Judges 12:8-15

Hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. Did you ever know that there were minor judges? Maybe you've heard of minor prophets. Did you know that there were minor judges before? Let's talk about a few of them this morning as we work our way through the book of Judges.
Let's have some coffee. We'll pray. We'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for the blessing of getting to read your word. Father, we pray that you would please help us to understand it. We pray that your Holy Spirit would enlighten our eyes. We pray that you would teach us. Lord instruct us in your ways, in Jesus' name, amen. We are at Judges chapter 12, second half of that chapter, Judges chapter 12, verses 8 through 15.
After him, Isban of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had 30 sons, and he gave away 30 daughters in marriage. and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. Then Isban died and was buried at Bethlehem. After him, Elon the Zebulonite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite died and was buried at Eijalon in the country of Zebulon. After him, Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirithonite, judged Israel. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 young donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. Then Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirithonite, died and was buried in Pirithon, in the land of Ephraim, in the mountains of the Amalekites.
And there we go. Three. Three short minor judges. Boom, boom, boom. Second half of Judges chapter 12. So, we gotta ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? So, A, B, C, what's this about, right? So, who are these minor judges? Well, we find here these minor judges.
First of all, we have Ibzan of Bethlehem, right? Bethlehem is going to be made famous first by a king that would be born in Bethlehem of the son of Jesse, David. And then of course probably the most famous person ever to come from that line, Jesus. Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, even though he was raised in Nazareth, Joseph was numbered with his tribe down in Bethlehem. So we have this Ibzan.
He's got 30 sons. gives away 30 daughters in marriage. This guy has tons of kids. The likelihood of all of those sons and daughters coming from one wife, highly, highly unlikely. I want to say without a shadow of a doubt, impossible, but highly, highly unlikely. And so this is this Ibsen guy, and he's most likely into polygamous marriages, amassing these wives and concubines. Again, that's not the point here. The point is he's a strong man. He's known by his virility. He's known by his ability to have many sons and many daughters. And notice, but there's another part here, and brought in 30 daughters from elsewhere for his sons.
Now the judges aren't kings, but God had specifically said that when the people would turn away from him, Deuteronomy chapter 17, when they would turn away from him and desire to have a king, and they were to appoint a king over themselves, that king was not to amass wives. And God had said that they were not to marry foreign women. Why? Because there would be these influences upon them that would drag their hearts away from the Lord. And yet what did we find here?
We find this Ibsen guy and he judges Israel for a short seven years. Doesn't say that he's There's peace in the land. It doesn't say that the Lord made him the Mishpat. It's just, he's just the judge. That's just who he is. He reigns from Bethlehem. He's most likely from the tribe of Judah. So that's who this guy is.
After him, Elon. Not that Elon. I know the Elon you're thinking about. I'm just kidding. But Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel. It's another one of the tribes up in the north. He judged for ten years, so Ibzan gets seven years of judging, and now Elon has ten years of judging. And he's died, and he's buried at Aijalon in the country of Zebulon. That's all we get about his reign. minor judge.
And then after him, Abedin. Abedin Bar Halal. Abedin, the son of Halal. And he's from this place, Purathon. That's where he's from and that's where he dies. He judged Israel 8 years. 7 years, 10 years, 8 years, 25 years total between these 3 minor judges. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 young donkeys.
And this, this is this idea of almost like they're starting up. They're starting to implement things like monarchies, like dynasties, like fathers and sons who are ruling. Donkeys would later be riding on a colt, would later be the sign of royalty in Israel. And here we're finding these people doing it already. They're not kings, but yet they're supposed to be judges, because God is the king. This is what they're doing. They rise up as those who are strong, leading the people. We don't know in all of this. As you go through this whole section, the Lord's not mentioned one time. Not one time is his law mentioned. His name isn't said. His covenant isn't spoken of.
It's just, this is what happened. What a sad, what a sad way that the nation is moving. What a sad place that they're going. With strongmen, dynasties, polygamy, and you see how the pump is being primed. Oh, it's going to come later. It's not going to be good.
They're starting to look like all the other nations around them. That's what this is about, these three minor judges, who really are somewhat pretty minor. They're strong, don't get me wrong. They seem pretty strong. Man, that's a lot of kids. I don't even know how you feed that many kids. These are powerful, mighty men. It seems like the Lord is moving more and more into the background.
What's the best verse to summarize this? Well, I would probably underline one verse in each of these. So I would underline verse 9 for Ibsen, I'd underline verse 11 for Elon, and I would underline verse 14 for So those are the three that I would underline.
What do we learn from these three amigos? What are we called to do? How does this show us Jesus Christ? I don't think we're called to be like them. God uses sinful people. Thank the Lord for that. Thank God he doesn't have to use perfect people to accomplish any of his plans. Even just that hint of Bethlehem makes us long for God. When would He reign as the perfect King? When would His people finally submit to Him? How would He bring His promises about? It's all pointing us to the One who would come, not David from Bethlehem, but the Son of David, Jesus Christ Himself. So we look to Him. This is one more stone on the path of the covenant of grace, leading us closer and closer to Jesus. So they're minor, they're used by God as part of how God shows the story working through sinful people for His own glory.
Thank the Lord for Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you use even sinful people. And Father, we confess how easy it is for us to so quickly let our eyes dim, let our hearts be wooed away by the world, slowly drift away and just start looking more and more like the people and the nations around us. God, you've made us a peculiar people, a holy nation. a possession of your own. Father, we pray that you would give us your Holy Spirit, that we might not take our eyes off of Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, but you would strengthen us, that we might live for a heavenly kingdom, for your glory. Lord, you are our king. You are our judge. Please Lord, make us to follow in your ways. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ, and I'll see you next time. Bye.