Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Judges 2:11-23.  Let’s go!

Judges 2:11-19 (NIV)
11  Then the Israeites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.
12  They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger
13  because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

On verses 11-19:  These verses summarize a pattern that you’ll see happening over and over again in the book of Judges: the Israelites forsake God; the Israelites are attacked, plundered and abused by other nations; the Israelites cry out to God; God sends a deliverer (a judge) to save them; the Israelites serve God for a time while under the deliverer’s leadership, but when that deliverer dies, the Israelites go back to forsaking God all over again, and the cycle repeats itself.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Judges 2:1-10.  Let’s go!

Judges 2:1 (NIV)
1  The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,
 
On verse 1:  I know I’m stopping the passage in mid-sentence to say this, but it’s worth saying:  God is faithful to His promises.  That’s the message of verse 1.  What God swore He would do, He did.  He swore to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land, and He did.  God never breaks His promises.  God is forever faithful, dependable and trustworthy.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Judges 1:27-36.  Let’s go!

Judges 1:27-36 (NIV)
27  But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.
28  When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.
29  Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
30  Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor.
31  Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob,
32  and because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land.

On verses 27-36:  In the first 26 verses of Judges 1 we already see hints of Israel’s tribes not going all the way in fully occupying the Promised Land, but rather compromising and allowing other nations to occupy it. This happened in verse 19 where the tribe of Judah did not fully take over the plains.  This happened in verse 21 where the tribe of Benjamin did not oust the Jebusites out of Jerusalem.  We see this happening even more in verses 27-36: the tribes of Manasseh (v27), Ephraim (v29), Zebulun (v30), Asher (v31), Naphtali (v33), Dan (v34), and Joseph (v35) all fail to drive out the Canaanites from the land. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Judges 1:16-26.  Let’s go!

Judges 1:16-18 (NIV)
16  The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms with the men of Judah to live among the people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.
17  Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their brothers and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah [which means Destruction].
18  The men of Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron–each city with its territory.
 
On verses 16-18:  Let’s address the elephant in the room:  How could God endorse the destruction by Israel of other nations?  Skeptics may object, “Isn’t this just another example of how the Christian God is a cruel, bigoted, and racist, choosing one nation while destroying other nations?”  Keep in mind what the Bible teaches: that God is a perfect, just and holy God who cannot stand wickedness, evil and injustice.  For centuries God had tolerated the evil, idolatrous and immoral behaviour of the nations that occupied the Promised Land.  Despite giving these nations centuries to repent, these nations deliberately sinned against God over and over again without repenting and had tested God’s patience long enough.