A men's study for three leaders being raised up in recovery ministry

Judges

Twenty-one weeks in the book of Judges

Why this book

Judges tells the truth about its heroes. A calling or a gift from God is not the same as a clean heart. God rescues Israel again and again, but rescue alone does not change them. Every man in recovery knows this truth: being rescued is not the same as being changed.

How to run a week

  1. 01Read the chapter out loud together before anyone opens a note. Read it twice if it is short.
  2. 02Take your time with the questions. Give honest answers, not safe ones.
  3. 03Every man must give one honest answer in the Heart Work section. No one gets a pass. Be specific.
  4. 04Look up every cross reference in your own Bible. Do not take the note's word for it.
  5. 05Close with the prayer focus, then pray for the men you serve by name.

Ground rules

  • Nothing said in this room becomes a story told in another room.
  • We confess the sin we face now. We do not only talk about the man we used to be.
  • No one is exempt from the questions because he is the one leading them.
  • We listen to the Bible before giving our opinions.
  • If a passage shows our sin, we face it before making excuses.

The Weeks

21 sessions
01Judges 1 · Judah, Caleb, and the tribesThe Ground You Refuse to TakeJudges does not begin with a shocking sin. It begins with each tribe slowly choosing to leave part of the job undone. The trouble in the next twenty chapters grows from that first compromise.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional02Judges 2:1 - 3:6 · The angel of the LORD and the cycleThe Generation That Did Not KnowThe story pauses to explain the pattern. Israel sins. An enemy takes control. Israel cries out. God sends a rescuer. Then Israel falls silent and sins again. The cycle continues because the next generation knows the stories but does not know God.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional03Judges 3:7-31 · Othniel, Ehud, ShamgarThree Men, Three Kinds of ObedienceThe first three judges are very different. One is trained. One is overlooked. One seems unlikely. Their victories show God's power more than their own.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional04Judges 4 · Deborah, Barak, and JaelWhen the Prophet Is a Woman and the General Is AfraidGod has all the courage we need. He wants men who will obey without demanding a guarantee. Barak wins the battle, but someone else gets the honor.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional05Judges 5 · Deborah and Barak singThe Song and the Roll CallThe victory song names the tribes that came to fight. It also names the tribes that stayed home. God notices who shows up.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional06Judges 6 · Gideon calledTear Down Your Father's Altar FirstGod calls Gideon a mighty man before Gideon acts like one. But first, Gideon must destroy the idol in his own family's yard. His first battle is at home, not against Midian.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional07Judges 7 · Gideon and the three hundredThirty-Two Thousand Down to Three HundredGod makes Gideon's army smaller on purpose. He does not want Israel to boast that they won by their own strength. A small victory that honors God is better than a large victory that makes men proud.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional08Judges 8 · Gideon's slow driftThe Ephod After the VictoryGideon says that God should be Israel's King. Then he makes a gold ephod that becomes an idol and traps his family. A man can refuse a royal title and still want people to honor him like a king.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional09Judges 9 · Abimelech and JothamThe Bramble KingAbimelech makes himself king. He uses his mother's family, his father's money, and murder to gain power. Seventy of his brothers die on one stone.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional10Judges 10 · Tola, Jair, and a repentance that costsPut Away the Strange GodsIsrael says, 'We have sinned,' but God does not rescue them yet. They only want the pain to stop. True repentance means turning from sin, not only wanting its results to end.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional11Judges 11 · JephthahThe Vow of a Man Who Was Never Sure He Was WantedGod gives real power to a man who was rejected by his family. Yet Jephthah still tries to make a deal with God. When old wounds are not healed, they can twist the way we see God.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional12Judges 12 · Jephthah, Ephraim, Ibzan, Elon, AbdonShibbolethForty-two thousand Israelites die because one tribe is offended. A simple difference in speech becomes a death test. Their own brothers kill them.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional13Judges 13 · Manoah, his wife, and the NaziriteSet Apart Before He Was BornSamson is set apart for God before birth. He has a strict vow and parents who take it seriously. But a good start does not guarantee an obedient life.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional14Judges 14 · Samson's appetiteShe Pleases Me WellSamson lives by one rule: if he sees something he wants, he takes it. A man ruled by his eyes will use God's gifts to feed his own desires.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional15Judges 15 · Samson and the jawboneAs They Did unto Me, So Have I Done unto ThemSamson keeps getting even with people who hurt him. He wins a battle, becomes thirsty, and cries out to God. God still answers him. This shows God's mercy, but it does not mean God approves of Samson's choices.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional16Judges 16 · Samson and DelilahHe Wist Not That the LORD Was DepartedSamson gets up as he has before, but he does not know the LORD has left him. This is one of the most frightening lines in Judges. A man can drift far from God and not notice at first.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional17Judges 17 · Micah and his hired LeviteA Homemade ReligionMicah steals from his mother and then returns the money. She says the silver belongs to the LORD, but uses it to make an idol. Micah hires a Levite as his priest and expects God's blessing. They sound sincere, but everything they are doing is wrong.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional18Judges 18 · The DanitesA Tribe Takes What It WantsThe tribe of Dan gives up the land God gave them. They steal another man's idols and hire away his priest. Then they destroy a peaceful city. One family's sin has now spread through a whole tribe.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional19Judges 19 · The Levite and his concubineThe Chapter Nobody PreachesA Levite gives a woman to a violent crowd to save himself. In the morning, he treats her body like an object. God includes this terrible story because He wants us to see where sin leads.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional20Judges 20 · Israel and Benjamin at warZeal Without a Word from GodFor the first time in Judges, the whole nation comes together. But they come together to destroy one of their own tribes. They ask God how to fight. They never ask if their whole plan is right.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional21Judges 21 · The end of the road — and where the story goes nextEveryone Did What Was Right in His Own EyesIsrael tries to fix its own mistake by killing more people and kidnapping women. The book ends by naming the real problem: there is no king, and every man rules himself. Judges leaves us longing for the true King who is coming.Includes “Hidden in the Text” devotional