Book of Judges Quiz: Cycles and Deliverers

1. What is the recurring 'judge cycle' pattern that structures the book of Judges?

1. Covenant, rebellion, judgment, restoration — each judge completed one full cycle before dying
2. Faithfulness under one judge, apostasy immediately after, punishment, new judge — a downward spiral through twelve cycles
3. Peace, prosperity, invasion, prayer, deliverance — repeated seven times, one per generation
4. Sin, servitude, supplication, salvation — Israel abandoned God, was oppressed, cried out, and God raised a deliverer

2. Judges 2:10 identifies the root cause of Israel's apostasy. What was it?

1. 'Another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel' — the failure to transmit faith across generations
2. Israel became wealthy in Canaan and prosperity replaced their dependence on God
3. The Canaanite women were seductive and drew Israelite men into Baal worship through intermarriage
4. The Levites failed in their duty to teach the law — spiritual leadership collapsed after Joshua's generation

3. Who was the first judge mentioned, and what notable act did he perform?

1. Deborah the prophetess — who judged Israel from beneath a palm tree and led them against Sisera
2. Ehud son of Gera — the left-handed Benjaminite who delivered Israel from Eglon king of Moab
3. Othniel son of Kenaz — Caleb's younger brother, who delivered Israel from Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia
4. Shamgar son of Anath — who struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad

4. What made Ehud's assassination of Eglon of Moab unusual?

1. He disguised himself as an Egyptian trader and gained access to the palace through deception
2. He pretended to be dead in the tribute procession and was carried into Eglon's presence before striking
3. He used a sling, killing Eglon from a distance — the Moabites never suspected a ranged attack in an indoor setting
4. He was left-handed, allowing him to conceal a double-edged sword on his right thigh — where guards would not expect a weapon; he presented a 'secret message from God' and stabbed Eglon alone in his upper room

5. Deborah was unique among the judges. What made her exceptional?

1. She defeated Sisera alone without any army — God gave her supernatural strength for the battle
2. She was a prophetess, the only female judge, and she led Israel under the palm of Deborah — Barak would only fight if she accompanied him
3. She was the only judge from the tribe of Levi — combining prophetic and priestly authority
4. She was the only judge who ruled two tribes simultaneously — serving both Ephraim and Benjamin

6. How did Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, die?

1. He drowned trying to cross the flooded Kishon River after Deborah commanded the rain
2. He fled to Jael's tent; she gave him milk, covered him with a blanket, and when he slept, she drove a tent peg through his temple and killed him
3. He was captured alive and executed by Deborah as the fulfillment of her prophecy
4. He was killed in battle when Barak's forces finally surrounded his retreating army at the Kishon River

7. What did Gideon ask God to confirm his calling, and what happened?

1. He asked for fire to fall from heaven as Elijah had done — and fire came from a rock and consumed his offering
2. He asked for three signs in three days — a burning bush, a still small voice, and the blossoming of his staff
3. He asked God to let him win a wrestling match with an angel, as Jacob had done at Peniel
4. He put out a fleece twice: first asking the fleece to be wet and ground dry; then asking the fleece to be dry and ground wet — both happened as requested

8. Why did God reduce Gideon's army from 32,000 to 300 before the battle with the Midianites?

1. 'In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her'
2. A larger army would have attracted attention — 300 could move silently and achieve surprise
3. A smaller force would be more disciplined and easier to supply across the difficult terrain
4. God wanted only the bravest warriors — the water-lapping test selected those most alert and combat-ready

9. What was Gideon's battle strategy with his 300 men against the vast Midianite camp?

1. Each man had a trumpet and a torch inside a clay jar — they surrounded the camp at night, blew trumpets and smashed jars simultaneously; the terrified Midianites killed each other in the confusion
2. They attacked from three sides simultaneously at midnight — the surprise allowed 300 to defeat thousands
3. They diverted the river that watered the Midianite camp — causing thirst and disarray before the attack
4. They released wild animals captured from the wilderness — the stampede scattered the Midianite horses and camels

10. What was Gideon's great failure after his military success?

1. He accepted the kingship of Israel, violating the principle that God alone was Israel's king
2. He kept all the plunder for himself rather than bringing it to the tabernacle at Shiloh
3. He made a golden ephod from the battle spoils that became an object of idolatrous worship for all Israel
4. He made peace with Moab and allowed Moabite women into the Israelite community

11. Who was Abimelech, and what terrible act did he commit to seize power?

1. Abimelech was a Canaanite king who oppressed Israel — he killed 70 Israelite elders to prevent any challenge to his rule
2. Abimelech was a false prophet who led Israel into Baal worship after Gideon — he was killed by Jotham, Gideon's youngest son
3. Abimelech was a Philistine general who invaded Israel after Gideon's death and killed Gideon's sons in battle
4. Abimelech was Gideon's son by a Shechemite concubine — he killed 70 of his half-brothers on a single stone to eliminate rivals and made himself king

12. How did Abimelech die, and what was the significance of his death?

1. A woman dropped an upper millstone on his head from a tower; mortally wounded, he told his armour-bearer to run him through so no one could say a woman killed him
2. He was struck by lightning during a storm — God's direct judgment for his murder of the seventy brothers
3. His own men turned against him and threw him from the tower of Shechem — the city he had burned with fire
4. Jotham returned with an army and killed Abimelech in single combat — fulfilling the curse from Mount Gerizim

13. What was Jephthah's tragic vow, and what was its outcome?

1. He vowed that 'whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me' he would sacrifice as a burnt offering — and his only daughter came out to meet him first
2. He vowed to dedicate a city to God if he won — but the city he chose was his own hometown and he had to leave everything
3. He vowed to fast for forty days if God gave him victory — and nearly died from the extended fast
4. He vowed to sacrifice the first animal from his flock if God gave him victory — but a precious lamb escaped and was never recovered

14. What was the 'Shibboleth' incident in Judges 12?

1. A boundary marker stone that separated Israelite territory from Ammonite territory after Jephthah's victory
2. A riddle Samson posed to Philistines at his wedding — the answer involved a sheaf of grain ('shibboleth')
3. A secret password Gideon's men used to identify Midianite spies in the Israelite camp
4. After Jephthah defeated Ammon, the Ephraimites claimed credit and fought him — Gileadites used the word 'Shibboleth' to identify fleeing Ephraimites who mispronounced it as 'Sibboleth', and killed 42,000 of them

15. What does the story of Deborah and Barak illustrate about God's use of unlikely instruments?

1. God only uses the most spiritually prepared people — Deborah and Barak had both spent years in prayer and fasting before their calling
2. God used a woman judge, a reluctant general, and a foreign woman (Jael) to defeat Israel's enemy — showing that God's purposes are not limited by human expectations of who qualifies as a deliverer
3. God used weakness to show strength — Deborah and Barak had no military training, making their victory entirely supernatural
4. The story proves that women are superior leaders — Deborah's success was meant to shame the men of Israel permanently

16. What was Gideon's response when Israel asked him to rule over them as king?

1. 'Ask my son Abimelech — he has the courage and cunning to be a strong king for you'
2. 'I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you'
3. 'I will rule over you — but only if you bring the Midianite spoils as tribute to build me a palace'
4. He accepted, establishing the first Israelite monarchy a generation before Saul

17. Why was Jephthah initially rejected by his brothers and forced to flee Gilead?

1. He had committed the crime of taking a foreign wife — in violation of the Mosaic law and the family's honour
2. He had converted to Ammonite religion — his brothers expelled him to protect the family's reputation
3. He was a violent man who had killed a kinsman in an argument — his brothers drove him out for the murder
4. He was the son of a prostitute — his brothers drove him out saying 'You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman'

18. Which minor judge was noted for having thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys and controlled thirty towns?

1. Abdon son of Hillel — his forty sons and thirty grandsons rode seventy donkeys
2. Ibzan — his thirty sons and thirty daughters all married outside his clan as a sign of his diplomatic connections
3. Jair the Gileadite — his thirty sons rode thirty donkeys and controlled thirty towns in Gilead called Havvoth Jair
4. Tola son of Puah — who judged Israel for twenty-three years and had sons who were all warriors

19. What was Israel's specific sin that led to Midianite oppression in Gideon's time?

1. The Israelites did evil in the LORD's eyes and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab and Ammon and the Philistines
2. They abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh — no sacrifices were offered for seven years and the sacred fire went out
3. They adopted the Canaanite practice of human sacrifice — offering their children to Molech in the valley of Ben Hinnom
4. They made a treaty with the Midianites — which led to intermarriage and the adoption of Midianite religious practices

20. How does the structure of Judges show moral and spiritual decline compared to the beginning of the book?

1. Each successive judge is presented as more righteous than the last — Judges shows gradual improvement toward the monarchy
2. The book shows cyclical stability — each generation sins and repents in equal measure, ending where it began
3. The decline is gradual but steady — each judge sins in exactly the same way, showing sin is universal rather than progressive
4. The judges become increasingly flawed: Othniel is presented as the ideal; by Samson the judge is personally immoral; the book ends with Micah's idol and the Benjaminite civil war — showing total breakdown