– The Rebellion of the Chosen People	Judges 1 – 3:7
– Mingling with the Nations to be Dispossessed	Judges 1 – 2:5
– The Breach with Jehovah	Judges 2:6 – 3:7
– Bondage and Deliverances	Judges 3:8 – 16
– Cycle #1: Oppressed by Mesopotamia – Delivered by Othniel	Judges 3:8-11
– Cycle #2: Oppressed by Moab – Delivered by Ehud	Judges 3:12-30
– Cycle #3: Oppressed by Philistia – Delivered by Shamgar	Judges 3:31
– Cycle #4: Oppressed by Canaan – Delivered by Deborah	Judges 4 – 5
– Cycle #5: Oppressed by Midian – Delivered by Gideon	Judges 6 – 9
– Judgeships of Tola and Jair	Judges 10:1-5
– Cycle #6: Oppressed by Ammon – Delivered by Jephthah	Judges 10:6 – 12:7
– Judgeships of Ibzan, Elon, Abdon	Judges 12:8-15
– Cycle #7: Oppressed by Philistia – Delivered by Samson	Judges 13 – 16
– Appendix: The Corruption at Heart Manifest	Judges 17 – 21
– Sin Against God: Will-worship in Dan	Judges 17 – 18
– Sin Against Man: the Man from Ephraim	Judges 19
– Man’s View of Sin Corrected by God: The Benjamite War	Judges 20
– Israel Restored: A Loving Care for Benjamin	Judges 21

 

Typical teaching in Judges. Joshua is a type of the Spirit of Christ in power. The elders who outlived Joshua speak of the Apostles who continued on after the Day of Pentecost. Judges outlines the steady path of declension that followed the death of Joshua. This is typical of the declension of the Church as outlined in Revelation 2-3. However, the overcomers – then in Israel’s day, as now in Laodicean times – shine brightly in a day of ruin.

 

Chronology. Chapters 17-21 describe events which historically precede Chapter 1. We can see this by looking at the chronology of Moses’ family. Those chapters are an appendix to the book, showing just how dark the day and how morally fallen the testimony was at that time.