Judges 12:8 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a brief account of three more judges of Israel. The first ruled seven years, the second ten, and the third eight. Because of a land’s sin, it often has many rulers in a short time, one after another (Proverbs 28:2). Good men are often taken away just as they are becoming most useful, or just as they are settling into their work.

Ibzan of Bethlehem, most likely Bethlehem in Judah, David’s city, was the first. This was not the Bethlehem in Zebulun, which is mentioned only once (Joshua 19:15). He ruled only seven years, but his many children and the fact that he arranged marriages for all of them suggest that he lived a long life. His large family and many alliances may also have helped make him fit to be chosen by the people, as Jephthah was, or called directly by God, as Gideon was, to lead Israel and keep God’s work going among them.

What stands out about Ibzan is this. First, he had sixty children in all, like a full quiver of arrows. Bethlehem was already known for increase, and it was the town where the one would be born whose spiritual family would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Second, he had thirty sons and thirty daughters, which is not common in one family, yet God’s wise care keeps both sexes in the world in fair enough numbers to carry human life forward.

Third, he made sure all of them were married. He sent his daughters out to be married, and he brought in thirty wives for his sons. The Jews say that every father owes his son three things, to teach him the law, give him a trade, and get him a wife. How different Ibzan’s household was from Jephthah’s, his immediate predecessor. Ibzan had sixty children and all of them married, while Jephthah had only one child, a daughter, who died or remained unmarried. Some families increase, others are cut down, and both are under the Lord’s hand.

Elon of Zebulun came next. He was from the north of Canaan and was raised up to guide public affairs, give justice, and correct abuses. He was a blessing to Israel for ten years, and then he died (Judges 12:11, Judges 12:12). Dr. Lightfoot thinks that the forty years of Philistine oppression began during the early part of his rule (Judges 13:1), and that Samson was born around that time. Since Elon lived in the north, the Philistines, who lived near the southern parts of Canaan, likely took advantage of that and made raids there.

Then came Abdon, from the tribe of Ephraim. In him, that famous tribe began to regain some of its honor, since it had produced no notable leader since Joshua. Abimelech the Shechemite was more of a shame to the tribe than an honor. Abdon was known for his large family. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, and he lived to see them all grow up. They rode on seventy young donkeys, whether as judges and officers, or simply as men of rank and distinction.

It must have been a joy to him to see his children’s children. Yet it is likely that he did not live to see peace in Israel, because by then the Philistines had begun to press into the land. Notice is also taken of where these judges were buried (Judges 12:7, Judges 12:10, Judges 12:12, Judges 12:15). Perhaps this was because inscriptions on their tombs, such as were used in old times (2 Kings 23:17), could help confirm and enlarge the story of their lives, and could be checked by anyone wanting more information. Peter, when speaking of David, says, “His tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2:29). Or the mention may simply honor the places where they were laid to rest. But it also teaches us to think less of worldly greatness, since death and the grave stain all human pride.

These judges were like gods to Israel in their time, yet they died like ordinary men, and all their honor went back to the dust.

It is very strange that in the whole history of these judges, some of whose actions are described in detail, there is not even one mention of the high priest, or of any other priest or Levite, taking part in public counsel or action, from Phinehas (Judges 20:28) to Eli. That span may be about 250 years. Only the names of the high priests from that time are preserved (1 Chronicles 6:4-7; Ezra 7:3-5). How can this long silence about the priesthood, so soon after its beginning, fit with the great splendor of its first setting and the important place it has in the law of Moses?

Surely this suggests that the institution was mainly meant to point forward to something greater. The large blessings it seemed to promise were chiefly meant to be found in its true meaning, the lasting priesthood of our Lord Jesus. Compared with his higher glory, that earlier priesthood had no real glory at all (2 Corinthians 3:10).