Dickinson Church of Christ
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Outline of the Special Study: The Book of Judges and Ruth avialable in pdf.
The Book of Judges:
When Everyone Did What Was Right In Their Own Eyes
Chs. 1,2 Introduction, Given Land, Getting Evil
I. Introduction
A. Moses & Joshua
B. Joshua's Farewell Address: Serve The Lord Js. 24
C. High Priest Eleazar Dies Josh 24:33
D. They Had All God Promised Josh. 21:43-45
E. Now Different People With Different Leaders In A Different Place
F. Time of the Judges 1400-1100 B.C.
II. Status of Israel After Joshua Ch. 1
A. Successes Remember vss. 1-15
B. Faltering vss. 16-21
C. A Pagan Helps Israel vss. 22-26
D. Failure vss. 27-36
III. Unfaithful, So Distresses Begin Ch. 2
A. Troubles Because They Didn't Obey vss. 1-5
B. Joshua's Death Retold – People Faithful Then vss. 6-10
C. Evil and Distressed vss. 11-15
D. Summary of Despair and Decline vss. 16-23
Chs. 3-5 First Judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah
I. First Judges Ch. 3
A. Israel Stubbles Over Canaanites vss. 1-7
B. Oppression Of Israel And Deliverance By Othniel vss. 8-11
C. Ehud vss. 12-30
1.) Evil of Israel, Oppression by King of Moab vss. 12-14
2.) Ehud vss. 15-25
3.) Ehud Leads Israel Against Moab vss. 26-30
D. Shamgar vss. 31
II. Deborah And Barak Ch. 4,5
A. 20 Years of Oppression Due To Sin vss. 1-3
B. Deborah Leads People To Victory
1.) Deborah Judge & Prophetess vss. 4,5
2.) Hesitancy Of Barak vss. 6-9
3.) Victory vss. 10-16
4.) Woman Kills General vss. 17-22
5.) God Gave The Victory vss. 23,24
C. Song of Deborah Ch. 5
1.) Praise To God vss. 1-5
2.) Desolation Before Deborah vss. 6-11
3.) Courage Renewed By Deborah & Barak vss. 12-18
4.) Description Of The Fighting vss. 19-23
5.) Praise Of Jael For Killing Sisera vss. 24-27
6.) Anxiety At The House Of Sisera vss. 28-30
7.) Destruction To The Lord's Enemies & Peace For His Friends vss. 31
D. Forty Years Of Peace vs. 31
Chs. 6-8 Gideon
I. Israel Oppressed Because of Sin 6:1-10
A. Oppression By Midian vss. 1-6
B. Prophet Sent vss. 7-10
II. God Chooses Gideon 6:11-40
A. Unlikely Hero Chosen vss. 11-18
B. Gideon Worships vss. 19-24
C. Gideon's First Acts vss. 25-40
1.) Tears Down Alter of Baal vss. 25-27
2.) Gideon Confronted vss. 28-32
3.) Army Called vss. 33-35
4.) Test of Fleece vss. 36-40
III. Victory Given To The 300 7:1-8:19
A. Too Many Troops vss. 1-8
1.) 32,000 Too Many: 22,000 Go Home vss. 1-3
2.) 10,000 Too Many: 9,700 Sent Home vss. 4-8
B. Vision of Victory vss. 9-14
C. Rout of Midian vss. 16-25
D. Ephraim Objects vss. 1-3
E. Succoth & Penuel Help The Enemy vss. 4-9
F. Midianites & Their Sympathizer Killed vss. 10-21
1.) Midianites vss. 10-13
2.) Succoth & Penuel Destroyed vss. 14-17
3.) Kings of the Midianites Killed vs. 18-21
IV. Gideon's Triumph & Failure 8:22-35
A. Refuses Kingship, Takes Gold vss. 22-28
B. Lived A Princely Life vss. 29-32
C. Israel Idolatrous With Gideon's Ephod vss. 33-35
Chs. 9:1-10:9 The Abysmal Case of Abimelech
I. Abimelech's Rise By Wicked Means 9:1-21
A. Gideon's Other Son 8:31
B. One Side Of Family Kills The Other vss. 1-6
C. Jotham Pleads In Memory of Gideon vss. 7-21
II. Abimelech Engenders Hatred 9:22-33
A. A Time Of Thieves vss. 22-25
B. Drunken Boasting Of Gaal vss. 26-29
C. Abimelech Advised To Make An Ambush vss. 30-33
III. Wanton Destruction By Abimelech 9:34-49
A. Drives Boaster Behind The Walls vss. 34-40
B. Takes Shechem w/ Help Of Many Residents, Then Ruthlessly Destroys The City vss. 41-45
C. Burns 1,000 In A Tower vss. 46-49
IV. Abimelech Killed 9:50-57
A. Tries To Destroy Another Town vss. 50-52
B. Killed By A Mill Stone vss. 53,54
C. Abimelech Was The Problem vs. 55
D. It Was God's Judgment vss. 56,57
V. Continued Evil 10:1-9
A. Tola vss. 1,2
B. Princely Jair vss. 3-5
C. New Evil And Oppression vss. 6-10
Chs. 10:6-12 Jephthah: Strong & Cruel
Introduction: The Grave Need 10:10-18
A. An Evil People vss. 6-10
B. An Evil People vss. 10-16
C. An Enemy Approaches vss. 17,18
I. Jephthah Ch. 11
A. Illegitimate But Strong vss. 1-3
B. A Man With Strength, Not Pedigree, Needed vss. 4-11
C. An Historic Grudge vss. 12-28
D. A Rash Vow And Great Victory vss. 29-33
E. The Vow Fulfilled vss. 34-40
II. Civil War Ch. 12:1-7
A. Ephraim Complains vs. 1
B. Jephthah Speaks Straightly To Them vss. 2,3
C. Ephraim Routed vss. 4-6
D. Jephthah's Brief Rule vs. 7
III. Next Judges 12:8-15
A. Ibzan vss. 8-10
B. Elon vss. 11,12
C. Abdon vss. 13-15
Chs. 13-15 Samson: Fearless Yet Foolish Hero
Introduction: Here We Go Again 13:1
I. A Special Boy Ch. 13
A. Angelic Announcement vss. 1-7
B. “Pay Attention” vss. 8-14
C. Confirming Signs vss. 15-23
D. Samson Born vss. 24,25
II. Samson's Marriage Causes Many To Die Chs. 14,15
A. Marriage Arranged To Provoke 14:1-4
B. Lion Killed, Hive Forms, Gives Honey 14:5-9
C. Riddle Wager Causes Great Strife 14:10-20
D. Fields Burned, Great Slaughter Over Samson's Wife 15:1-8
E. Israel Objects, Hands Over Samson 15:9-13
F. Samson Kills 1,000 15:14-17
G. God Provides Water 15:18-20
III. Samson & Delilah Ch. 16
A. Samson Escapes By Carrying Off Gates vss. 1-3
B. Delilah Betrays Samson vss. 4-9
C. Betrayal Again vss. 10-12
D. Again vss. 13,14
E. He Tells Her His Secret vss. 15-17
F. Successful Betrayal vss. 18-22
G. Philistines Gloat Over Samson vss. 23-27
H. Samson's Last Stand vss. 28-31
Appendix of Evil #1 Chs. 17,18 The Mercenary Priest
I. Theft & Idolatry At Home 17:1-6
A. Micah Returns Money He Stole From His Mother vss. 1-3
B. Idols And Priest Established At Micah's House vss. 4-6
II. A Levite Hired 17:7-13
A. Levite Looks For A Place vss. 7-9
B. Micah Glad To Hire Him vss. 10-13
III. Dan Takes Another Land And A Priest Ch. 18
A. Dan Seeks Another Place vss. 1,2
B. The Hireling Priest Blesses Them vss. 3-6
C. Dan Finds A New Land vss. 7-10
D. The War Party Loots Micah And Takes His Priest vss. 11-21
E. War Party Intimidates Micah vss. 21-26
F. War Party Takes New Land vss. 27-29
G. Dan Sets Up Their Own Worship Under Hireling Priest vss. 30,31
Appendix of Evil #2 Chs. 19-21 Horrible Atrocity Leads To Civil War
I. Unspeakable Atrocity Ch. 19
A. Levite Attempts To Retrieve His Unfaithful Spouse vss. 1-9
B. Traveling Into Gibeah Late In The Day vss. 10-15
C. Hospitality Of One Old Man, Portent of Evil vss. 16-21
D. Repeat Of Sodom Attempted, Escape By Human, Not Divine Means vss. 22-26
E. Dismembered Body Used As Call For Vengeance vss. 27-30
II. Civil War Against Benjamin Ch. 20
A. Israel Outraged vss. 1-7
B. Army Chosen To Attack Gibeah vss. 8-11
C. Tribe of Benjamin Decides To Defend Their Brothers vss. 12-16
D. Israel Loses The The First Day vss. 17-23
E. Israel Loses The Second's Day's Battle vss. 24-28
F. Summary Of Defeat Of Benjamin By Stratagem On Third Day vss. 29-35
G. Detailed Account Of The Defeat vss. 36-48
1.) Accomplishing The Ambush vss. 36-41
2.) Many Fled, But Were Caught vss. 42-46
3.) Just 600 Warriors Escape In Entire Tribe vss. 47,48
III. Arrangements To Continue The Tribe Of Benjamin Ch. 21
A. Remorse At Vow And Actions Against Benjamin vss. 1-4
B. Absent Village Annihilated, Virgins Spared For Benjamin vss. 5-12
C. Truce With Benjamin Declared, Virgins Given vss. 13-15
D. Stratagem To Get Remaining Benjamites Wives vss. 16-24
E. Explanation For The Horrible Moral Conditions In Israel vs. 25
Ruth
A Family Overcomes An Evil Culture
I. Ruth Goes With Naomi To Bethlehem Ch. 1
A. Sojourner's Misfortune vss. 1-5
B. Plight Of Three Widows vss. 6-14
C. Ruth Refuses To Leave Naomi vss. 15-18
D. Homecoming vss. 19-22
II. Ruth Gleans In Boaz's Fields Ch. 2
A. Naomi Tells Ruth Where To Find Food vss. 1-3
B. Good Boaz Provides, Ruth Grateful vss. 4-16
C. Naomi Glad, Ruth Continues To Work In Boaz's Field vss. 17-23
III. Ruth Seeks Marriage With Boaz Ch. 3
A. Naomi Tells Ruth How To Approach Boaz vss. 1-5
B. Boaz Accepts Ruth vss. 6-13
C. Ruth Sent Home Boaz Will Make Arrangements. vss. 14-18
IV. Boaz Marries Ruth Ch. 4
A. Nearer Kinsman Will Not Redeem Land And Marry Ruth vss. 1-8
B. Marriage Contract Witnessed And Blessed By Elders vss. 9-12
C. A Son For Ruth vss. 13-17
D. Genealogy Of David vss. 17-22