4 Conflict and Crisis: The Judges – Discussion topics
- The Judges. What comes to mind when you think of the time when God’s people were ruled not by ministers or prophets or kings but by judges? Insurrection? Devotion? Rebellion? Isn’t it true that some of the judges were righteous? What can we learn from them? The time of the judges was negative in some ways, but what happened next?
- Deborah. Do you think there was some resistance in Old Testament times to having
a woman ruler? Rather than gender, what seemed to be the factor(s) that prepared Deborah for the challenge of being a judge in Israel? Do you shiver a bit when you read the story of Jael pounding a tent peg into the head of the sleeping Sisera to secure victory for God’s people? What did Deborah do or say that “set the stage” for this victory? - Gideon. Forty years of peace after Deborah as judge, and now another opposing force is at work against God’s people. Why were the Midianites attacking Israel? A good man, Gideon was. True? What did Gideon say about his personal qualifications to defeat the Midianites? Do you ever face a sense of your own weakness or downright incompetence in the battle against evil? Why does God choose people like Gideon to accomplish great things for Him?
- Samson. Do we think of Samson as a holy man? What were Samson’s main faults? Or was there just one? Why did God use even this man to carry out His will? What Bible proof do we have that He did? Are you looking forward to meeting Samson one day in heaven? How did Samson turn against the Philistines, enemies of God’s people? Do you suppose, as our lesson implies, that details we don’t know about Samson would clarify God’s willingness to use him for His purpose?
- Ruth. She wasn’t a warrior. She didn’t organize campaigns against enemies of God’s people. She didn’t preach in evangelistic campaigns. What distinguishes Ruth as a heroine in the Bible? How was it possible for this woman, born and raised in a heathen country, to step away from her past and unite with the people of the eternal God? As you read this extraordinary story of courtship, marriage, and abundant blessings to follow, what do you find there to give you courage in the decisions you are making day by day?
- Samuel. Your lesson author encourages you to seek for signs in the book of Samuel that deal with the great controversy. Did you have problems, as I did, understanding the nature and depth of the sin of Eli’s sons? Would you agree it was a heinous sin? In what way(s) did Samuel demonstrate His fidelity to God and his loyalty to God’s people?
- Sons of Belial. Why were the sons of Levi called the sons of Belial? Who was Belial? Is it possible to be a “son of Belial” and a Seventh-day Adventist at the same time? Are you and I ever tempted to give in to the devil’s ways? Or do people who know us trust us because they sense in us a devotion to God that cannot be broken?
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Greetings from Rome Italy,
As a sabbath school monitor, your discussion topics are very thought stimilating and precise. Thank you for making our Sabbath school a very heavenly place to be.
Theresa
Dear brethren in Christ's vineyard as a member of seventh day adventist your lesson summary is quite motivating and stimulating which gives one morale of daily Bible study and more research on spiritual matters.