Come, Follow Me
Old Testament Lesson 23:
May 30–June 5
“The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer”
Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16
The scriptures testify of Jesus Christ. Ponder how the stories you read in Judges help you come closer to Him.
Judges 2: An angel rebukes Israel for not serving the Lord—As a pattern of future events, a new generation arises that forsakes the Lord and serves Baal and Ashtaroth—The Lord is angry with the children of Israel and ceases to preserve them—He raises up judges to guide and lead them—The Canaanites are left in the land to test Israel.
Judges 3: The children of Israel intermarry with the Canaanites, worship false gods, and are cursed—Othniel judges the Israelites—They serve Moab and are delivered by Ehud, who slays Eglon.
Judges 4: Deborah, a prophetess, judges Israel—She and Barak deliver Israel from the Canaanites—Jael, a woman, slays Sisera, the Canaanite.
Judges 6: Israel is in bondage to the Midianites—An angel appears to Gideon and calls him to deliver Israel—He overthrows the altar of Baal, the Spirit of the Lord rests upon him, and the Lord gives him a sign to show he is called to deliver Israel.
Judges 7: Gideon’s army is reduced to 300—They frighten the Midianite armies with trumpets and lights—The Midianites fight among themselves, flee, and are defeated by Israel.
Judges 8: Gideon pursues and destroys the Midianites—He frees the children of Israel but refuses their invitation to reign as king over them—Gideon dies, and Israel returns to idolatry.
Judges 13: Israel is in Philistine bondage for forty years—An angel comes to Manoah’s wife and promises a son who will begin to deliver Israel—The angel comes again; he ascends in a flame from the altar—Samson is born, and the Spirit of the Lord moves upon him.
Judges 14: Samson slays a young lion with his bare hands—He marries a Philistine wife, propounds a riddle, is deceived by his wife, and slays thirty Philistines.
Judges 15: Samson burns the grain of the Philistines—They burn his wife and father-in-law—Samson slays a thousand Philistines at Lehi with the jawbone of an ass.
Judges 16: Samson carries away the doors of the gate of Gaza—He loves Delilah, who delivers him to the Philistines—He destroys a building, killing himself and 3,000 others.
Resources on ChurchofJesusChrist.org
- Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families (lesson materials at ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
- Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School (lesson materials at ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
- Come, Follow Me—For Primary (lesson materials at ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
- “Redeemer of Israel,” Hymns, no. 6.
Additional Material on ChurchofJesusChrist.org
- Old Testament Seminary Student Material: Lesson 78: Judges 1–9
- Old Testament Seminary Student Material: Lesson 80: Judges 10–21
- Old Testament Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students: Unit 16: Day 1, Judges 1–5
- Old Testament Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students: Unit 16: Day 2, Judges 6–9
- Old Testament Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students: Unit 16: Day 3, Judges 10–21
- Old Testament Institute Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel: Judges 1–12: The Reign of the Judges, Part 1
Resources on Interpreter Foundation
- Come, Follow Me Study and Teaching Helps — Lesson 23: Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16, Jonn Claybaugh
- Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me Old Testament Lesson 23 (Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16)
Additional Posts & Roundtables on the Interpreter Foundation Website
- Scripture Roundtable: Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 19, The Reign of the Judges, Administration, April 27, 2014
Articles in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
- Father Is a Man: The Remarkable Mention of the Name Abish in Alma 19:16 and Its Narrative Context, Matthew L. Bowen, February 6, 2015
Resources on Other Sites
- Come, Follow Me Week 23 – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16, FAIR
- Come Follow Me Insights – Judges: Samson, Book of Mormon Central
- The Apostasy Cycle in the Book of Judges (Week 23, Part 1/5) Judges | May 30 – June 5, Book of Mormon Central
- The Pride Cycle in the Book of Judges (Week 23, Part 2/5) Judges | May 30 – June 5, Book of Mormon Central
- The Story of Gideon in the Bible (Week 23, Part 3/5) Judges | May 30 – June 5, Book of Mormon Central
- The Origin Story of Samson in the Bible (Week 23, Part 4/5) Judges | May 30 – June 5, Book of Mormon Central
- The Story of Samson in the Bible (Week 23, Part 5/5) Judges | May 30 – June 5, Book of Mormon Central
- Come Follow Me Old Testament Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16 (May 30-June 5) Don’t Miss This, Don’t Miss This
- Come Follow Me – The Book of Judges, Part 1: Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah (Judges 1-12), Unshaken
- Come Follow Me – The Book of Judges, Part 2: Samson (Judges 13-21), Unshaken
- May 30–June 5, 2022 Come, Follow Me Songs, Music for Latter-day Life
- “The Lord Raised up a Deliverer”–Come, Follow Me for Sunday School: Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16 , Meridian Magazine
- “For the Lord Raised Up a Deliverer”—Come, Follow Me Podcast #23, Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16 , Meridian Magazine
- Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16 – “The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer”, BYU Studies
BYU Religious Education Old Testament Roundtables
BYU Studies Recommended Reading
- Deborah and Book of Judges, Kristin E. Litchamn, Ensign, January 1990
- Finding Samson in Byzantine Galilee: The 2011-2012 Archaeological Excavations at Huqoq, Matthew J. Grey with Jodi Magness, Studies in the Bible and Antiquity vol. 5 (2013)
- Judges 1-12: The Reign of the Judges, Part 1, Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel (1980)
- Judges 13–21; Ruth 1–4: The Reign of the Judges, Part 2, Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel (1980)
- Khirbet Beit Lei and the Book of Mormon: An Archaeologist’s Evaluation, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Religious Educator 10:3 (2009)
- The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon, Elder Manfred H. Schutze, Ensign, April 2002