Evening star., 1924-02-23

Judges, according to Paul, covered
iabout 450 years. 1t extended from
1.-THE death of Joshua to tho reign of
saul, the first king of Israel. 1t is.
according to an eminent historian, the
most secular period of sacred his
TORY" The dark, disheartening and
depressing age was due to the apos-
ttacy of Israel. The nation forsook
I Jehovah and worshiped other gods
when they were put to the test of
'self-Govcrnment in the days that fol-
lowed the death of Joshua. Aliena-
tion from the paths of rectitude and
religion resulted i'll the nation s
shameful participation in the Iewd
land impious customs of the surround
ling heather until they were punished
for their irreligious and immoral
practices.
being defeated and partially sub
jugated by the surrounding heather
powers. Disease breeds on the three
fold scourge of war, pcstilence and
famine, as we have seen in the after
'math of the world war. The period
iof the Judges has been repeated in the
development Of every new country. 1t
twas seen in the opening of the west
during the days of the pioneer when
iSiStlant committeeS sought to clean
tapt TO develop in such an hour, for we
are told that "in those days there was
mo king in Israel, but every man did
that which was right in his own
eyes. The results OF the nation S
correction and Christening were ap-
parent in their reflection. humiliation
iand repentance. Although the nation s
reformation was not of Il permanent
character, yet against that dark back
tground of apostacy Jehovah has
painted picture of grace and love
for Israel by raising up Il succession
OF warriors, who freed them from the
oppression of their enemies, who were
hardsSng them at that time.
The Judges of Israel were not
| Judges IN the modern sense Of that
Germ. The administration of justice
was only an incidental function with
them. They were brave and agGres-
| siVe deliScrcrs. In their activity they
| recall the pioneer and frontier lead
srs, whose personality made them the
dominant factors in the new commu-
mites that are developed in the open
ing up Of every new country; They
/ were men in whom Jehovah had put
| His spirit. They possessed no legal
| rights by which they could enforce
| obedience To their command, but they
were able 10 persuade men through
| their faith that they were called OF
store the national unity. No ordinary
man could have removed the tribal
iealousies and rckindied the spirit of
| national loyalty that had been de-
| Stroyed through their failure to- obey y
| Gods command to drive out the Ca
/ naanite from the land. In every
| crisis, when the affairs of Israel ap-
pearcd to DC hopeless. the man ap-
peared who succeeded in reuniting
the long-sundered bonds of commu-
! nal life" and delivering Israel from
their enemies, who were plundering Z
and stealing their wealth.
The leaders, who were able to
break the power of the enemies Of
the nation and restore to Israel the
| possessions which had, been taken
from them, were not perfect men
| They possessed the virtues and vices
| that have characterized men OF their
! type in all subsequent ages. AL
| though they were men of faith and
prayer, yet their lives were such that
we cannot condnnc their failures. We
shudder at Jephthah'S vow. We are
shocked at Jaei's killing of Sisera.
We are disgustcd by the lawlcss
! scnsuality of Samson. The fact tina,
God used men who have sinned ought
to encourage US to respond to His call
to enter into His service. We ough;
not to look for men to represent the
high type of Christian manhood in
that period OF internal anarchy and
foreign domination. We ought not 70
cords and disobedtencc that the mill
tary leaders would be entirely free
from the spirit of their age. The fact
is that we ought not to be surprised
in the failures of the judges just re-
fcrred to any more than We should in
the mingled ignorance and cunning
of Micah, the debasement of Eli :
| sons, or the miserable superstition OF
the elders of Israel at EbeneZer, when
we consider the period of history in
which they lived and judge them by
the standards OF their day and gen
Grafton. Glimpses Of purer and
more peaceful state of things are
given US in the story OF BoaZ. in the
character of Othnicl. the blameless
Judge. and the domestic surroundings
of Samuels infancy. While these are
only partial and transient, yet they
indicate that Gods efforts to create
u self-governing people by placing
the responsibility upon Israel to work
out their own destiny were not wholly
in vain.
Six Of the judges won fame by de-
| ]iyerinS their country from invaders
Othniel won n complete victory over
Chushan-rishathaim who had invad-
efforts of Othniel resulted in the de-
feat of the King of Assyria, who was
driven back across the Euprates.
About forty years afterward Ehuo
who invaded the country from the
southeast. They inflicted great in
jury to the tribes on the east of the
Jordan, to Benjamin and all within OF
4 near the JOrOan valley.
l About eighty years after the death
of Ehud the Philistines were makins
| themselves troublesome in the south
when Jabin. the King of Canaan, in
vaded the plains of Israel from the
north, spreading terror and misery
throughout the nation. Deborah, a
woman prophecies of great courage
"a and faith, influenced Barak to face
| the enemy in battle.
A providential hailstorm made the
/ q ON o &
Barak to win signal victory. The
influence of Deborah's hymn of tri
umph has moved men throughout al
the ages to dare and do great things
in dependence upon Gods help. After
a season of about forty years Gideon
| the greatest of the judges, was raiSeL
up to check the Midianites, Amale-
kites and other Arabian tribes, who
years from the east and seized tn,
f1ocks and cattle of the poor small
farmer and herdsman, as well as hi:
! crops at harvest time.
The Ammonites came from the eas
about fifty years later and ravage<
the whole of the land east Of the Jor
dan, Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim
Jephthah, whose mother was a for
eigner, was the deliverer. The joy o.
his victory over the enemy at Aroel
was turned into bitterness by thu
VOW that he made, which Adah, hi!
daughter, was called upon to fulfill
The old Interpretation that Jephthal
| offered her a burnt offering has il
more modern times been considered
that she was dedicated to a life O
perpetual virginity. Samson, who wa
| summoned to master the Phil1Stines
was the first to actually and deliber
ately offer his life for his country
Those who wish to teach a temper
ance lesson from this weeks stud.
will find much suggestive material ii
Samson'S career to show the binding
and binding powers of sin upon ,onei
4 hot A@y OIL