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thrust him through, so that no man should say "A woman slew him" (Judges 9: 54). He
was, moreover, slain by a millstone, another mark of degradation in those days (see
Judges 16: 21); and by the breaking of his skull. If we read the account of the death of
Sisera we find a repetition of very similar circumstances. Is it fanciful, therefore, with
these things in mind, to see both in Jael and in the Woman that shall bruise the serpent's
head? And to see in the tent-peg and in the millstone allusions to the final overthrow of
Satanic dominion.
JUDGES.
#5. The Six Deliverers of Israel.
Othniel, Ehud and Barak (3: - 5:).
pp. 54 - 58
While there were five complete servitudes of Israel--resulting in 93 years being
eliminated from God's reckoning of the national calendar (see the article: "Lo-ammi, or
a Prophetic Principle Examined" pages 207-211 of Volume XXVII)--there was also a
partial servitude which necessitated the call of Jephthah, and this must not be omitted.
The fact that there were six servitudes and six deliverances prepares one for a record of
failure, for six is the number of man. We shall expect that each deliverer will possess
some good quality that will foreshadow the one true Deliverer of Israel, the Lord
Himself, but that each will also show many evidences of human frailty and failure, so
turning the heart of the believer away from all types and shadows, to trust freely and only
in the great Deliverer Himself.
The Six Deliverers of Israel.
A | OTHNIEL.--The Lion of God (3: 9).
B | EHUD.--Union. The Fords. Gilgal. (3: 15).
C | BARAK.--Lightning. Deborah a prophetess. Under a palm tree (4:-5:).
"I will surely go with thee" (4: 9).
C | GIDEON.--The Hewer. A man a prophetess. Under an oak tree (6:-8:).
"Surely I will be with thee" (6: 16).
B | JEPHTHAH.--The Opener. The Fords. Mizpah. (11: - 12: 7).
A | SAMSON.--Like the Sun (13:-16:).
We do not propose to devote a separate article to each of these six deliverers, but
rather to provide sufficient information for the reader to be able to explore their typical
histories for himself.
We give below a list in structural form of the enemies of Israel from whom they were
delivered by the judges. It will be seen that three of Israel's foes were related to them by
blood, Moab and Ammon through Lot, and Midian through Keturah and Abraham
(Gen. 19: 37, 25: 2). The reader will not fail to note the important lesson here.