage seems to suggest that Jephthah may have ‘sacrificed’ his daughter to the temple, meaning that she had to spend the rest of her life serving in God’s house- never being able to marry or have a family of her own. Whilst this may seem like a punishment to many of us, the reality is that Jephthah’s daughter was a virtuous example of obedience. Could the same be said about me?