380 likes | 946 Views
Judges 10-11. Old Testament Bible Studies True Love Church of Refuge Prophetess Delisa Lindsey Class June 24, 2009. Salvation by Tola and Jair Forty-five years. Judges 10:1-5. Judges 10:1-2.
E N D
Judges 10-11 Old Testament Bible Studies True Love Church of Refuge Prophetess Delisa Lindsey Class June 24, 2009
Salvation by Tola and JairForty-five years Judges 10:1-5
Judges 10:1-2 • After Abimelech, the seventh judge, Tola arose to defend Israel. Tola and Puah are recorded in Gen 46:13 as the sons of Issachar. • His name is a tribal name. • Although of the tribe of Issachar, he lived near Ephraim. • Shamir is an unknown place often associated with Samaria. • He judged for 23 years, the longest judgeship of the minor judges, until his death. • There were no major conflicts recorded under his rule.
Judges 10:3-5 • Jair (he enlightens), the eighth judge from Gilead (east Jordan) ruled Israel for 22 years. • He had a large family of 30 sons who rode upon 30 young strong, male donkeys to assist him in his administration. He was very influential in the community as a result as he ruled over 30 cities named Havoth-jair or the villages of Jair. • He was buried in Camon (raised).
Sixth Cycle: Jephthah versus the Ammonites Servitude to the Ammonites – Eighteen years Judges 10:6-12:15
Judges 10:6 • After Israel's peaceful interlude of 45 years, a Philistine – Ammonite oppression ensued as a result of the nation’s disobedience and rebellion to God. • They enslaved themselves to Baalam, Ashtaroth, Syrian, Zidonion, and Moabite demon princes. They also bowed their knees to Ammonite and Philistine devils and forgot their God. • They totally forgot about the Lord our God. • Round 6 of God’s chastisement begins now….. For more information on baal worship, see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02175a.htm
To what extent did Israel sin? • They served the gods (demons princes) of Aram, whose chief gods (ruler demons) were Hadad (Baal), Mot, Anath, and Rimmon. • The prince demons of Sidon were relatively the same as the Canaanite devils. Ashtaroth is a demon of fertility. (1 Kings 11:5) • The prince demon of Moab was Chemosh. • The prince demon of the Ammonites was Molech who required his subjects to make human sacrifices. Another name for Molech is Milcom = king. (1 Kings 11:7, Lev. 18:21, 20:2-5, 2 Kings 23:13) • The Philistines worshipped Dagon (land or earth demon) and Baal-zebub (lord of the flies). 2 Kings 1:2-3, 6, 16, Matthew 10:25, 12:24.
Judges 10:7-9 They caused the anger of the Lord to become hot against them for the sixth time and He removed His protective hedge and allowed the enemies of Israel to attack them. He allowed the Philistines and Ammonites to invade Israel. The Ammonites and the Moabites are the descendants of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, the result of his incestuous relationship with his daughters. They birthed a nation of hell-raisers, literally. The Philistines invaded Israel on the west of Jordan and the Ammonites invaded Israel across Jordan. • They could no longer expect God’s blessings because they broke their covenant with Almighty God.
Judges 10:10-13 • Israel repented of her idolatry acknowledging their sins in forsaking the Lord in preferring Baalim over Him. • God replied that He had already delivered them from the hands of these same oppressors, why would you turn around and serve their devils? • He delivered them from all the surrounding heathen nations who oppressed them as a result of their cries to Him. • How did Israel reward the Lord for His mercies, they forsook Him and served the table of devils, therefore they deserved no more deliverance. Ouch! Their sins were severe and their punishment was just as severe. God is not mocked.
Judges 10:14-16 • Further rebuking them, He now mocks them by telling them to pray to the devils they had been serving to deliver them. “Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” • Was the Lord harsh in His reply to Israel? • Israel threw themselves at the mercy of God and confessed their sin and requesting that God do whatever He sees fit to them as long as He delivers them. • They sanctified themselves by abolishing their idols and returned to serving the Lord. • Israel’s misery caused the Lord to become grieved. True repentance brings about a true change.
Judges 10:17-18 • In the meantime, the Ammonites gathered themselves together and encamped in Gilead. • Israel gathered herself together and camped in Mizpeh (watchtower). • The people of Gilead wanted to resist the Ammonites militarily but lacked the courage and might to do so. They offered a reward to the person who would fight for them as the governor or captain of Gilead.
Salvation by Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon 31 years of peace Judges 11-12:13
Judges 11:1 • Jephthah (God opens the womb) was a mighty warrior in Gilead. His father was named after their city Gilead and was the grandson of Manasseh. He, like Abimelech, was considered inferior because his father was an Israelite while his mother was a Canaanite prostitute. • Needless to say, Jephthah was considered a social outcast. He was not considered a legitimate Gileadite and was not acknowledged as such.
Judges 11:2-3 • When Jephthah married and bore children, his father’s family ostracized him and his family, displacing Jephthah, his wife and adult sons. The family refused him an inheritance because of his mother’s social standing. • He was forced away from home and moved as far away as he could to the land of Tob (adventurers). The men of that town were vain men, similar to those who rallied behind Abimelech. David would later be able to rally the same band of supporters to help him in his cause.
Judges 11:4-7 • At some point later, the Ammonites declared war against Israel. • The elders of Gilead sought to find Jephthah in the land of Tob. • They requested of him to be their captain to help them fight against Ammon. Undoubtedly, his reputation of being a warrior spread throughout the land. • Jephthah said, “Didn’t you say you hated me, didn’t you kick me out of my father’s house? Why does it take distress for you to realize how much you need me?” • He challenged them as to why they needed him now after they has mistreated him and his family.
Judges 11:8-11 • Their response was basically, that’s not important now. They offered no apologies, they were desperate for a deliverer. • The elders of Gilead assures Jephthah that if returns to fight for them against Ammon that he will be their head or their captain. • They made a covenant with the Lord as their witness that Jephthah should be their head. • Jephthah accepted the position and the choice was approved by the people. He made this promise before the Lord at Mizpeh (watchtower) indicating his godliness despite his illegitimacy.
Judges 11:12-13 • Jephthah, a powerful and confident leader, didn’t attack the enemy right away. Instead he offered a series of negotiations. • The first question he asked was why did Ammon want to fight against Israel in Gilead? • Ammon replied that Israel took their land when they came out of Egypt. (Does this argument sound similar to the conflict in the Middle East today?) • He said give us back our land peaceably. • Moses had taken this land from the Moabites nearly 300 years earlier and they had never made claim until now.
Judges 11:14-22Jephthah responds to Ammon’s allegations • Israel did not take the land from Moab nor from the Ammonites. But as Israel came out of Egypt, walked in the wilderness through the Red Sea and arrived in Kadesh, we sent messengers to the king of Edom requesting entrance, but he denied us. • Israel made a similar request to the king of Moab and he denied us also resulting in Israel’s temporary residence in Kadesh. • We passed through the outskirts of Moab and Edom and reached the border of Arnon. They sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites requesting safe passage. The king not only denied them passage, but he rallied the people against Israel and fought them. • God gave favor to Israel in this war and they whipped the Amorites thereby taking their land. So this is how we came to possess the land of the Amorites, the land of Arnon, and Jabbok all the way leading to Jordan.
Judges 11:23-24 • Jephthah continues his reply by asking a question. If our God gives our enemies into our hands, should we not possess it? • And again, if Chemosh (their god) gives you a possession, wont you possess it? • So whomever or whatever the Lord delivers into our hands, that is what we will possess. • He was emphasizing that his God, is God, the ultimate Landlord and He determines what gifts He gives to His children.
Judges 11:25-28 • Jephthah reminds them of Balak, the king who hired Balaam to curse Israel but never fought against them. • He made mention of Israel’s dwelling in Heshbon and Aroer for 300 years and there was never a claim made. • He concludes that Israel did not sin against him and that it would be wrong to war against them for that cause. • He was not giving up the land of Israel but asked God to judge between Israel and Ammon. • Needless to say, the Ammonites did not hearken to Jephthah.
Jephthah’s Tragic Vow Judges 11:29-40
Judges 11:29-33 • The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Jephthah and he vowed a vow unto the Lord. He says, if you will surely deliver the Ammonites into my hands, I will offer you the first person who greets me from my house as I return from battle to you and I will present a burnt offering. • God gave Jephthah the victory over the Ammonites in battle. He slew them with a great slaughter encompassing twenty cities.
Judges 11:34-36 • As Jephthah returned home from battle, his only child, a daughter ran to greet him, dancing with tambourines. • When he saw her, he began to grieve and was brought low because of the vow he made. • “I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.” • She replied to her father that he must do what he vowed because the Lord has indeed given his enemies into his hand.
Judges 11:37-40 • His daughter requested a 2 month grace to enjoy the mountains with her friends because she will never marry. • He permitted her the leave and she spent two months with her friends in the mountains. • When she returned, he fulfilled his vow to dedicate her to the Lord as a perpetual virgin, a eunuch, to the service of the Lord. • Each year, the virgins of Israel celebrated his daughter’s vow for four days.
Judges 12-14 July 1, 2009