Judges 1:1,2 - Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary

If the Reader regards the book of the Judges merely as an history, still he will discover in it sufficient to demonstrate the faithfulness of God to his promises. But, if he reads it also with a spiritual reference to the church of God shadowing forth beside the history some greater events connected with it, he will find this Sepher Shophtim (for so is it, in the original, very properly called, that is, the Book of Judges) not an uninteresting part of the sacred record. As Joshua was an eminent type of Jesus, do we not feel our minds led to the gospel history, and the case of the apostles, at the departure of Jesus? Well might the disciples enquire who shall go in and out before us, when the Lord is returned to his Father? See John 14:1-2. We cannot be at a loss to assign the cause, wherefore Judah was chosen. The dying Patriarch looking forward to him who after the flesh was to spring from Judah, declared, that Judah was him whom his brethren should praise, whose hand should be in the neck of his enemies, and whose father ' s children should bow down before him. Genesis 49:8, etc. And when we behold him who is expressly called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, whom all nations shall praise, and whose victory over the neck of his enemies hath been so marked, we cannot but discover the striking affinity. Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5.