Karl’s Sunday School Blog

• What do you know about the book of judges?
• What is it about?
• What time period does it describe in Israel’s history? How would you describe the historical period it covers?
• When does it happen relative to Exodus and Joshua?
• What stories are in it? Do any of these stories resonate with you? If so, which ones and why?
• Suppose the book of Judges was written at a much later time than the period is describes from older oral traditions… Say during the time period of the monarchy. How would that affect how the stories were written down?
• Is there anything surprising about the book of Judges? In the way the stories are told or the people it focuses on?

• What do you teach your children about the book of Judges?
• Which stories do you include and which stories do you omit? Why?
• Even among the stories you teach, how do you approach the material?
• How did you view some of the stories as a child? How has your view changed as you have gotten older?

• Why is the book named the “Book of Judges?”
• Who were the judges?
• Notice how Samson is considered a Judge. Read Judges 15:20:

20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

• What does the identification of Samson as a judge tell us about the nature of the “judges?” Is “tribal chief” or “tribal leader” a more accurate description of the judges in the book of Judges?

• Does the story of Samson remind you of any non-scriptural stories?
• Does the Story remind you of any Biblical stories?
• Tales of great/legendary strength are pretty rare in the Bible? Is it important that the Samson story is a bit of an exception in this respect?

Read Judges 13:1-5:

1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

• What do we learn about Israel?
• What is strange about Israel in verse (1)? What doesn’t Israel do that happens throughout most of the book of Judges?
• Read Judges 6:1,6-8

1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

…

6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. 7 And it came to pass, when the c hildren of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, 8 That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

• Instead, We have a birth announcement. At this point in the story what other Biblical stories are similar?
  • Isaac
  • Ishmael
  • Jacob and Esau
  • Jesus
  • John the Baptist
• Is there anything surprising or interesting about the angels commands? Is it strange or noteworthy the birth announcement involves a call to obedience for the mother? What does this tell us about the story? About the nature of the mother?
• Is there anything interesting about the mother?
• The mother is identified as barren? What inference might an ancient audience draw from that fact?

14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

Deut 7:14

• Is there anything interesting about the way the father is introduced or referred to in these verses?
• Why is the woman not named but the husband is named? That the mother isn’t named but later Delilah is named? That Delilah is the only named woman in the story? Might this be an intentional device by the author to indicate to us that all is not what it seems in this story? That we should expect reversal? That those of low status are the true heroes in the story?
• Is the woman the true hero of the story and not Samson?

Read Judges 13:6-7:

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: 7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

• Anything interesting about what she tells her husband (Monoah)?
• What does she leave out from her earlier talk with the angel? Is the omission important?
• If you were Monoah how would you react? What would you be worried about?
• Does the information that she relays to the husband possibly reveal something about the husband?

Read Judges 13:8-11:

8 Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. 11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

• Is there anything surprising about these verses?
• Is it surprising that Manoah prays for the angel to appear but the angel appears to his wife and not him? Are we supposed to read between the lines at the point? What inference should we draw from this?

Read Judges 13:12-14:

12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? 13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

• What do you make of the angel’s response to Monoah?
• Why the continue focus on what the wife should do?
• Nothing is said about raising Samson in this exchange. Is this important?

Read Judges 13:15-18:

15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord. 17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 18 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

• What do we learn about the Monoah in this verses?
• How is it possible that Monoah didn’t know he was talking to an angel of the Lord? What does this reveal to us about Monoah?
• What is with the name of the angel stuff? How does this tie in with the importance of names in the story?

Read Judges 13:19-23

19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord. 22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23 But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

• Monoah know realizes he was talking with an angel? What allowed him to understand? Is this generalizable to us?
• Contrast Monoah and his wife. How are the two different? What can we learn from the contrast?
• Is the wife meant as a model for Israel?

• What lessons should be learned from the the Samson story?
• Samson doesn’t deliver Israel … but does the story hint at what must happen in order for Israel to be truly delivered?
• Is the mother of Samson the hero of the story or is that pushing on the story much too hard?