December 2022
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 11
J u d g e s
“So the land had rest for forty years. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel”.
Forty years after the death of Deborah and the miraculous delivery out of the hands of the Canaanite king Jabin, the pattern resumed! Idolatry and pagan worship replaced the worship of YHWH Elohim. The result? Fear, shame, impoverishment, subjection to their enemies, reprisals, and revenge. So yet again, in absolute despair, they cried out to the LORD. And in this we find an important lesson. It is easy to take the moral ‘high ground’ and judge these Israelites harshly. They surely deserve that harsh appraisal. But take a moment to compare and evaluate your own position in God’s eyes. Most of us, speaking truthfully, would have to confess our own shortcomings. I, for one, bow my head in shame. The sin might have a different character, but it is still sin, that causes separation from God’s influence. And that is precisely the situation of these ancient people through whom God chooses to reveal His nature of love of those who are His. Our God is a covenant keeping God. He did not, and does not, turn away from those who turn to Him in times of trouble. But I believe He expects that those who so do are sincere, remorseful, and penitent in their approach. Such was the case in our passage of Scripture today.
But first, God sent a prophet to speak to the Israelites. We do not know the prophet’s name, in fact all we do know is that it was one sent by God. The message of prophet was simple. He reminded the people of their history. Of the faithfulness of God. Of the deliverance of their forefathers out of the bondage of Egypt. Of the promises, in covenant, which their predecessors had made, and the blunt pronouncement that they had failed to keep that covenant. That was followed up by “the Angel of the LORD”, who came and sat under an oak tree on the property of one called Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh. His son Gideon, was at that time fearfully hiding out of sight of the Midianites in the winepress, threshing wheat. Then “the Angel of the LORD” appeared to Gideon and spoke to him. “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour!” It would be a gross understatement to say that Gideon was a reluctant candidate. Probably the last thing he would have described himself as was a "mighty man of valour!”. Here he was hiding out of sight of the Midianites. Yet, he was God’s choice for the situation. God’s instruction? “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Followed up by “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man”. Try to imagine how you might react to such a commission. Selah!
Well, the rest of the story is very well known. Gideon, the reluctant hero, was still unsure that he had actually, really, heard the message from God. The lengths he went to to verify that are amazing. “Show me a sign that it is YOU who talk with me. Do not depart from here (the winepress where Gideon was hiding), until I bring out my offering and set it before You”. When he returned with his offering, ‘the Angel of the LORD” spoke again. instructing him to put his offering on a rock there. Then the ‘Angel’ touched the offering with a rod, and immediately fire came out of the rock and consumed the offering. Wow !!! Then, emboldened by what he had witnessed, he was ready for his next assignment. It is a remarkable story. Read it in Chapter 6 of our text. And yet, after that, Gideon still wanted confirmation that God was with him and sought yet another sign with the well known story of the wet and dry fleeces.
Gideon was now ready to engage the Midianites in battle. But God had a few tests of His own for Gideon to pass before that battle took place. Gideon had assembled an army of Israel, from the tribes of Mannaseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali to join with him in the fight. So God set about downsizing that army to a mere 300 men to accompany Gideon into battle ! By this means God ensured that the victory would be “not by might. nor by power, but by the Spirit of the LORD”. (Zechariah 4:6) The story is told in Chapters 7 and 8 of our text. Thus it was that God chose Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh, to be judge (and saviour). over Israel. And the Scripture tells us that there was peace in the land for another forty years while Gideon was alive. He died of a ‘good old age’ leaving seventy sons, born to him of several wives, and one son born of his concubine. That son was named Abimelech.
As soon as Gideon died, the idolatry (Baal worship) recommenced. Abimelech became ‘judge’ over Israel by treacherous default. A real scoundrel. In chapter 9 of our text Gideon is referred to as Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32). 69 of the 70 sons of Gideon by his several wives were slaughtered by Abimelech, and he himself met his own untimely death at the hand of the 70th son. It is a complete tale of vile treachery. Perhaps symptomatic of the debauched way in which these people behaved when there was no God appointed leader to guide them in the ways of righteous living. Just like today.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 10
J u d g e s
The events we covered last week span the years when Othniel and the left- handed Ehud were appointed as judges over Israel. It seems as though a pattern developed, wherein the Israelites got themselves into trouble, mostly by their neglect of the covenant they had made with God, by turning to the idolatrous and pagan ways of the various groups they were supposed to have driven off the land. Then in time, they would be so oppressed by their pagan enemies that they would again plead with God, and in His love, mercy and grace towards them, another judge would be appointed to rescue them and bring them back to right living again …. for a time !
The lesson for us who wish to learn it is obvious. Those who belong to God, the Israelites in this story, pay a dreadful price for their disobedience to the covenant willingly entered into with God. By ‘taking His hands off them’, which He clearly warned would be the result of their wanton disregard of those promises, they leave themselves open to the traps of sinfulness with which they were surrounded. That did not mean that they were abandoned by God, but they moved outside of His protection. The Apostolic Scriptures provide a warning for us if we are willing to listen. Look at Jude 21. This exhortation is paraphrased in the Living Bible as “stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and protect you !” Moving outside those boundaries is fraught with hazardous consequence.
Our ‘reflection’ this week begins with the death of Ehud. The pattern continued and again the people “did evil in the sight of the LORD”. There was a short period when Shamgar was appointed judge, and he operated in the territory of the Philistines in the Western plains and mountains. He reportedly killed 600 of them single-handedly with an ox goad. It is possible that his appointment coincided with that of Ehud while he was dealing with issues with the Moabites in the Eastern parts of Israel. And then we are introduced to Deborah, probably an Ephraimite, (she lived, near Bethel) who was first a prophetess, and now God’s chosen as judge over Israel. The only female to hold such office. I am intrigued to wonder exactly HOW the Israelites from each of the tribes knew who was appointed judge over them, but it is evident that they did. We are told that “she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came unto her for judgement”. But that was not all. It seems that the LORD also spoke to Deborah in her anointing as a prophet, giving her knowledge of the affairs of the tribes.
At this time, the Israelites were being oppressed by the Canaanite king, Jabin. He lived in Hazor, a large city in the Galilee, conquered by Joshua many years earlier, and in the territory allotted to the tribe of Naphtali. So it was that Deborah sent for Barak, of the tribe of Naphtali, who dutifully appeared before her. It is further evident that the LORD had provided Deborah with the wisdom and understanding of a military commander so that she had the God given plan to deal with the cruel excesses of king Jabin and his army. Deborah instructed Barak to assemble an army of 10,000 from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley. (Some consider this to be the mountain of Yeshua’s ‘transfiguration’ (Matthew 17)). Mount Tabor is over 550 metres high, providing a very good vantage point over the valley below. Barak agreed to assemble the army as instructed on condition that Deborah herself would accompany them, which she did, at the same time warning Barak that by so doing he would not be credited with the ‘glory’ of the battle victory, which she knew God would provide, because Sisera would be die at the hands of a woman.
Sisera was the commander of king Jabin’s army. God caused Heber, a Kenite from the family of Hobab (described here as Moses’ father-in-law, but in Numbers 10 as his brother-in-law) to inform Sisera that the armies of Naphtali and Zebulun had amassed at Mount Tabor. This is an interesting matter in regard to the purposes of God, as will become evident later in the story when we are introduced to Heber’s wife, Jael. In military terms it was a contest that Sisera could not lose, Although numerically greatly outnumbered, 10,000 Israelites against Canaanites in 900 Iron Chariots (it was the modern equivalent of thousands of foot soldiers against a handful of heavily armoured tanks), But that ignores the fact that God was on Israel’s side. He still is! We learn, from the song of eventual triumph sung by Deborah and Barak that God intervened in that ‘unequal’ contest by sending a great rainstorm which caused the chariots to be stuck in the muddy ground. That neutralised the advantage of Sisera and promptly changed it to Israel who had the vastly superior numbers. Read the story as recorded in Judges 4.
Sisera escaped and fled right into the hands of Jael, Heber’s wife. The lesson we may take from this is a simple “If God be for you, who can be against you?” Read the song of triumph of Barak and Deborah in Judges 5. Up until this time, Deborah had been judge over Israel for twenty years. Our Scripture passage ends with the words “So the land had rest for forty (more) years”. IF only the lessons had been learned !
Shabbat
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 09
J u d g e s
Joshua was dead. But before he died he had called all tbe tribal elders and officials of Israel to an assembly at which he had carefully reminded them of their history, the exploits of their forefathers, and the faithful guidance and protection of YHWH ELOHIM. For the continuance of that protection, he exhorted them to be diligent (‘very courageous’ is what the translators used) in their observation of the covenant which their forefathers had made with God, and which they had also ratified under Joshua’s leadership.
The early chapters of Judges contains accounts of events which have also been dealt with in the Book of Joshua. Commentators have suggested that these are ‘flashbacks’ which describe the events which had already occurred. It also provides a rather different perspective in that the issues of conquest are also seen as incomplete and compromised. We know that many Canaanites lost their lives, but there were also many survivors, who continued to live amongst the newly arrived Israelite tribes after they had essentially claimed total victory.
There are some good reasons to expect that this “Book of Judges” be filled with accounts of success and harmony for the Israelites. Regrettably, as our ‘reflections’ progress we will see that it is not. Some commentators have observed that it could have been more appropriately called the “Book of Failures”. Lasting less than 400 years (timing discrepancies accounted for by overlapping periods for some judges), it begins with the tribe of Judah, seemingly chosen by God to set an example to the others, doing exactly what the LORD had commanded. With the aid of the Simeonites, who had a land allotment within the boundaries of the Judeans, they set out to occupy the land and to drive out the Canaanites, Perizzites, and Amorites who were then still dwelling in that land. The cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Debir, Zephath, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron all fell into the hands of Judah. But the people who dwelt in the lowlands had chariots of iron, and proved to be a different proposition. Also, as noted earlier, there were many that survived. In the process, Caleb, whose inheritance was a city in the mountain region of Hebron, offered his daughter Achsah, in marriage, to the person who took possession of that place. In the event it was his nephew, Othniel, who won the prize! Othniel also later is acknowledged as the first of the Judges of Israel.
Jerusalem (Jebus at that time) was occupied by the Jebusites of course. It seems that they were especially difficult to dislodge. We are told that neither the Judeans (Joshua 15:63) nor the Benjamites (Judges 1:21) were able to drive them out. So even though the city of Jebus was part of the inheritance of Benjamin, Judah as the lead tribe (so to speak), and closely bordering the land given to Benjamin, also attempted to clear that city, but without success. And so it continued that each of the tribes, listed in turn, failed to do what they had been instructed by God to do. Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan certainly took possession of their allotted territory but did not ‘completely drive out the Canaanites’ but rather made accommodation with them, by “putting them under tribute” as “forced labourers”. Now all this was happening during Joshua’s lifetime, and the LORD called them to account in a place called Bochim (of uncertain location, but thought by some to be another name for Bethel). Bochim is literally ‘a place of weeping’. Because after God had chastised them they wept and made sacrifices to the LORD there. “So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel”.
There is a timely lesson for any willing to learn it, in the narrative which follows. Reminiscent of the situation described in Exodus 1:8, we read “Another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel”. How could that possibly be? Well there is a quite simple explanation, and within it comes the lesson. In simplistic terms, it is by neglect of the instructions God had annunciated as a condition of their prosperity and protection in the land of His promise. But what did they ‘drift’ into? Idolatry. “They forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them up out of the land Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them”. It is relatively easy for us to ‘wag the finger’ at them today. We have the whole account of matters set out in print for us to read. BUT an honest appraisal of the events in our world today indicates that the same things are happening in our society, sadly, even within the community of believers. And God is doing the same today as He did then.
At that time He chose NOT to intervene. “These are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them. … the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidoneans, Hivites , and Baalites … to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses”.
Chapter 3 of our text provides a record of the testing of the LORD. He raised up “Judges” to point the way. Time and again the people failed the test. God has raised up prophets in our time to faithfully remind us of His word and expectations as to how He wants us to live. This record of the Book of Judges provides timely reminders for us today. It requires a personal response from each of us.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 08
J O S H U A
Before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, Moses had consented to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and one half of the tribe of Manasseh, settling in Gilead, on land east of the Jordan. But Joshua, as he prepared to enter the land, knew that there would be battles to be won in order to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants. For that reason he required that those tribes which were to settle in the east, could not be excused from such engagement, and ordered that the men of “arms bearing” age, cross the Jordan with the main congregation of people to assist them conquer the land. Which they did. Our reading today starts at the point where the nine and one half tribes were in their allotted territory, and settlement was underway. So Joshua gathered the people at Shiloh and spoke to them (the tribes that had left families to assist in conquering the land). “You have not left your brethren (the tribes in the promised land) these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren (job done), as He promised them; now therefore return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan”. Then he cautioned them to be sure to keep the commandments of the LORD and to “serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul”.
As they journeyed to their home in Gilead, they came to the Jordan River. There they constructed a “great, impressive altar”, similar to the altar which was in the tabernacle at Shiloh. When the Israelites learned of this, they thought that it was an act of rebellion against God, setting up an alternative to the worship centre in Shiloh, and decided to ‘sort it out’ with them. It was the first sign of dissent among the “brethren” tribes. But it was not an act of rebellion, but an act of ‘remembrance and witness’ to all who would see it in the future, that even though the tribes would be divided by the River Jordan, the ‘altar of witness’ which they had erected would serve as a reminder of the solidarity between the tribes on each side of the River. “For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God”. So the dispute was settled and harmony was restored between all the tribes of Israel.
Then came the time, about 30 years after Joshua had led the children of Israel across the Jordan River, when he was 110 years of age, that the Israelites had to live a life of ‘normality’ in their own land. The structural framework of the nation had been put in place. The tabernacle was functioning in Shiloh. The Levites were living in 48 cities which were dispersed throughout the territory, and the 6 cities of refuge were established. So Joshua called together the elders, the leaders, and the judges and officials of the tribes, to a meeting so that he could give them a final address as a group. “I am old, advanced in age. You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you”. He said. Then he re-stated the promise of God to continue to support and favour them in the sight of their enemies. But Joshua knew very well the frailties of the people, so he took opportunity to reinforce the source and foundation of the protection that they would need to survive in their new land. He continued “Therefore be very courageous (not the courage needed to win a battle with an enemy, but) to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or the left”.
The Hebrew word used for “courageous” in that exhortation to these people is “chazaq”. It means to “hold fast, to be obstinate in, strengthen”. And the preposition “very” in Hebrew is “m’od”, which means “vehemently, wholly”. So the exhortation of Joshua, might provide a lesson for those of us today who wish to know the favour of the LORD as we go about our daily tasks. Could it be that the very source of their strength and protection, and the courage needed to pursue it, is the same for those who today seek the protection and ‘success’ in life that Joshua prescribed for these people? After all, we have been reminded in these ‘reflections’ many times of the word of the LORD in Malachi 3:6, “I am the LORD, I do not change”. Selah.
So we come to the end of the beginning of the Israelites sojourn in the land God promised to them. The first thirty years included the time of entering, subduing, conquering, dividing, and settling. And in God’s purposes, just as Moses time had come to an end with the land in sight, so now, Joshua’s task had been completed with the land in Israel’s possession. “Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel:’ …..””. Joshua then recalled for them the history of their forefathers from the calling of Abram to their present position in the land. Then he put things ‘right on the line’. Read it for yourselves in Joshua 24. “So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day … wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God … and he took a large stone and set it up (for all to see as a memorial) under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD”.
Then Joshua died and was buried within the border of the land that he had inherited from the LORD. “Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel”. Off to a good start in the land. Next week we begin to ‘reflect’ on the days which follow.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 07
J O S H U A
The land had been allotted to each tribe so that settlement of the land could be completed in an orderly and timely manner. The instruction of the LORD was that the Canaanites be driven off the land, and certainly that there should be no compromise in accommodating the pagan rites, rituals, and practises which were part and parcel of their lifestyle. The ‘new order’ was to be strictly Torah based living. And it had been made abundantly clear that observance of Torah was vital to their ‘success’, through God’s continuing aid and protection, in settlement. The extent to which this command was observed, or not, will become clear as we progress through these ‘reflections’.
BUT, God had not finished with the instructions of preparations for life in the new land yet! “Speak to the children of Israel saying ‘ Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge’”. In that statement, God clearly illustrated His intent that life in the promised land for the people He called “His special treasure”, was to be very different from “the ways of the world”. When Moses was still alive (Numbers 35:6-34), God had given him instructions about these cities. The map here shows the location of them. SIX in all. They were spaced around the community in such a manner that no-one had more than about 30 miles to travel from anywhere in the land to arrive in the one closest to them. God wanted them to live together in the land in an orderly and safe manner, but recognised that there were occasions when someone might accidentally cause the death of another. In those days, and in some societies, even today, custom has it that the family of the deceased seeks to extract a ‘blood price’, in the form of ‘revenge’ killing, of the person who caused that death. It is worthy of note that the Hebrew expression is “ga’al haddam”, which properly translates as “blood redeemer”. That has more a connotation of ‘making right’. But it makes no allowance for accidental death (Deuteronomy 19:4-7), so in the promised land, if that person could get into one of these cities of refuge, his/her life would be safe from such ‘revenge’. Upon arrival at one of these cities the person seeking refuge would declare the circumstance to the elders of the city of refuge, and would be given lodging and safety for a period of time. Either until that person was given the opportunity to stand in impartial trial before the congregation in judgment of the case, or until the death of the one occupying the position of High Priest in that day. Why? The best explanation I was able to discover was because of the High Priestly, God ordained, authority in his sacrificial, atonement, duties on Yom Kippur each year. An authority which is deemed to remain for the next twelve months, or until his death before that time expired. It is also symbolic of the sacrificial death, and the redemptive features, of our Saviour Yeshua’s death.
(As the high priest, by reason of the anointing with the holy oil, became qualified to act as the representative of the nation, and in that capacity acted as their mediator for the great day of atonement, so the death of the high priest assumed a symbolic or representative character, and became a type of that great High Priest who, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, and who by His death made a propitiation for the sins of the world. Thus, as by the death of the Jewish high priest a typical atonement was made for the sin of the Israelite manslayer, and he was restored thereupon to "the land of his possession" amongst his brethren, so by the death of our High Priest they who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them, are restored to the inheritance which had been forfeited by sin, and made joint heirs with Christ of those mansions which He has gone before to prepare for those who love Him.)
Our ‘reflection’ this week, also covers one more Godly provision in the land settlement. It concerns the Levites who were not apportioned a territorial land allotment. Shiloh was the gathering place of the people because the tabernacle was there, and that was the place where the Levites had duties to perform. Eleazar, Aaron’s son, was High Priest at that time, so the heads of the families of the Levites came before him and Joshua at Shiloh. They proclaimed “The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common lands for our livestock” And so it was. “So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their common lands:” The rest of our reading contains the detail of the cities which were given, by lot, to the families of the three sons of Levi, Gershon, Kehath, and Merari. A total of 48 cities with their surrounding common lands. The cities of refuge, discussed earlier in this ‘reflection’ were included in this total of 48 cities.
The main lesson to come from this distribution of land is the fairness and care which God took to avoid any possibility of dispute among His chosen ones. Caleb and Joshua were given special privilege, to which no-one had objection. The Levites were given places to live distributed widely through the land to be accessible to everyone as their priestly need arose. The unintentional sins of causing death by accident were treated with sensible precautionary refuge. And each tribe was involved in the land survey so that when Joshua cast lots in the distribution, there was no dispute. “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it”.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
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