Day 48 Reading Schedule: Judges 15-19

Judges 15: Samson's Revenge on the Philistines 

[Summary]

Following the previous chapter that records the incident where Samson killed the Ashkelonites after losing the riddle due to his wife's betrayal, this chapter records the incident that occurred when Samson, who could not forget his wife, returned to Timnah. When Samson returned to Timnah to find his wife, he was furious when he found out that she had already married someone else and burned the Philistines' grain (vv. 1-8). When the Philistines harassed the people of Judah, the people of Judah bound Samson and handed him over to them (vv. 9-13). However, Samson, who was handed over to the Philistines by his own people, gained strength through God's help, untied himself, and killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Exhausted, Samson drank water from a spring again with God's help and regained his strength (vv. 14-20). Through these facts, this chapter clearly shows the figure of God who stays with his servants and gives them strength until the end.

The riddle incident at the Timnah wedding feast is mentioned in the chapter. At that time, when the Philistines could not solve the riddle that Samson posed, they found out the answer through Samson's wife. So, Samson, enraged by this, killed 30 Ashkelonites, took off their clothes, and gave them as prizes to the Philistines. Here in the text, the events of the battle are continued. That is, after some time, Samson, who had left Timnah, went back to his wife's house, and this chapter unfolds around the events that occurred at that time.

Judges 16: Delilah's Temptation and Samson 

[Summary]

This chapter records the end of Samson, who served as a judge of Israel for 20 years. After being in danger because of marrying a Philistine woman, Samson continued to face crises due to lust (verses 1-3). Still unable to come to his senses, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, eventually shaving his head and becoming a Philistine captive (verses 4-17). In response, the Philistines persecuted Samson, including gouging out his eyes and forcing him to grind stones (verses 18-22). Finally realizing his sin, Samson repented to God and gained strength to kill numerous Philistines and meet his end (verses 23-31).

Although Samson served as a judge of Israel for 20 years, there is not much specific information about his activities in the Bible. This text shows in detail how Samson ended up a heroic end as a judge. Samson was given amazing strength and power by God, but he was tempted by a Philistine woman and eventually lost all his strength and power. The text introduces a magnificent scene where Samson was tempted and failed, and at the last moment, he repented to God and regained his strength, and ended up a heroic end.

Judges 17: Micah's Idolatry Incident 

[Summary]

Up until now, the lives of the Israelites who settled in Canaan have been recorded with a focus on the activities of the judges, but from this chapter on, the events that occurred in the real lives of the common people are recorded. This is to show how corrupt the Israelites were despite God's grace through the judges. This is to emphasize God's love that saves them despite their corruption, rather than the corruption of the people, which is the main theme of the entire book of Judges. When a man named Micah from the tribe of Ephraim stole money from his mother, conflict arose in his family, and he eventually returned the money. Then, his mother used the money to make an idol and build a shrine (verses 1-6). After that, Micah violated the Mosaic Law by appointing a common Levite to the priestly office, which only the children of Aaron could do. However, Micah believed that his actions were justified and that God would bless him (verses 7-13).

The text shows an example of the corruption and decadence of the Judges. At that time, there was no king during the Judges’ time, so there was no order and God’s laws were not properly observed. However, judges appeared occasionally to guide the Israelites, and even then, they were limited to certain areas. In this situation, there was a man named Micah in the Ephraim mountains. The text shows how a society that is not governed by God is wrong and goes down the wrong path through an example that occurred in Micah’s family.

Judges 18: The Tribe of Dan and the Rampant Idolatry 

[Summary]

This chapter shows the typical example of collective corruption through the idolatry of the tribe of Dan. The tribe of Dan sent out spies to find a new settlement due to the oppression of the Philistines. They found the peaceful land of Laish and led an army to conquer it (verses 1-10). On the way, they reached the house of Micah, whom they had met before, and took the teraphim and even the Levitical priest with them (verses 11-20). Micah, enraged by this, took his people and pursued them, but returned after seeing the great power of the tribe of Dan (verses 21-26). After this, the tribe of Dan took the land of Laish and settled down, and began to worship the idols they had taken from Micah (verses 27-31).

This text shows an incident that occurred in the tribe of Dan, one of the twelve tribes of Israel during the period of the Judges. At that time, the tribe of Dan was located on the border with the Philistines. So naturally, they had frequent clashes with the Philistines and could no longer find stability, so the tribe of Dan decided to move their residence. The text describes in detail the process of the tribe of Dan moving their residence to the northern region of Laish. However, this behavior of the tribe of Dan was truly undesirable because it failed to keep the promised land allotted to them by God and instead transferred part of the promised land to foreign powers. The saints should learn lessons for our faith through the behavior of the tribe of Dan.

Judges 19: The Corrupt House of Levi and the Wicked Men of Gibeah 

[Summary]

While the incidents mentioned above mainly deal with religious corruption, this chapter deals with the moral corruption of Israel. An Ephraimite Levite went to the woman’s house to find his runaway concubine (vv. 1-9) and persuaded her to return home, where he stayed at an old man’s house in Gibeah (vv. 10-21). At that time, the wicked men of Gibeah came and caused a commotion, raping the Levite’s concubine and killing her (vv. 22-26). The Levite, enraged by this, cut up the concubine’s body and sent it to each tribe to appeal for punishment against the tribe of Benjamin (vv. 27-30). The incident in this chapter is similar to what Lot experienced in Sodom and Gomorrah, implying that Israel’s moral corruption is similar to Sodom and Gomorrah.

The text shows an example of a corrupt and depraved social crime that occurred during the period of the judges when there was no king. A Levite lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He had a concubine who committed adultery and ran away to his family home. So the Levite went to his wife’s house to get his concubine back after four months. The text here describes in detail the whole story of the misfortune that the Levite suffered from the wicked men in Gibeah on his way from his wife’s house to his home. Through this text, we can clearly see how corrupt the society of Israel was at that time. Furthermore, this text serves as a great warning to modern believers who live in this age where similar sexual crimes are rampant.