Sermons on Judges

[Music] Amen. Please turn within your Bibles to Judges chapter 16, beginning at verse 23. Now the Lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their God, and to rejoice. And they said, ‘Our God has given Samson, our enemy, into our hand.’ And when the people saw him, they praised their God, for they said, ‘Our God has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country who has killed many of us.’…

[Music] Please turn with me in your Bibles to Judges 16, beginning at the first verse. Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went into her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here,” and they surrounded the place and sent an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of morning; then we will kill him.” But Samson lay…

Amen. If you turn with me please to Judges 14, beginning at the first verse. Samson went down to Timna, and at Timna he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, ‘I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timna; now get her for me as my wife.’ But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives…

[Music] foreign [Music] Beginning at the first verse: the men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.’ And Jephthah said to them, ‘I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from…

Foreign with me. Our lesson begins in Judges chapter 11, starting at verse 29. In the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead. From Mizpah of Gilead, he passed on to the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I…

[Music] foreign [Music] to our study in judges at chapter 11 beginning with verse 12. Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me that you come to me to fight against my land?” And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore it peaceably.”…

Amen. Our scripture reading comes from the Book of Judges, beginning at chapter 11. And the leaders of Gilead said to one another, ‘Who is the man who will begin to fight against the ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’ Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah, and Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up,…

Our scripture reading today comes from the Book of Judges, chapter 10, beginning at verse 6. The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. They forsook the Lord and did not serve him. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,…

Give us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. A scripture reading this morning comes from the Book of Judges, chapter 10, beginning at the first verse. ‘After Abimelech, there arose to save Israel Tola, the son of Pua, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar. He lived at Shamir in the Hill Country of Ephraim,…

[Music] Foreign comes from Judges chapter 9 beginning again at verse 7. When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance…

Amen. We now turn back to the Book of Judges, chapter eight, beginning at verse 29. Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his own house. Now Gideon had 70 sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his…

foreign [Music] Our scripture reading this morning comes from the Book of Judges, chapter 7, beginning at verse 9. That same night the Lord said to him, Gideon, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Pura your servant, and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.’ Then…