They would then end up serving other nations for years.
Finally they would cry out to God in their affliction and God would raise up a deliverer for them.
The Book of Judges shows us various persons appointed for such.
Judges 2:16-21 the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.
And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
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.
And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and HE said, Because that this people hath transgressed MY covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto MY voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
(Therefore these other nations would vex Israel and even rule over Israel and be a thorn in the side of Israel.)
Judges 3:5-8 And
the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and
Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And they took
their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their
sons, and served their gods.
(The gods often served today: seeking more possessions, seeking praise from other humans, being with other flesh even when we are annoyed by that other person, seeking excitements ... )
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
(The gods often served today: seeking more possessions, seeking praise from other humans, being with other flesh even when we are annoyed by that other person, seeking excitements ... )
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel
***
God turned them over to their enemies and they served the king of Mesopotamia for 8 years.
After
they were delivered from this bondage, they did evil again in the sight
of the Lord and were again put into bondage and served the king of Moab
18 years.
Judges 3:15-30 But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.
Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.
When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.
And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. (80-years)
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.
Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.
When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.
And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. (80-years)
***
Judges 4:1-3 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord:
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord:
This time the children of Israel were oppressed by Jabin king of Canaan for twenty years.
God raises up Deborah, a prophetess to judge Israel.
Judges 4:4-9 And
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that
time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and
Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
***
Barak took 10,000 men with him to fight, and Deborah went with him.
Sisera had 900 chariots of Iron.
Judges 4:14-15 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.
And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
... v. 16 and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
17-21 Howbeit
Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the
Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the
house of Heber the Kenite.
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Then
Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her
hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and
fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22-24
And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and
said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest.
And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
And the land had rest 40 years.
Deborah sings:
Judges 5:31 So let all THINE enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love HIM be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.
***
People often seek such strange and difficult ways to make themselves entertained.
A friend of mine once said he was amazed at how hard people have to work at enjoying themselves.
Almost daily, when I awaken, I pray for God to fill my day, and HE does!
The following instructions which Paul gave to Timothy influence me greatly.
I Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
This God has taught me to do daily. (reading Bible and this blog)
And I have no desire to leave my room and go out and see things or do things.
Through the years, many people have left me when I have spoken to them that which I believed to be from God. I always grieved.
But in rereading the Old Testament, I have seen so many examples where God drove them away and when I view it "that way", that it was God causing them to leave me, driving them out from me, I no longer grieve over them and I am helped and joyful.
Thus I am comforted by these examples in the Old Testament.
Joshua 24:8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
When I speak the Word to them, they often fight that Word, and then they flee from me.
To view this as God doing this work really helps me and I believe this is true.
Joshua 24:9-10 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
In 2019, a woman from our own church group tried to "curse me" with her accusations against me.
But God gave me a dream to show me her words were "garbage". God kept me to HIMSELF, and caused me to continue in the work to which HE has called me and assigned me in exhorting the church. And I even see now that it was God who delivered me from this woman who would have stopped this ministry had she been able to do so.
11 And you went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you,
I see the Word which God has me speak as being "like a hornet," stinging the disobedient and driving them away from me.
Before I talk with people, I usually pray to God that I only speak those things that HE wants spoken. I never plan ahead to speak anything. Instead I depend on the Holy Spirit that is in me to call to my mind scriptures or examples that God wants me to speak to them and I try to yield myself to God when I talk with them, speaking those things only which I believe to be from God.
This comforts me!
***
People often seek such strange and difficult ways to make themselves entertained.
A friend of mine once said he was amazed at how hard people have to work at enjoying themselves.
Almost daily, when I awaken, I pray for God to fill my day, and HE does!
The following instructions which Paul gave to Timothy influence me greatly.
I Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
This God has taught me to do daily. (reading Bible and this blog)
And I have no desire to leave my room and go out and see things or do things.
Through the years, many people have left me when I have spoken to them that which I believed to be from God. I always grieved.
But in rereading the Old Testament, I have seen so many examples where God drove them away and when I view it "that way", that it was God causing them to leave me, driving them out from me, I no longer grieve over them and I am helped and joyful.
Thus I am comforted by these examples in the Old Testament.
Joshua 24:8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
When I speak the Word to them, they often fight that Word, and then they flee from me.
To view this as God doing this work really helps me and I believe this is true.
Joshua 24:9-10 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
In 2019, a woman from our own church group tried to "curse me" with her accusations against me.
But God gave me a dream to show me her words were "garbage". God kept me to HIMSELF, and caused me to continue in the work to which HE has called me and assigned me in exhorting the church. And I even see now that it was God who delivered me from this woman who would have stopped this ministry had she been able to do so.
11 And you went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you,
I see the Word which God has me speak as being "like a hornet," stinging the disobedient and driving them away from me.
Before I talk with people, I usually pray to God that I only speak those things that HE wants spoken. I never plan ahead to speak anything. Instead I depend on the Holy Spirit that is in me to call to my mind scriptures or examples that God wants me to speak to them and I try to yield myself to God when I talk with them, speaking those things only which I believe to be from God.
This comforts me!
*****