Lesson
76 Judges 1–5 Dec 10th
---Read
aloud the following statement by President Spencer W. Kimball:
“One
man who had been a slave to alcohol most of his adult life became convinced …
that he must give up the habit and prepare himself for the temple. … With great
effort he quit drinking. He moved many miles away from the area where his
drinking friends lived and, though his body craved and ached and gnawed for
[alcohol], he finally conquered. He was at all his Church meetings, and was paying
his tithing. His new friends
in the Church seemed to fortify him. He felt good in the new activity, and life
was glorious. His wife was beaming, because now the whole family were always together. This is what she had dreamed
about all their married life.
“They
got their temple recommends and the happy day arrived and they drove to the
temple city for this great event. They arrived early and each had some errands
to do. As it happened, the husband ran into some old friends. They urged him to
go with them to the tavern [where alcohol was served]. No, he would not, he
said, he had other important things to do. Well, he could just take a soft
drink [soda], they urged.”
---Do you think it would be all
right for this man to go to the tavern to have a soft drink? Why or why not?
---Ponder
situations in which unrighteous influences (such as unrighteous friends, music,
movies, social media, and Internet sites) may tempt you to break the
commandments.
---Look
for truths as you study Judges
1–5
that explain what can happen if we place ourselves in situations in which we
may be tempted by unrighteous influences.
---Summary
of Judges 1: After Joshua’s
death, when Israel was strong and united, they put the Canaanites under tribute
instead of driving them out of the land.
---What had the Lord commanded
the Israelites to do to the wicked people who lived in the land of Canaan? (See
Exodus
23:31.)
Judges
1:8, 21. The status of Jerusalem during the time of the judges
It
may be helpful to note that Judges
1:8
and 1:21 seem to
contradict each other by indicating that two different tribes of Israel (Judah
and Benjamin) controlled Jerusalem. In fact, Judah had conquered and was in
control of the southern half of the city. The tribe of Benjamin controlled the
northern half of Jerusalem, but they did not fully conquer it and drive out the
Jebusites until the days of King David (see 2 Samuel
5:6–7).
---The
message we can learn from Judges
1:27–33
is that the Israelites had failed to obey the Lord’s instructions to drive out
the wicked people from the promised land.
---Where did these wicked people
dwell after the Israelites moved into the promised land?
---The
Lord sent an angel to the Israelites to teach them about the consequences of
their disobedience.
---What do you think it means
that the wicked people in the promised land would be “as thorns in [the
Israelites’] sides”?
---What do you think it means
that the false gods in the promised land would be like a snare to the
Israelites?
*If
we choose to associate with evil influences and temptations, then …
---Summary
of Judges
2:4–10:
The Israelites mourned after learning of the consequences of their
disobedience. Eventually all the Israelites who had entered the promised land
with Joshua died, and a new generation of Israelites arose who “knew not the
Lord, nor … the works which he had done for Israel” (Judges
2:10).
---What did the new generation
of Israelites do?
---
Baalim is the plural form of the word Baal. Baal and Ashtaroth were false gods
of the Canaanites. Those who worshipped these false gods did so in corrupt and
immoral ways, which included sacrificing children and breaking the law of
chastity.
---Based on the Israelites’
actions, how would you complete the principle on the board?
*…
then
they may lead us to sin.
---How
can we avoid embracing worldly influences? Be in the world by not of the world?
Elder
Quentin L. Cook gave two suggestions on how we can avoid embracing worldly
influences:
“We
cannot avoid the world. A cloistered existence is not the answer. …
“… How
then do we balance the need to positively contribute to the world and to not
succumb to the sins of the world? (See D&C
25:10;
59:9.) Two principles
will make a significant difference.
“1.
Let people know you are a committed Latter-day Saint. …
“2.
Be confident about and live your beliefs.”
---Back
to the story of the man who quit drinking alcohol and prepared himself to be
sealed to his family in the temple:
“With
the best of intentions he finally relented [and went to the tavern with his old
friends]. But by the time he was to meet his wife at the temple he was so
incapacitated [or drunk with alcohol] that the family went home in disgrace and
sorrow and disappointment.”
---How can this man’s experience
help us understand the danger of choosing to linger in situations where
unrighteous influences may tempt us?
---What are some situations in
which members of the Church might have to choose whether or not to be in situations
with unrighteous influences?
---Copy
the diagram in your class notebooks.
---The
events recorded in the book of Judges show that the Israelites went through a
repeated cycle of sin and deliverance.
---Read
Judges
2:14–15
aloud and look for what happened after the Israelites sinned by worshipping
false gods.
---Report
---Write
“The Israelites are afflicted by their enemies” in box 2
---Read
Judges
2:16–18
aloud and look for what the Lord did for the Israelites after they were
afflicted by their enemies.
---Report
(footnote a “for it repented
the Lord” means that the Lord had compassion on Israel. The word groanings in verse 18 refers to the
prayers they offered while enduring oppression. The Joseph Smith Translation for this verse indicates that
the Lord hearkened to these groanings.)
---What do these verses teach
about the Lord’s feelings toward us when we are suffering, even when that
suffering is a result of our own sins?
*The Lord has
compassion on us in our suffering, even when our suffering is a result of our
own sins.
---Write
“The Israelites cry unto the Lord for deliverance” in box 3
---Write
“The Lord raises up judges who deliver the Israelites from their enemies” in
box 4.
---Read
Judges
2:19
aloud looking for what happened after the Lord delivered the Israelites from
their enemies.
---Report
---What do you think happened
after the Israelites began to sin again?
Divide into 4 groups to read and prepare to summarize the
following scriptures
---Listen
for how the cycle of sin and deliverance is repeated in each account.
---Summary
of Judges 5: After Deborah
helped deliver Israel from the Canaanites, she and Barak sang a song of praise
to the Lord.
---Why do you think the
Israelites continued to return to their previous sins after being delivered?
Refering
to the principle on the board. (The Lord has
compassion on us in our suffering, even when our suffering is a result of our
own sins)
---The
Israelites returned to their previous sins as they continued to linger among
unrighteous influences.
---Read
aloud the following statement by President Spencer W. Kimball:
“In
abandoning sin one cannot merely wish for better conditions. He must make them.
… He must be certain not only that he has abandoned the sin but that he has
changed the situations surrounding the sin. He should avoid the places and
conditions and circumstances where the sin occurred, for these could most
readily breed it again” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, 171).
---Ponder
what circumstances or influences you might need to abandon so you can avoid
sin.
---Testify
of the truths you have discussed, and invite students to act on any promptings
they may have received to apply these truths in their lives.
