W. Robert Godfrey

He's the one who is held up as the model from whom Messiah would come.

Who is Messiah?

He's David's son.

He's great David's greater son.

That's Messiah.

And so this role of kingship is being highlighted through the book of Judges, and we need to always keep that in mind.

We need a king.

Now, we're going to develop this a little more in the last lecture, and I don't want to give it all away, but having taught for 43 years now, I know that by the time I get to the last lecture, you'll all have forgotten this lecture, so I can mention it briefly here.

Israel not only needs a king, but it needs a king from the tribe of Judah.

Now, what does that say to you?

What alarms does that set off?

It should remind you that a bozo from Benjamin can never be a good king.

That's Saul.

Saul is the bozo from Benjamin.

I'm

How does Judges begin?

It begins showing the leadership of the tribe of Judah in faithfulness, opposing the enemies of God.

So Judah is highlighted as the faithful leader at the beginning of the book of Judges.

And then, after the death of Samson, we find the spotlight turning to the tribe of Benjamin.

And what we see is the growing sinfulness, horror, gross behavior of the people of Benjamin, particularly the people of Benjamin from the city of Gibeah.