leading Innov

4.1 Assignment. Devotional – Ibzan

Getting Started

The book of Judges chronicles the period in history when the Israelites found themselves stuck in a sin cycle. The cycle began with Israel rebelling against God’s law, followed by discipline, repentance by Israel, and God sending a judge to deliver Israel from their enemies. Once the judge died, the cycle repeated.

One of the lesser-known judges, Ibzan, is mentioned in a few verses in Judges 12:8–10 ( New International Version). While we do not know as much about Ibzan as other judges, we do know that he was from Bethlehem and that he had 30 sons and 30 daughters who all married spouses outside of his tribe.

At that time, the act of marrying outside one’s tribe would have extended his family influence. Some scholars believe that intermarriage not only enlarged influence but created peace among tribes, an innovative approach for dealing with conflict. The author of Judges does not speak of the reason for the intermarriage or of the challenges that Ibzan and his children faced through cultural diversification. 

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Explore how living out values and virtues fosters change in others.

· Reflect on personal willingness to engage in innovation and organizational learning.

Background Information

Review this short  article (new tab)  on the judges of the Bible.

Access the drop-down below to read or listen to Judges 12:8-10.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon - Judges 12:8-10

Instructions

1. Review the information in the Getting Started section.

2. You may want to refer to your personal Bible for a preferred translation of the story of Ibzan in Judges 12:8–10.

3. Write a half-page reflection paper (Word document) on stands out to you about the story of Ibzan and his innovative use of intermarriage as a way to increase his influence and keep the peace.

a. What issues of diversity do you think Ibzan and his children had to navigate?

b. If you don’t have a Christian worldview, how does this perspective integrate with your worldview?

c. Include your thoughts/perspectives on your beliefs and motivations with regard to innovation.

4. Reflection papers are to be written in accordance with  APA Guidelines (7th ed.) (new tab)  including format guidelines. Papers must be logical, well organized, grammatically correct, and have correct spelling and sentence structure.  Write in complete paragraphs.