Verses 1-6: God had commanded Israel to rid the land of all the inhabitants, but here it is confirmed that God knew that they would fail to drive them all out. Indeed, God left these idol-worshippers in the land as a test. If Israel is able to withstand the influence and temptations of the indigenous people, they would be obeying the commandment of the Lord. Verse 6 leaves no doubt to the omniscience of God: “And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.”

Verses 7-31: Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar are listed in sequence as judges that God designated to save the people. Israel turned from God and served idols. Eventually this denial of the true God resulted in slavery or captivity for Israel and they would seek Him again. Once they cried out to Him, God designated and blessed a judge to lead them out of the mess and to defeat their enemies. It was the beginning of a cycle that we will see competed many times. 

Ehud’s removal of Eglon in this chapter is particularly interesting, if not gory. Notice that Ehud was not dishonest throughout and that the will of God in this case was carried out. 

In this chapter, let us consider: God subjecting Israel to this temptation and subsequent punishment leaves us with some engaging questions.

– Does God test those that love Him?

– Does God seek to improve our dedication to Him?

– If God knew Israel would fail, why would he allow them to be corrupted?

– Why did God tell the Israelites to rid the land of all the inhabitants if He knew they ultimately wouldn’t?

We have tentative answers to most of these questions. God does test the righteous: “The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” Psalms‬ ‭11:5‬ ‭

Also, we know that God puts paths before us to strengthen our will and desire to serve: “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”‭‭ I Peter‬ ‭5:10‬

The last two questions posed are more difficult to definitively answer. If God knew Israel would fail, He may have wanted to test the amount of their dedication to Him, to see how far they would go before their shame compelled them to return to Him. Trying to answer those questions is like trying to find a grain of sand in a dark ballroom with no lights while blind. We can’t see what God sees; we can’t know what God knows. He created us and our limits of comprehension. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”‭‭ Isaiah‬ ‭55:9‬

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-10: Since our study in Joshua, we have seen how the Israelites failed to drive all the inhabitants out of Canaan time and again. It has been a recurring theme and one that has not brought consequences until now. The Angel of the Lord came while Joshua was still alive and told the people the consequence: God would no longer drive the people out and they would be a downfall and a hindrance to their lives. At this time, Israel was not so corrupt as they would eventually become. They decided to remain faithful to God and that generation did so. Until the people of Joshua’s generation were alive, they did not forsake God. 

What do you think it was like for Joshua, so strong in faith, to hear this decree from the Angel of the Lord?

Verses 11-23: Here we see the corruption of God’s children and it is pitiful. One would think that having been so close in time to the deliverance from Egypt, the acquisition of (most of) Canaan and the godly leadership of Joshua, that they would not descend so deeply into sin. Joshua also had stones in sight to remind the people of God’s blessings. But they decided to serve false gods. God subjected them to the will of the oppressors, giving them up to defeat and slavery. Once He detected a theme of disobedience in Israel, God subjected them to punishment. Israel’s decisions affected God’s decision.
Over time, this corruption developed and snowballed. Israel allowed the sin into their lives with innocent-seeming guises at first, surely. Their inability to wholly finish God’s plan for Canaan caused them so much pain and consequence. 

Let’s try to remember Israel when we get close to the pleasing temptations of sin. Let us deny ourselves and look deeper into the future and the home for our infinite souls.

“This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” ‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭2:11-12‬ 

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-26: After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel are unsure of who will lead them. The Lord declares that the children of Judah will go against the Canaanites. Judah enlists the help of Simeon to defeat the Canaanites and the Perizzites. A just but unusual punishment was meted out to Adoni-Bezek from God through the actions of the tribes. Judah also took Jerusalem at this time.

In an effort to expel the Canaanites, etc., Judah was wise to enlist the help of a friend in Simeon. We too can benefit from the help of our Christian brothers and sisters, and ought to seek and offer this help when we realize the need is there: 

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” Romans‬ ‭12:10-13‬ Next there is a recounting of the story of Caleb giving his daughter in marriage for the conquest of Kirjath Sepher. We read of this originally in Joshua 15. 

Judah continues to try to rid the land of the indigenous people, but is not entirely successful. Based on the previous theme that strength of faith supports the totality of conquest, it is safe to assume that their faith was lacking. We know that the Israelites had defeated armies with iron chariots previously and their failure in this chapter can be attributed to a lack of confidence in God’s ability to overcome such disadvantages.

Verses 27-36: The deficiency of faith and conquest continues as numerous tribes fail to totally drive out all of the Canaanites. The Israelites put many of them under tribute, taking taxes from them and trying to benefit from the relationship instead of driving them out of the land as God commanded. They did not totally follow God’s commandment and instead thought for themselves. As we will see later, this independent thinking will come back to haunt them. The influence of these pagan peoples will prove too much to resist in the future.

Does this mode of the Israelites’ thinking sound familiar? How often do I think for myself instead of relying on God’s pure and clear Word? Only He knows what is best for me. Only the Lord has the answers. Take heart from this example of the Israelites’ failure, for “. . . the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”‭‭ Jeremiah‬ ‭10:23‬

So we should then be about our father’s business. Jesus knew this as a child when He asked His parents why they did not know where to find him: “And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”” Luke‬ ‭2:49‬

So should we.

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

We are excited to announce that Roger Hillis and Cory Byrd will be joining Dan Lankford in blogging for us in 2017. Below you will find a summary of their plans for the year. This is a perfect way for each of us to increase our Bible knowledge, so please plan to visit often.

New Testament Chapter Summaries by Roger Hillis:
Beginning January 1st, I will be posting a daily study of the book of Acts. It will consist of a concise summary of each chapter of this marvelous book in the New Testament. Each day's blog will contain one chapter summary until the book is completed. Hope you can read along and trust you will enjoy this brief encounter with the early growth and spread of New Testament Christianity.

Monday Night Bible Study by Cory Byrd:
Please join me each Monday night for a Bible study. We will read selections from the Old and New Testaments and explore how God's Word and the lessons of His people impact our life today. It's Monday; what have you got to lose? Join me!