Adult Lesson Plan: Judges 2–4;6–8;13–16

OPENING (2–3 minutes)

Judges can feel like watching someone touch a hot stove, yelp, promise never again, then reach right back for the burner. The book is candid about covenant life under pressure. Israel enters the promised land, then slowly absorbs the spiritual habits of the Canaanites, and the result is a repeating cycle: forgetting, suffering, crying to the Lord, then deliverance, then forgetting again.

Bring this question to the room and let it sit for a moment: When you look back over your own discipleship, what repeats? Not the dramatic sins we would never do, but the ordinary drift, the “I’ll do better” that fades when life gets busy. Judges refuses to flatter us, and it also refuses to leave us without hope.

SCRIPTURE EXPLORATION (15–20 minutes)

Begin in Judges 2:1–19 and read the cycle as the author describes it. The language is blunt about memory and worship, and the Lord’s response is just as consistent.

“And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” (Judges 2:16) “Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” (Judges 2:18) “And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.” (Judges 2:19)

Pause on the repeated “raised up.” Israel’s repentance is often reactive, but the Lord’s deliverance is deliberate. Ask the class: What does Judges 2:16–19 suggest about God’s patience, and what does it suggest about human forgetfulness? Where do you see “stubborn way” show up in modern life, including respectable, socially acceptable forms of spiritual drift?

Move to Judges 4:1–15 and focus on Deborah’s prophetic leadership and her ability to lend courage to someone else. The Come, Follow Me prompt asks us to notice conditions, then notice Deborah’s faith, then notice her question in verse 14. Read Judges 4:14 aloud and let it frame the discussion.

“And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.” (Judges 4:14)

Deborah does not only predict victory, she anchors Barak’s courage in the Lord’s prior action: “gone out before thee.” Then connect directly to the cross-reference Come, Follow Me provides.

“And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88)

Ask: What changes when we picture the Lord “going before” rather than merely “helping after”? When have you felt borrowed courage from someone else’s faith, the way Barak did from Deborah?

Then turn to Judges 6–8 and Gideon. Come, Follow Me highlights the Lord asking Gideon to believe something unlikely. The most vivid “unlikely” moment comes when the Lord intentionally reduces Gideon’s army. Read Judges 7:2, then Judges 7:4–7.

“And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.” (Judges 7:2) “And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there…” (Judges 7:4) “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.” (Judges 7:7)

Ask: Why would the Lord treat “too many resources” as a spiritual problem? Where do we “vaunt” in subtler ways, perhaps by telling our own story as if we saved ourselves?

If time allows, glance toward Judges 13–16 and Samson as a cautionary counterpoint. Come, Follow Me frames Samson around covenant strength and covenant loss, and Sister Ann M. Dibb’s summary gives language for the downward drift.

“Samson was born with great potential. His mother was promised, ‘He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines’ [Judges 13:5]. But as Samson grew, he looked more to the world’s temptations than to God’s direction. He made choices because they ‘pleaseth [him] well’ [Judges 14:3] rather than because those choices were right. Repeatedly, the scriptures use the phrase ‘and he went down’ [Judges 14:7] as they tell of Samson’s journeys, actions, and choices. Instead of arising and shining forth to fulfill his great potential, Samson was overcome by the world, lost his God-given power, and died a tragic, early death.” (May 2012, Dibb, “Arise and Shine Forth”)

Ask: What does “pleaseth me well” look like in adult life, when it is dressed up as sophistication, self-care, or “I deserve this”? Where does “went down” show up as a pattern of small steps rather than one dramatic collapse?

DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION (10–15 minutes)

Judges gives a sober doctrine of repentance: the Lord forgives as often as we repent, and we often need to repent more than once for the same weakness. Come, Follow Me says, “We all know what it’s like to sin, feel bad about it, and then repent and resolve to change our ways. But too often we forget our earlier resolve, and, when temptation comes, we find ourselves committing the same sin.” (“May 25–31. ‘The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer,’” Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026)

That line names the human condition without excusing it. Judges 2:19 adds something bracing: relapse can come with momentum, “corrupted themselves more than their fathers” (Judges 2:19). Repentance is not only stopping a behavior. It is rebuilding memory, worship, and loyalty.

Deborah adds another doctrine: faith is contagious. Come, Follow Me says, “Sometimes the faith of one person can inspire faith in many others. In Judges 4, that one person was Deborah.” (“May 25–31. ‘The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer,’” Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026) Her question, “is not the LORD gone out before thee?” (Judges 4:14) is pastoral theology in one sentence. She does not offer Barak a pep talk. She offers him a picture of God already in motion.

Bring in Elder Neil L. Andersen, because Come, Follow Me points teachers there for a reason. The assignment is to look for reasons to speak more openly about the Savior and ways to do it (“We Talk of Christ,” Nov. 2020, Andersen). Ask the class two questions that require thought rather than slogans: What keeps capable, covenant-keeping adults quiet about Jesus Christ at work or with extended family? What does it look like to “talk of Christ” in a way that sounds like a real person speaking to real people, not a memorized script?

Gideon adds a doctrine of divine power: God sometimes removes the supports we trust so we can see whose hand delivers. Judges 7:2 gives the Lord’s reason without embarrassment: “lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me” (Judges 7:2). The Lord cares about gratitude, and He also cares about our future. A person who believes “my own hand saved me” will keep turning to that hand, even when it fails.

Then Samson presses the doctrine of covenant strength. Come, Follow Me teaches, “Samson lost both his physical strength and his spiritual strength because he violated his covenants with God” (“May 25–31. ‘The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer,’” Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026). Sister Dibb’s language helps us see the mechanism: choices made because they “pleaseth [him] well” (Judges 14:3), followed by the repeated “went down” (Judges 14:7). Ask: Where do covenants function as strength in your life, not as restriction? How do you tell the difference between a desire that leads upward and one that leads down?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION (5–7 minutes)

Adults often carry quiet shame about repeated struggles. Judges normalizes the battle without normalizing surrender. If your week includes a familiar temptation, consider borrowing Deborah’s question and turning it into a private prayer: “Lord, have You gone out before me today?” (Judges 4:14). Doctrine and Covenants answers with a promise that belongs in an anxious mind: “I will go before your face… mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88).

If you feel outnumbered, Gideon offers a different kind of comfort. Sometimes the Lord does not add more tools. He reduces them, then asks for trust. Judges 7:7 is specific: “By the three hundred… will I save you” (Judges 7:7). For an adult, that might look like choosing a small, steady act of discipleship you can sustain, then letting God magnify it. It might also look like refusing the story that your competence is your salvation, especially when life goes well.

If Samson’s “pleaseth me well” shows up in your own patterns, Sister Dibb’s warning is practical: downward choices often feel ordinary while you make them (May 2012, Dibb, “Arise and Shine Forth”). Covenants give strength over time, and they also give clarity in the moment when something appeals. If questions arise that touch temple ordinances or sensitive membership matters, this is sacred and personal, please speak with your bishop or refer to the temple recommend questions.

CLOSING TESTIMONY & INVITATION (2–3 minutes)

Judges records repeated human failure and repeated divine rescue. Israel “cried unto the LORD,” and “the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them” (Judges 2:16). That rhythm points to Jesus Christ, the Deliverer who welcomes covenant people back as they return to Him (“May 25–31. ‘The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer,’” Come, Follow Me, For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026). I trust the Lord’s willingness to raise up help, and I trust His power to go before us when we turn toward Him.

Carry one question into the week: Where do I need to remember, not merely regret? Then choose one small act of remembrance, a prayer that names the Lord’s help, a sentence spoken about the Savior to someone who needs light, or a covenant-keeping choice made because it is right rather than because it “pleaseth [me] well” (Judges 14:3).