Judges - An Overview

I. Introduction: Questions of Leadership and Conquest Completion (1:1-25)
A. The Promise to Judah (1:1,2)
B. Various Tribes in the Conquest (1:3-36)

1. Judah's Successes (1:3-20)
2. Benamin's Failure to Take Jerusalem (1:21)
3. Joseph's Success at Bethel (1:22-26)
4. Failures in Conquest by the Rest of the Tribes (1:27-36)
   C. God's Judgment for Disobedience (2:1-5)
   II. Cycles of the Judges (2:6-16:31)
   A. Pattern for All That Follows (2:6-3:6)
5. Joshua and the Generation After Him (2:6-10)
6. The Pattern of Israel's Covenant Obedience (2:11-19)
7. God's Judgment for Covenant Diobedience (2:20-3:6)
   a. The Purpose in God's Judgment (2:20-23)
   b. The Instruments of God's Judgment (3:1-6)
   B. The Failure of Twelve Judges to Maintain Faithfulness to the Covenant (3:7-16:31)
8. Othniel (3:7-11)
9. Ehud (3:12-30)
10. Shamgar (3:31)
11. Deborah and Barak (4,5)
12. Gideon and His Son Abimelech (6-9)
    a. Gideon (6:1-8:32)
    b. Abimelech (8:33-9:57)
13. Tola (10:1,2)
14. Jair (10:3-5)
15. Jephthah (10:6-12:7)
16. Ibzan (12:8-10)
17. Elon (12:11,12)
18. Abdon (12:13-15)
19. Samson (13-16)
    III. Two Grievous Sins (17-21)
    A. The Danites and Idolatry (17-18)
    B. Civil War: Israel Against Benjamin (19-21)