the shofet
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Background: COLOR WAR!!!!!
Objective:
1. To talk about the pros and cons of Shoftim
2. Pros: Shoftim are limited by their power and are unable to abuse it too much. Additionally,
they are directly appointed by God, as opposed to Kings who inherit their role regardless of
whether they deserve it.3. Cons: decentralized power leads to the anarchy of Pesel Micha and Pilegesh BGivaah. God
directly appointing leaders leads to an immature relationship between the people and God, akin
to a teacher leaving the room and the kids misbehaving until they get back.
Trigger:
Start off with Yotams weird parable, because its not a story they probably would have learned.
And its weird, so it grabs the attention.
Sources:
A Weird Parable
Shoftim 9:6-15
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7 Jotham heard that the leaders of the city of Shechem had made Abimelech king. When he
heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out this story to the
people:Listen to me you leaders of the city of Shechem. Then let God listen to you. 8 One daythe trees decided to choose a king to rule over them. The trees said to the olive tree, You be
king over us. 9 But the olive tree said, My oil is used to honor gods and humans. Should I stop
making my oil just to go and sway over the other trees? 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
Come and be our king. 11 But the fig tree answered, Should I stop making my good, sweet
fruit just to go and sway over the other trees? 12 Then the trees said to the vine, Come and be
our king. 13 But the vine answered, My wine makes men and kings happy. Should I stop
making my wine just to go and sway over the trees? 14 Finally, all the trees said to the
thornbush, Come and be ourking. 15 But the thornbush said to the trees, If you really want to
make me king over you, come and find shelter in my shade. But if you dont want to do this, let
fire come out of the thornbush. Let the fire burn even the cedar trees of Lebanon.
Limits on Power
Shmuel Alef 8:11-18
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Samuel said, If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take away your
sons and force them to serve him. He will force them to be soldiersthey must fight from his
chariots and become horse soldiers in his army. Your sons will become guards running in front
of the kings chariot. 12 A king will force your sons to become soldiers. He will choose which ofyour sons will be officers over 1000 men and which will be officers over 50 men.A king will
force some of your sons to plow his fields and gather his harvest. He will force some of your
sons to make weapons for war and to make things for his chariots. 13 A king will take your
daughters and force some of them to make perfume for him and some to cook and bake for him.
14 A king will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves. He will take them from you and
give them to his officers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes, and he will give
them to his officers and servants. 16 A king will take your men and women servants. He will
take your best cattle and your donkeys. He will use them all for his own work. 17 He will take
one-tenth of your flocks. And you yourselves will become slaves of this king. 18 When that time
comes, you will cry because of the king you chose. But the Lord wont answer you at that time.
1. From the fact that Shmuel says that these will be the powers of a king, what do we see about
the level of power the Shoftim had?
2. How might this relate to the strange parable of Yotam?
Shoftim 9:19-20
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19 So if you have been completely honest to Gideon and his family today, then may you be
happy with Abimelech as your king. And may he be happy with you. 20 But leaders of Shechemand the house of Millo, if you have not acted right, may fire go forth from Abimelech and destroy
you. And may fire go forth from Shechem and the house of Miloh and destroy Abimelech too!
What does the parable mean? What is it warning?
Direct Relationship with God
Shoftim 2:16
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16 Then the Lord chose leaders called judges. These leaders saved the Israelites from the
enemies who took their possessions.
1. Who is responsible for appointing these leaders?
2. What does that show about the Shoftim?
Sforno on Devarim 17:14
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Let us appoint a king for ourselves like all the nations around us' - that the kingship will belong
to him and his offspring, as opposed to the system of judges ['shoftim'] whereby only the judge
himself serves, not his children after him.They were commanded regarding the appointment of a
judge in this manner (that is, without automatic transfer of authority to his children) upon their
entry into the land, as it says (Bemidbar 27:17), 'So that God's community may not be likesheep that have no shepherd.'...a king like the kings of the gentiles - who hold kingship for
themselves and their offspring - is despicable to God.
1. To Seforno, what is the difference between a Shofet and a King?
2. Is this good or bad?
The Downside of Limited Power
Shoftim 21:24-25
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24 Then the Israelites went home. They went to their own land and tribe. 25 In those days the
Israelites did not have a king, so everyone did whatever they thought was right.
What are the results of limited power, according to this story?
The Downside of a Direct Relationship with God
Shoftim 2:19
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19 But when each judge died, the Israelites again sinned and started worshiping the false gods.
They acted worse than their ancestors did. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused tochange their evil ways.