Judges 1 – 2
The Israelites have some more work to do to rid the land of the Canaanites. The first tribe chosen to attack the enemy is the tribe of Judah. They make a deal with the tribe of Simeon. If they join with them to conquer their territory, Judah will help Simeon with theirs. They enjoy a great victory in the town of Bezek. King Adoni-bezek escapes, but they eventually capture him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. This was apparently a just punishment since he had once done the same to seventy kings.
Jerusalem was also captured and then some others. Caleb offers his daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher. His nephew Othniel wins her hand.
Judah helps Simeon fight against the Canaanites and they enjoy another victory, but why is there always a “however?” Judah failed to drive out the people living in the plains. In fact, we see several instances in this first chapter of Judges, where the words “failed to drive out” are used. Was this from a lack of will? God is mighty and could have driven these people out. Was it that they liked having control over the people or having slaves to do their bidding?
Since the Israelites had not done what they were supposed to do, God sends the angel of the Lord to let them know that because of their disobedience, He would no longer drive out the people living in their land. Instead, “they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.” This causes the people to weep loudly.
There’s a clear lesson in the second chapter that obedience is not inherited. After the generation that entered the Promised Land died, “another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.”
It is evident from this that the Israelites did not follow God’s instructions beginning in Deuteronomy 6:4 - “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
If they had been doing this, there is no way a generation could grow up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
And, we see that not only did they not acknowledge the Lord, they abandon Him to serve Baal and the Ashtoreth. Israel starts being defeated whenever they go into battle, because the Lord fights against them. Then the Lord raises up judges to rescue them. We’ll see the following repeated again and again through this book:
- The people sin and are defeated or suffer at the hands of their enemies.
- The people cry out to the Lord.
- He takes pity on them.
- He sends a judge to help them.
- When the judge dies, they return to their wicked ways.
- They behave worse than those who lived before them.
- They refuse to stop their evil practices and stubborn ways.
We find out at the end of chapter 2 that the Lord did this as a test, which the Israelites failed miserably.
Tomorrow, it’s Judges 3 – 5.
Mirror, Mirror
Since I was a little kid, sitting on my mother’s lap listening to her read to me, I have been a fan of fairy tales. They have just the right combination of good and evil, with good triumphing in the end. And I have really enjoyed the Disney portrayal of so many of the fairy tales I loved as a kid.
Today, I saw the movie Mirror, Mirror starring Julia Roberts as the evil queen, Nathan Lane as her butler, Mare Winningham as the baker lady, Lily Collins as Snow White and Armie Hammer as the Prince. The seven dwarfs were played by real dwarfs. While not as endearing as those in the Disney Snow White cartoon movie, they were endearing in their own way. Of course, the cartoon dwarfs had cute names. The dwarfs in this movie were called Half Pint, Grub, Grimm, Napoleon, Wolf, Butcher and Chuckles. They were also not miners whistling their way to work hard every day.
They were, however, just as loyal to Snow White as Sleepy, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Happy. Julia Roberts does a great job as the evil queen.
I really enjoyed this movie. It was enough like the original to be familiar, but enough different to make the story interesting and fresh.
Until next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment