main points
god cares for israel
forgives
god forgives readily and completely, a whole lot of times
punishes (jealous)
this evidences gods care and desire for israel. why such desire?
israel (mankind) is awful
disobedient
even the obedient are not fully/perfectly obedient (often)
never fully obedient as a nation
assuming that they ignore commands to root out
the foreigners, etc...
quick to forget
overview
joshua et al...
(chushanrishathaim - mesopotamia)
8 years
othniel
40 years
(eglon - moab, fat)
18 years
ehud - dagger
80 years
shamgar (kills 600 philistenes with an oxgoad)
jabin/sisera (king of cannaan, 900 chariots of iron)
20 years
deborah/barak (and jael)
40 years
midian
7 years
gideon
40 years
abimilech
tola
23 years
jair
22 years
----------------------------------------
298 years by my count
ammonites
18 years
jephthah (mentions the 300 year mark)
6 years
ibzan
7 years
elon
10 years
abdon
8 years
----------------------------------------
347 years by my count
of course, it should be noted that there is no indication given
that some of these judges don't overlap one another. as there may be
unmentioned gaps between some events as well, any count of years
is highly suspect.
israels sins
influenced by culture
social pressure vs character
judges/leaders were often used in spite of their sin
basically, you can always be wrong. many of the
judges went from helpful to harmful, though they had
been catalyst for the most extraordinary events.
gods actions
god works through/around of sin
through - samson
around - gideon
principle - gods plans can not be upset.
god can be exceedingly patient and forgiving