THE JUDGE OF ISRAEL
[p. 343] THE JUDGE OF ISRAEL
John 18:19 - 24; Micah 5:1; Judges 8:18,19
In reading these scriptures I have in mind to enlarge on the idea of judgment; not judgment as conveying what is punitive, but authoritative discrimination amongst the people of God. We have the announcement in the gospel that, “He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). The world will thus have an authoritative, discriminative rule, under which men will be in peace and prosperity. The Lord Jesus, I need not say, is that Man; and that God has approved Him in that He has raised Him from the dead. The divine approbation thus expressed has reference to His ability for this service — ability which shone in Him in the days of His rejection.
And so the Judge of Israel, as we read in the prophet, was smitten upon the cheek. In introducing among men what is befitting to a judge in the way of testimony, our Lord Jesus Christ incurred this ignominious persecution; a fact which should appeal to us as we do not want to be behind Him in anything. And if we have to bear testimony to the principles of judgment among the people of God, we must be prepared to be smitten on the cheek. And so the Lord, as before the high priest, bears witness to this great principle. It is wonderful to think that in these moments of supreme trial, the prince of this world having come and having succeeded in arresting Him and arraigning Him before the high priest in Jerusalem, He should bear witness to the principles that should govern a judge. He was the Judge, not Caiaphas! But the latter being as yet in Moses’ seat,
[p. 344] our Lord in beautiful humility would recognise him; and yet call attention in His own way to the principles that should govern a judge. And so He says, “I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold they know what I said”. And the Judge of Israel, who knew the law perfectly, and who was announcing it in His own perfect way, is smitten upon the cheek. Is that to pass? He could well afford to let it pass, if it were only a personal question, for He had taught that if one were to smite thee on one cheek, he should turn to him the other. It was not a matter of personal vindication. It was a matter of setting out the fundamental principle of judgment. “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?” It is a question of righteousness in judgment. The Judge of Israel was setting out in the presence of the greatest opposition the principles of judgment, and He was smitten upon the cheek. I mention all these things about the Lord Jesus because they contain what I intended to present, and also because one loves to begin with Him in regard to every subject.
So I proceed to the passage in Judges, because I wish to show that Gideon, undoubtedly a type of Christ as a judge in Israel, had brethren. And these brethren bore his marks. And so as we are called upon to judge and to exercise influence amongst the people of God, it is of great moment that we should be like the Judge of Israel. Gideon had brethren, and these brethren, by the testimony of their slayers, were like Gideon, and by his own testimony they were the sons of his mother. On the one hand, they had a royal resemblance, and on the other, they had the training of a true mother. Now having these brethren of [p. 345] Gideon in mind, as we are the brethren of Christ, and thus qualified for judgment, I wish to briefly review the judges of Israel up to Gideon. Before proceeding to that task, I would be very direct, without having reference to anything special, but to the general state of things among the people of God. One of the crying needs of the moment is the expression of judgment, of righteous discrimination. So the apostle in writing to the Corinthians, who were misjudging him in the most ungrateful manner, says, “Now I pray to God ... that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates” (2 Corinthians 13:7). And again in treating of the people of God appealing to the law of the land, he says, “Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you?” (1 Corinthians 6:5). As it were, one of the royal lineage, one of the culture of the mother, who could adjudicate between his brethren according to God? You see how essential therefore in our gatherings it is that there should be at least a wise man, and if not a wise man, a wise woman; for how much good a wise woman can do! It was a wise woman, as recorded in the second book of Samuel, who saved the city of Abel. Sheba, the son of Bichri, had revolted against David and said, “We have no part of David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel” (2 Samuel 20:1). There was open revolt against the authority of God in Christ, typically. He drew men after him, and he fled northward and Joab pursued him and besieged him in the city of Abel. Now there was a wise woman in that city, and by her wisdom she delivered it. You see she went to the men in the city in her wisdom. Joab was pressing the siege as an able general would (how often, with the best intentions, we press things!) the issue being that the inheritance of the Lord is destroyed. He would destroy a whole city in order to get Sheba. And it says, “Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom: and they cut off [p. 346] the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab” (chapter 20:22). And Abel was saved. You see, therefore, how important it is, how absolutely essential it is, if the saints, the inheritance of the Lord, are to be saved, that there should be wise men amongst us. Even one wise woman in a meeting under these circumstances may save it from damage. In her wisdom this woman carried the people with her and reached the offender, the root of the difficulty thus reached, the city was saved.
Now I proceed to review the judges of Israel so that we may see the features that are essential to judgment. Most of us doubtless know that the effect of good judgment among the people of God is that they rest. The first judge was Othniel. I wish to dwell on him, because unless we understand what Othniel represents, we shall scarcely be able to judge intelligently in Israel. He was the son of Caleb’s younger brother, thus of excellent family connection. He belonged to the family of faith. And so when Caleb offered his daughter as a prize to him who should take Kirjath-sepher, Othniel takes it — the city of the book. No one can exercise influence according to God among the saints until he has come to the overthrow of the books of this world. A man who lives in the religious or secular literature of the day cannot rule the people of God. We have to be on our guard as to the things by which we are influenced, and what can be more influential than the literature of the day? How steeped in darkness and confusion men are! And by such influence we become unfit to rule or sway the saints according to heaven. Othniel gets Achsah, a type of the assembly. He is in relation in a sense, typically, with the assembly. We have got to apprehend the assembly according to what it is to Christ in order to exercise right influence. We are reminded of one who rejoiced in his sufferings for the body of Christ. We have to see its intrinsic worth.
“[p. 347] Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). If I am to rule in it, I must be in accord with it, and know something of its preciousness to Christ. And so Othniel obtains the prize. She was worth having and he knew it. Her worth soon manifests itself; as she meets him she would have him ask her father for springs. This is of the greatest importance. We must have springs. There must be resources. The initial energy I may have will soon fail me. There must be springs. “And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water”. She had a favourable position spiritually, a south land is favourable — but that did not suffice. The light of Colossians and Ephesians combined will not suffice; we must have springs. How we need the Spirit! “And she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water”. And so her father gives her “the upper springs and the nether springs” (Judges 1:14,15). Now this is Othniel’s wife. You see how enriched he is. An impoverished man, spiritually, cannot influence the people of God. The idea begins with Othniel. He is a man of affluence spiritually, and his wife is a woman of affluence. They belong to Caleb’s family of faith. And so Othniel is the first judge of Israel. And what a judge he is, as I have been showing! I only mention it that we might seek to emulate him; our attitude toward our brethren must be in grace and patience. “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war”. He is one of the few of whom it is said, “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (Judges 3:10). God would see that the judgment of His people was by the Spirit. And so we find that he judged Israel and made war. Now the enemy was Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. He was a man of earthly resources,
the “land of the two rivers”, as the name signifies. Rivers are resources, and sometimes, as here, they are sources of influence in an earthly way. And so a man of earthly resources had power over the people of God for eight years. But the Spirit of God comes upon Othniel and he judged Israel and went to war. What weapons he used it does not say; but would not rely on material resources. “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the Lord delivered Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim”. And then the land had rest. How one longs to see that! The saints having rest, particularly in certain localities, as the outcome of right rule and judgment.
The next judge was Ehud. He was a left-handed man. He had to do with the king of Moab, a fat man, who having resources, is engrossed in his fat, is occupied with what he has got, a man of pride — the fat signifies pride. How much of that we have to contend with! One knows it in one’s own heart. Pride is ever ready to show itself. I have to deal with it in myself, if I am to deal with it in others. And so Ehud makes a dagger. He is a man of personal resourcefulness. He is not presented to us as a man of means, but a man of skill. He is out of the ordinary — a left-handed man, but he knows what is needed. You see I have to know what is needed, because the enemy is ever changing his mode of attack. If he comes now with a man of great earthly resources, another time he comes with a man full of pride, who by means of his forceful rule, would captivate the people of God. What is needed is a man of divine skill. He makes a dagger with two edges. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
[p. 349] We have to do with the underlying condition. Men have to be exposed. Pride has to be exposed. And so this second judge has a dagger of a cubit length and he uses it dexterously, and overthrows the enemy and the land had rest eighty years — a remarkable result. How God may use one man who sees what the enemy is doing! How God may use a man who is skilled in the word, in the word of righteousness! Untrue things may be passed from lip to lip — Satan thus works. Whereas a man spiritually developed is skilled in the word of righteousness and he will search the thing out, bringing the word of God to bear on it. Ten thousand men, all fat, and all men of valour were slain. And the land had rest eighty years.
The next judge is Shamgar, a man of experience. He slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. The ox-goad refers, I judge, to discipline and experience. He had been in the school of God. We need men of experience. We need men of spiritual resources; we need men skilled in the word of righteousness; but we need men of experience, who have been in the school of God, who have been held in check themselves. The apostle began with a goad: “It is hard for thee to kick against goads”. And what an effective man he was later, on account of his experience! This appears in the letter written to Philemon. In this epistle he is, “Paul the aged”, not the apostle. He was a disciplined man. He knew how to keep his body under. We know what goads do, how they check the ox, even the most independent. Shamgar used one with the greatest skill, and slew six hundred Philistines. You will readily see how the features of these three judges enter into judgment according to God.
The next judge is a woman, Deborah. She brought in a most important element. It is said of her that she “judged Israel at that time”. And it is said that “She dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah”. (Judges 4:5). She [p. 350] was a woman of personal victory. And she dwelt between Ramah and Beth-el, in spiritual surroundings. It says, “And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment”. There was no self-assertion about her. It was a question of moral weight amongst the saints. In fact she says, “Until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7). You cannot resist the influence of a true mother. She arose a mother in Israel. How young believers need the influence and care and the tender attention of the mother! These are the features that enter into judgment amongst us. The mother was there, and Israel came to her for judgment. They knew it was there. They knew where the tender care was. She is the only judge, as I recall, that speaks about love to God. And those who love God, love the children of God. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments” (1 John 5:2). Then immediately it says, “And the land had rest forty years” (Judges 5:31). Deborah can speak of love in that she appeals to the commandments. She says to Barak, “Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded ... ?” (chapter 4:6). Nicodemus appeals to the law in protection of the Lord Jesus; although in the counsel of the Jews, he appealed to the law: “Doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?” (John 7:51). A fine note in the midst of national lawlessness! He loved God though in a wrong position. But Deborah was not among the counsels of this world. She dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah, a token of personal victory. And she dwelt in the vicinity of the house of God and Ramah. And now she says to Barak, “Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded ... ?”
Now let me dwell for a little on the importance of the law in regard to judgment; and when I speak of the law I am not speaking of legal requirements or rules, I am speaking of the divine principles that [p. 351] should govern us. For no circumstance can arise among us for which there is not a principle to govern it in Scripture. “Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded ... ?” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (John 14:21). Deborah was a lover and she appealed to divine commandments. And the result is the land had rest forty years, and in that period there was a song, a tribute to God. You see how judgment rightly exercised amongst the people of God leads to a tribute to God. “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves” (chapter 5:1,2). You see thus the good results of judgment Godward.
Now Gideon is the next judge, and the greatest of them, we may say, a distinct type of the Lord Jesus. He is threshing wheat to hide it from the Midianites, and Jehovah looked on him. How delightful to have God looking on one approvingly! “And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (chapter 6:14). The angel had come and sat under the terebinth. As it were, God would come to look over the situation, to survey it. What met His eye was this valiant young man. “And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the Midianites” (chapter 6:11). How delightful to God that what the people needed was being carefully threshed and hid so that they should have it! It says, “Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him”. It refers to any young man or woman who would take account of things and resolve in his or her heart to seek to meet the conditions. And so Gideon said he would bring him a [p. 352] present. The Lord waited for him to bring his present, and he offers his offering and it is accepted; so that we have one who is under God’s eye as delightful, his present is accepted. He has the sense of divine approval. And so Gideon is enjoined to take the bullock, the second one of seven years old. This man’s service is to be on spiritual lines, and not simply a question of law, it is a question of spirituality, of being developed spiritually. “The second bullock of seven years old” (chapter 6:25), indicates the spiritual stature that is to mark this man. Seven here suggests a complete spiritual result in growth. May we not look for spiritual development? May we not expect God to come in and bring forth men like Gideon? The second bullock represents sovereignty, and the fact that it was seven years old would indicate spiritual growth.
Now Gideon is tested. Such must be tested. He has to learn that his services in Israel are to be carried on in a spiritual way, and not by the arm of flesh. And so he must be reduced to three hundred. He begins by the spring in Harod (note the spring here), but the army is too large and it has to be tested. We have to learn to be reduced. God is pleased to add to us, and may we have a hundred times more! as one said; but then numbers inflate and in the government of God we have to go through reduction of numbers, to be brought down and to learn that conflict is not by numbers, but by spiritual power, indeed by the total break-up of the outer vessel. As we see in the apostle Paul, “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:10). One has to come to nothing instead of a large army, that the precious light developed by the Spirit should shine, and thus the victory. All the features of Gideon are spiritual. The cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp is a reference to the Person of Christ. It is a question of the power of Christ. It tumbled in. It [p. 353] is a question of resources, not regularity; and Midian is overthrown. The issue was food; Christ is the bread of God.
And now, just to come back, you see he has brethren, and they resembled him. One is exercised as to whether he is like Gideon. In figure he answers to Christ, I believe. And now he challenges the kings of Midian, “What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?” Think of it, God had others like Gideon, what an immense thing in these days! But they are destroyed. And again his own family is destroyed, a most remarkable thing, save Jotham, who calls attention to the kind of a person who serves God, one who will not aspire to rule over the people of God, but rather bring in divine judgment that the land may have rest. Gideon says, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (chapter 8:23). It is a question of divine rule. Let that prevail amongst us, and if it does, we shall have rest. Gideon’s altar is very fine: Jehovah-shalom, Jehovah of peace. God is set upon peace among His people, but there must be conditions first: holy discrimination, judgment, and then peace. And hence his altar, Jehovah-shalom. How the Lord emphasises this when risen! He says, “Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). And so in sending the seventy missionaries He said, “And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it” (Luke 10:6). The assembly is conscious of a sense of peace. The whole end of rule amongst us is that there should be rest and peace. May God grant it to His people at the present time!