Last week we looked at the overarching pattern of apostasy and deliverance in the period of the Judges. There are six cycles that are described in the book of Judges:
- The Mesopotamian oppression and the deliverance by Othniel. - The Moabite oppression and the deliverance by Ehud. - The Canaanite oppression and the deliverance by Barak - The Midianite oppression and the deliverance by Gideon. - The Ammonite oppression and the deliverance by Jephthah - The Philistine oppression and the deliverance by Samson.
Each of these six cycles begins with the words, "the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.... [and] the LORD gave/sold them into the hands of X"
Scattered in between these six cycles are six other judges, Shamgar, Tola and Jair, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon.
Two patterns of six judges. That makes 12 judges, and no tribe has more than one judge.
Some commentators have pointed out that Leviticus 26:18-28 repeatedly declares that God will punish Israel for his sins seven times.
Why does Judges only have six? There is a sense in which the book of Judges is pointing forwards. In those days there was no king in Israel. The cycles of the judges are incomplete–they are still awaiting the seventh judgment - a final judgment which will be worse than the first six put together.
And when you look in the book of Samuel – you see that seventh judgment, which will result in the exile of the ark of the covenant – when God himself will depart from Israel!
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