The ups and downs here might remind you of those in Ephesians 4:8-10. And for good reason! Word came to Sisera of the insurrection at Mount Tabor. It came by the mouth of one “Heber the Kenite” (Jdg 4:11). Although many of the Kenites had settled on Israel’s southern border near Arad, this man had […]
Would you volunteer to throw an ill-trained militia against a massed force of professional warriors? Deborah, Mrs Bee, lived in the center of the country, near Bethel. Barak, Mr Lightning, resided in the refuge city of Kadesh Naphtali, far to the north. He could look down on the vast fortress of Hazor in the valley […]
Moderns make Deborah out to be a feminist. Not so. She served privately by her own door. What do they say? The same song, but the second verse; a little louder and a little worse? Here they go again: “When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the […]
Read More… from June 28, 2023 — The Prophetess & The Problem
We continue our tour of God’s armory. A dagger, yes, but an ox goad? What can you do with that? Ehud, whose name means “unity,” now lives up to the meaning. Having delivered God’s pointed message to fat Eglon at Jericho, “he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel […]
Though his name means “united,” ironically, Ehud fought alone. But Israel certainly was united afterward! Each year, Israel had to send protection money, delicately called “tribute” (Jdg 3:15), to Eglon, king of Moab. After eighteen long years of subjugation, “Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man,” is going with the tribute to […]
Read More… from June 26, 2023 — A Pointed Message For The King
“Joshua fit de battle of Jericho!” Why isn’t there a song about Ehud fighting there as well? With Othniel having driven out the Mesopotamians, and with his wise judging of Israel from his southern stronghold at Kirjath-Sepher, we read, “the land had rest for forty years” (Jdg 3:11). Eight years were certainly too long for […]
Among all the things we can love about God, surely His longsuffering patience is very special. For eight long years, the children of Israel were ground under the heel of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. God waited in heaven, listening for their call for help. Then, at long last, “the children of Israel cried out to […]
Don’t want God to be your ruler? Then try Cushan-Rishathaim, Cushan of Double Wickedness! Father knows best. Long before it happened, He knew what the Israelites would do if they intermarried with the Canaanites. First, through sheer unbelief, they failed to defeat them. Then, with cavalier indifference, “the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites” […]