The Judges who Delivered Israel

Judges 2:18 - And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. 

List of the Judges of Israel and Foreign Oppressors
The Oppressor	Years of Oppression	Judge - Deliverer	Years of Peace
Mesopotamia	8 Years	Othniel	40 Years
The Moabites The Ammonites The Amalekites	18 Years	Ehud	80 Years
The Canaanites	20 Years	Deborah Barak	40 Years
The Midianites	7 Years	Gideon	40 Years
		Abimelech Tola Jair	3 Years 23 Years 22 Years
The Ammonites	18 Years	Jephthah	6 Years
		Ibzan Elon Abdon	7 Years 10 Years 8 Years
The Philistines	40 Years	Samson	20 Years
The Philistines		Eli	40 Years
The Philistines		Samuel	20 Years
Total	111 Years		339 Years

The Judges were not necessarily actual judges or elders or rulers in accordance with the traditionally accepted title in ancient Israel. They were actually more like local deliverers who were raised up by God to bring relief to the oppression that was brought about by their enemies. The oppression came because of their lack of faith, although there were some who were faithful, as in the case of Boaz (Ruth 2-4).

Judges 2:17 - And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; [but] they did not so. 

 

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The Story of the Bible - Part One - The Old Testament

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